SABR Digital Library: Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1907-1958 (Volume 1)
Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1907-1958 (Volume 1)
Edited by Robert K. Fitts, Bill Nowlin, and James Forr
Associate editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
Foreword by Allan H. “Bud” Selig
Publication Date: December 14, 2022
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-970159-89-9, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-970159-90-5, $32.95
8.5″ x 11″, 288 pages
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Japanese baseball in 2022, the SABR Digital Library is proud to publish Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan.
Over 100 baseball teams from the United States and Hawaii have crossed the Pacific to play baseball in Japan. Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan is the first book written in English that focuses on these international tours.
In this book, discover how:
- The female Philadelphia Bobbies team tour ended in tragedy
- Babe Ruth tried to prevent World War II
- Lefty O’Doul helped reunite the US and Japan through baseball
- A Native American baseball team was cheated and stranded 5000 miles from home
- A Negro League team helped start Japanese professional baseball
- Japanese Americans used baseball to build a bridge between the two cultures
- Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson finished their careers in Japan
These, and many other stories, introduce readers to the fascinating world of Japanese baseball.
Volume 1 focuses on tours between 1907 and 1958. During this time period, many of the sport’s greatest stars—including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson—played in the Land of the Rising Sun. These tours helped spread the game across the globe, spawned thousands of individual friendships, and helped bring nations together through the mutual love of baseball.
Volume 1 contains individual chapters written by leading members of the Society for American Baseball Research on all 15 professional squads that traveled to Japan before 1960 as well as four collegiate and eight amateur/semipro teams. Each chapter is accompanied by game results and, when available, player statistics.
- Related link: Click here to read more from Volume 2 of Nichibei Yakyu, focusing on tours from 1960 to 2019
Lead editor Robert K. Fitts is the author of seven books on Japanese baseball and Japanese baseball cards. Fitts is the founder of SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee and a recipient of the society’s 2013 Seymour Medal for best baseball book of 2012, the 2019 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award, the 2012 Doug Pappas Award for best research presentation at the SABR convention, and the 2006 and 2021 SABR Research Awards. He has twice been a finalist for the Casey Award and has received two silver medals at the Independent Publisher Book Awards. While living in Tokyo in 1993-94, Fitts began collecting Japanese baseball cards and now runs Robs Japanese Cards LLC. Information on Rob’s work is available at RobFitts.com.
SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!
- E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of Nichibei Yakyu, Volume 1 for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, MOBI, EPUB/Kindle formats.
- Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the Nichibei Yakyu, Volume 1 paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Amazon Kindle Direct can take up to 4-6 weeks.)
Buy the book
- E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of Nichibei Yakyu, Volume 1 for $9.99 from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, MOBI, and EPUB/Kindle formats.
- Paperback: Get the paperback edition of Nichibei Yakyu, Volume 1 from the SABR Store ($34.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Amazon Kindle Direct can take up to 4-6 weeks.)
Essays
Contributors: Adam Berenbak, Stephen D. Boren, Mark Brunke, Carter Cromwell, James E. Elfers, Robert K. Fitts, James Forr, Christopher Frey, John Harney, Tom Hawthorn, Len Levin, Satoshi Matsumiya, Yoichi Nagata, Roberta J. Newman, Joe Niese, Bill Nowlin, Ralph Pearce, Carl Riechers, Keith Spalding Robbins, C. Paul Rogers III, Allan H. “Bud” Selig, Yobun Shima, Dennis Snelling, Bill Staples Jr., Yusuke Suzumura, Steven K. Wisensale, and Kat Williams.