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The Chrysanthemum and the Bat by Robert Whiting (Personalized Signature fom the Author)
Acclaimed author Robert Whiting is best known for his bestseller You Gotta Have Wa!, published in 1989. And he burst back onto the Japanese baseball scene with 2004’s The Meaning of Ichiro. But it all started with The Chrysanthemum and the Bat: The Game Japanese Play.
We are working with Mr. Whiting to make this book available to you with a personalized messaged in your name (or whatever name you request) and signature from the author!
Whiting moved to Japan in 1962 and found that whenever he talked to his friends back in the U.S., they always wanted to hear more of his stories of Japanese baseball. Nothing about the country’s fascinating history of rulers, the rapid transformation of Tokyo, or the perfect balance between Buddhism and Shinto – just baseball. But Whiting found that baseball was actually the perfect vehicle to talk about Japan’s unique national character.
Motivated by a $500 bet that he wouldn’t write a book within a year (as explained to JapanBall’s “Chatter Up” audience in August 2021), Whiting compiled his observations of Japan’s culture- exemplified through baseball – into this wonderful book that TIME named its 1977 sports book of the year.
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The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime
I’m sure that many fans felt that Robert Whiting just had to write this book, and I’m sure glad that he did! In this unofficial sequel to You Gotta Have Wa, Whiting flips the script tells the fascinating stories of the trailblazing players that were part of the wave of Japanese players coming to MLB that started with Hideo Nomo in 1995. Whiting puts Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Irabu, Alfonso Soriano, and Hideki Matsui under the microscope, exploring each of their unique backgrounds and personalities and how they contributed to creating the star player you see on TV and in MLB stadiums.
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Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball
The history of Japanese American baseball is nearly as long as the history of the game itself. This book chronicles the many iterations of Japanese American baseball, starting at the turn of the century, when Japanese immigrants used baseball as a way to garner respect from – and feel a sense of inclusion with – their white American counterparts. Baseball became a community staple in America’s Japanese communities and then became a vehicle for survival in the Japanese American concentration camps of WWII.
Author Kerry Yo Nakagawa is the founder of the Nisei Baseball Research Project, which seeks to preserve the history of Japanese American baseball and educate about the Japanese American concentration camps during World War II. Kerry Yo was a special guest on JapanBall’s “Chatter Up!” in April 2021, and his episode was the most powerful in our series. You can watch the video on YouTube or read the recap here.
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Tokyo Junkie: 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys . . . and Baseball
40+ years after The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, which TIME Magazine named the best sports book of the year in 1977, and 30+ years after You Gotta Have Wa, an absolute must-read for any baseball fan, Robert Whiting is at it again. The original English-language written voice of Japanese baseball now has a lifetime’s worth of perspective, wisdom, and observations from straddling the American and Japanese cultures, and this book encapsulates it all.
Read our review of the book here.
As Whiting puts describes it in the book’s prologue, the “story is part Alice in Wonderland, part Bright Lights, Big City, and part Forrest Gump, among other things. It is a coming-of-age tale as well as an account of a decades-long journey into the heart of a city undergoing one of the most remarkable and sustained metamorphoses ever seen.”
Arriving in Tokyo in 1962, Whiting entered a metropolis that was on the cusp of bursting onto the world stage, most visibly via the 1964 Olympics. Since then, the city has flourished and grown almost exponentially in so many ways, but not without its share of dark secrets and growing pains.
Whiting’s unique perspective as a curious, thoroughly-adapted foreigner who also happens to be a critical observer and world-class writer makes him the perfect person to document the city’s modern history.
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Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Cartoon Logo Adjustable Hat
This cap is Japanese baseball in a nutshell – NPB’s most famous team, and an adorable team mascot. The rabbit is Giabyi, leader of the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants’ family of rabbit mascots.
This hat is a great conversation starter at the ballpark, especially around San Francisco, which is full of SF Giants fans. It’s not uncommon for this hat to lead to a conversation about how cool Japanese baseball is!
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Travel Laundry Detergent
I take pride in packing light, but I couldn’t do so without these. Humid climates like those in Japan and the Dominican Republic make re-wearing clothes without washing them a disservice to your fellow travelers, but it’s often impractical to do laundry when we’re traveling up and down the country watching baseball games. These detergent packs let you do a small load of laundry in your hotel room’s sink or bathtub. Hang the wet clothes overnight, especially with the AC on, and you’ll be fresh and ready to sweat again in the morning.
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Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball
In a sea of baseball biographies, this one is a shimmering tropical fish! Rob Fitts certainly picked a good subject in Yonamine, the standout baseball and football player from Hawaii. The history of Japanese baseball couldn’t be told without Wally Yonamine, but his story is uniquely American too. I just wish that I could have seen Wally play in person!
Rob Fitts appeared on JapanBall’s “Chatter Up!” Zoom call in 2020 – check out our recap of that episode here.
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Warren Cromartie Autographed 1986 Calbee Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Card with Beckett Authentication (BAS)
$49.00Original price was: $49.00.$39.00Current price is: $39.00.A first-round draft pick in 1973, Warren Cromartie shot straight to the major leagues, debuting with the Montreal Expos at age 20 one year later. He was a fixture in the Montreal lineup from 1977 to 1983, endearing himself to Expos fans for his charisma and excellent performance in the 1982 NLDS.
When he decided to go to Japan for the 1984 season at age 30, “Cro” became arguably the first American player to transfer to NPB in the middle of his prime. And what a brilliant move it was! Cromartie became a legend in Japan, leading the iconic Yomiuri Giants franchise to the 1989 Japan Series title after a Central League MVP season. With his competitive flare, clutch bat, and willingness to acclimate to the Japanese culture (including learning the language fluently), Cromartie is still revered by Giants fans.
His final NPB stats over seven seasons are the stuff of legend: batted over .300 five times, slugged 171 home runs, and led the team in home runs and batting twice and RBIs three times. He was a three-time Central League All-Star and “Best Nine” in addition to winning the 1989 MVP.
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Warren Cromartie Autographed 1990 Calbee Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Card with Beckett Authentication (BAS) Auto Grade 10
$59.00Original price was: $59.00.$49.00Current price is: $49.00.A first-round draft pick in 1973, Warren Cromartie shot straight to the major leagues, debuting with the Montreal Expos at age 20 one year later. He was a fixture in the Montreal lineup from 1977 to 1983, endearing himself to Expos fans for his charisma and excellent performance in the 1982 NLDS.
When he decided to go to Japan for the 1984 season at age 30, “Cro” became arguably the first American player to transfer to NPB in the middle of his prime. And what a brilliant move it was! Cromartie became a legend in Japan, leading the iconic Yomiuri Giants franchise to the 1989 Japan Series title after a Central League MVP season. With his competitive flare, clutch bat, and willingness to acclimate to the Japanese culture (including learning the language fluently), Cromartie is still revered by Giants fans.
His final NPB stats over seven seasons are the stuff of legend: batted over .300 five times, slugged 171 home runs, and led the team in home runs and batting twice and RBIs three times. He was a three-time Central League All-Star and “Best Nine” in addition to winning the 1989 MVP.