A really great book idea. This was a blast to read. Loved the layout and vignette style stories. Many stories of those involved I would have never thought to have looked up. One of my favorites was the trading card fan/salesman. His enthusiasm leapt off the page.

Great gift for a baseball fan wanting to learn more about all aspects of Japanese baseball.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that sports element that I was looking for and was engaged from start to finish. I was invested in what was going on and thought the use of baseball was wonderfully done. It had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed the overall feel of the world and characters. Robert K. Fitts wrote this well and was engaged from start to finish.

I am a pretty big baseball and baseball analytics fan, so I was intrigued to read this book about Japanese baseball. This book has really great vignettes into Japanese baseball, which makes it easy to pick up and read an essay, and then come back later. I didn't anticipate it to have one, but if you are looking for a weaving narrative through this book I really didn't get that. They are a compilation of essays about one person's narrative and baseball experience.

I liked that we got so many different views from super fans to the beer sellers, to players, analysts and more. It gives such a well rounded view to the sport.

One of my favorites was about the Oendan, people who give up their ability to watch the game to support the team. I think that it was such an interesting process, and I am sure that fuels some of the "post season energy" that is often mentioned in the essays. Fans seem very dedicated to the sport and in many cases their particular team.

More to come soon!

Before we begin, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the University of Nebraska Press for providing an advance copy of this book for my review.

I love baseball and I love traveling, and if I can combine a trip with a baseball game, so much the better! A few years ago, my wife and I got the chance to travel through Japan, and as it happened, we were in Hiroshima while the home team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp was playing in the Japan World Series, so we got to look out the window of our hotel and see a little of the ruckus from the Carp home stadium. Alas, we didn’t get to attend a game, but even watching it on TV was enough to get us hooked on Japanese baseball. I have to admit that while there are a lot of similarities between baseball in the US and in Japan, there are a lot of differences, too, and some things about Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB, the equivalent of our MLB) I don’t fully understand. Because of that, I was glad to find Robert Fitts’ “In The Japanese Ballpark” to help me learn more about Japanese baseball!

Baseball was introduced to Japan in the 1870s by an American who had come to set up high schools based on a Western model. But it wasn’t until the 1930s that professional baseball began being played in Japan, and it really took off in the 1950s, and it had been portrayed as a poorer cousin to its American counterpart for years, until players and coaches started making the jump to and from MLB and NPB in the 1908s and 1990s. With stars like Shohei Ohtani playing in MLB and the Japanese national teams winning the World Baseball Classic, it feels like Japanese baseball may be on the verge of getting some well-deserved attention in the US, so Robert may be just in time to get American sports fans a chance to get up to speed!

Robert interviews more than 20 people with various connections to Japanese baseball to get their perspective on what makes the sport unique and differences between baseball in Japan and in America. He interviews folks you’d expect, like players, managers, team and league executives and agents, but he also talks to folks with less obvious connections, like cheering section leaders, handlers of the team mascots, the “beer girls” who serve drinks while wearing a dispenser on their backs, trading card specialists, and more. They help to explain not only how the game on the field is different from what we see in the MLB stadiums, but also how the business of Japanese baseball is different, and how teams’ and fans’ perspectives lead to a different dynamic. Along the way, Robert’s interviewees acquaint us with the past and present of NPB, and introduce us to how the American game has affected Japanese baseball, and vice versa. The book even provides information on where you can go online to watch Japanese games, keep up to date on what’s happening in the Japanese leagues, and how to get tickets to see a game on a future visit to Japan.

“In The Japanese Ballpark provides baseball fans the opportunity to learn more about a sport that can be both very familiar and very different from what we’re used to in the US. This book isn’t a primer about NPB; it assumes that the reader has some knowledge about the game of baseball and who wants to learn more and experience more about the game. The interviews are concise but very educational. It’s an interesting read. Recommended for the baseball fan on your holiday shopping list!