SABR Digital Library: Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1960-2019 (Volume 2)

Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, Volume II: 1960-2019

Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1960-2019 (Volume 2)
Edited by Robert K. Fitts, Bill Nowlin, and James Forr
Associate editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
Publication Date: November 27, 2023
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-960819-14-7, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-960819-15-4, $39.95
8.5″ x 11″, 355 pages

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Japanese baseball in 2022, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) has published the two-volume set, Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, Volumes 1 and 2. Over 100 baseball teams from the United States and Hawaii have crossed the Pacific to play baseball in Japan since 1906. Nichibei Yakyu, Volumes 1 and 2, are the first works in English that focus on these international tours. Volume 1 focused on early tours until 1958. Volume 2 focuses on the latter portion of the 20th century and the 21st.

Since 1960 these tours have featured World Series champions like the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, and have even incorporated the official Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season, as well as triumphant returns to Japan for stars such as Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui. 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 2 contains chapters on all 29 major league squads that traveled to Japan from 1960 to 2019. Each chapter is accompanied by game results and player statistics. Also included for the first time in any language are tables showing the all-time leaders from the Japan tours in various statistical categories, as well as the statistics of selected Japanese players against major league competition.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

Buy the book

Essays

Introduction: Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1960-2019

San Francisco Baseball Returns to Japan: The 1960 Giants Goodwill Tour

No Alibis: The Detroit Tigers’ 1962 Tour of Japan

1966: The Dodgers Return to Japan

Cardinals Take Care of Business in the Land of the Rising Sun (1968)

‘They Beat Us the Japanese Way’: The San Francisco Giants’ 1970 Spring Tour

‘We Are Trying to Close the Gap, but It Is Very Wide Yet’: The Baltimore Orioles’ 1971 Tour of Japan

The 1974 New York Mets Goodwill Tour of Japan

The Big Red Machine’s Last Hurrah: Cincinnati Reds Tour of Japan, 1978

The 1979 Major League All-Star Series in Japan

A Near Escape: the 1981 Kansas City Royals Tour of Japan

The 1984 Baltimore Orioles Tour in Japan: The Final Attempt at a True World Series

Baseball from Mars: The 1986 Super Major Series

The 1988 Major League-Japan All-Star Series

‘There’s No Joy in Tokyo’: The 1990 Super Major Series

Redemption: The 1992 MLB vs Japan All-Star Baseball Series

Tommy Lasorda: Baseball’s Global Ambassador and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 1993 Friendship Tour of Japan

The 1996 Sun Super Major Series in Japan

The 1998 Super Dome All-Star Series in Japan

Major League Baseball’s Historic Opening Day Series: New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs, 2000

The 2000 All-Star Series in Japan

Major League Baseball’s 2002 All-Star Tour of Japan

The 2004 MLB All-Stars Tour of Japan

Godzilla Returns: The 2004 MLB Opening Series in Japan

End of an Era: The 2006 Aeon All-Star Series

2008 Opening Series in Japan: Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics

2012 MLB Opening Series: Mariners vs Athletics at the Tokyo Dome

2014 Suzuki All-Star Series: Samurai Japan vs. MLB All-Stars

Japan Dominates: The 2018 MLB All-Star Tour of Japan

2019 MLB Opening Series in Japan

US Tours of Japan, 1907-2019: Team and Player Statistics


Contributors: Shane Barclay, Carter Cromwell, Coop Daley, Robert K. Fitts, Andrew Forbes, James Forr, Robert F. Garratt, Chris Hicks, Mark Kanter, Mark Langill, Len Levin, Susan Miyagi McCormac, Andy McCue, Scott Melesky, Roberta J. Newman, Bill Nowlin, Trevor Raichura, Carl Riechers, Robert Kiyoshi Shadlow, Dennis Snelling, Elias Toney, Henry Tran, Steven Treder, Dave Wilkie, and Blair Williams.

Donate Join

© 2026 SABR. All Rights Reserved.