In the Japanese Ballpark

Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball

Robert K. Fitts (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

304 Seiten

2025
University of Nebraska Press (Verlag)
9781496244079 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

Baseball is the national pastime of both the United States and Japan, but the two countries approach and play the game differently both on the field and away from it. To shed light on these differences and help fans gain a greater appreciation for Nippon Professional Baseball, Robert K. Fitts turns to the true experts, the people who play, oversee, promote, and watch the game, to find out what makes Japanese baseball special. In the Japanese Ballpark features engaging interviews with twenty-six baseball personalities to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the game.

Fitts speaks with participants in the games such as players, managers, and an umpire; support staff including an interpreter, trainer, and data analyst; front office personal such as an owner, general and assistant managers, and marketing directors; ballpark workers including cheerleaders, a mascot, beer vendor, and usher; and professionals who surround the sport, such as baseball writers, a player agent, and a sports card dealer; as well as a league commissioner. Through their personal experiences, these individuals reveal the inner workings of the Japanese game and explain the cultural aspects that make Nippon Professional Baseball different from Major League Baseball.

In the Japanese Ballpark features interviews with Bobby Valentine, Trey Hillman, Matt Murton, Robert Whiting, Marty Kuehnert, Tomoko Namba, Ambassador Ryozo Kato, and many others. Their experiences and insights provide inside knowledge to make the fan experience more enjoyable, for both those watching a Japanese game for the first time and well as for seasoned followers.

Robert K. Fitts is a curatorial consultant for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a baseball historian. He is the author of eleven books of Japanese baseball, including Issei Baseball: The Story of the First Japanese American Ballplayers (Nebraska, 2020), Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan (Nebraska, 2013), and Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer (Nebraska, 2015), and is the coeditor of Nichibei Yakyu: U.S. Tours of Japan, volumes I and II.

List of Illustrations
Introduction
Japanese Baseball Timeline
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Teams
Glossary
Part 1: Setting the Stage
1. Robert Whiting, Journalist
Part 2: On the Diamond
2. Matt Murton, Player
3. Shungo Fukunaga, Minor League Player
4. Natsuo Yamazaki, Umpire
5. Trey Hillman, Manager
Part 3: In the Ballpark
6. Jim Allen, Sportswriter
7. Jennie Roloff Rothman, Superfan
8. Yasuro Karibe, Oendan Leader
9. Taylor Foote, Mascot Team
10. Saori Ogure, Cheerleader
11. Keiko Suzuki, Uriko (beer girl)
12. Kenjiro Kajita, Ballpark Security & Intern
Part 4: In The Clubhouse
13. Toshihiro Nagata, Data Analyst
14. Ichiro Kitano, Trainer
15. Ken Iwamoto, Interpreter
Part 5: The Front Office
16. Marty Kuehnert, General Manager
17. Tomoko Namba, Team Owner
18. Shun Kakazu, Assistant General Manager
19. Jonathan Fine, Assistant General Manager
Part 6: The Business of Baseball
20. Shigeo Araki, Marketing Director
21. Tomoki Negishi, Marketing and Business Development
22. Noamichi Yokota, Marketing and Merchandising
23. Ryozo Kato, NPB Commissioner
24. Edwin Dominguez Alvarez, Agent
25. Tatsuo Shinke, Sport Cards
Part 7: Conclusion
26. Bobby Valentine, Manager

Appendix A: Tips on Following NPB from Outside of Japan
Appendix B: Tips on Collecting Japanese Baseball Cards & Memorabilia
Appendix C: Tips on Attending Games in Japan
Appendix D: Recommended English-Language Books on NPB
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	18.09.2025
Zusatzinfo	36 photographs, 2 tables, index
Verlagsort	Lincoln
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Ballsport
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Weitere Fachgebiete ► Sportwissenschaft
ISBN-13	9781496244079 / 9781496244079
Zustand	Neuware