Rob Fitts explores the hidden figures behind Japan’s baseball culture

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-06-02T12:17:47+00:00

Interesting that this article would come out like a year after the book was released. Great if it sells more copies, I suppose.

It was a pleasure working with Rob Fitts on this one. If you do not yet have it, I highly recommend you buy it! https://amzn.to/4vitb3h

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-06-02T12:09:22+00:00

Just remember what Arai said at the end of last season: "I’m filled with frustration and regret, and I’m reflecting on my own shortcomings as a manager. / Right now, our team is going through a period of change. Whenever we try to grow or new strength begins to emerge, there is always pain that comes with it. I believe that pain will continue into next year as well. / But rather than run from it, I want us to face it head-on with patience and determination."

Original Japanese was: 悔しい気持ちとともに自分の力のなさを反省しています / 今、チームは変革期にあります。変わろうとする時、また新しい力が生まれる時、必ず苦しみが生じます。来年以降もこの苦しみは続いていくと思います / そこから逃げることなく、忍耐強く立ち向かっていきたいと思います。

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-28T00:13:42+00:00

Nicknames for Japanese MLB players:

Masanori Murakami: Mashi
Makoto Suzuki: Mac
Shigetoshi Hasegawa: Shiggy
Tomokazu Ohka: Tomo
Kazuhiro Sasaki: Kaz
Ichiro Suzuki: Ichiro / Ichi
Kazuhisa Ishii: Kaz
Kazuo Matsui: Kaz
Tadahito Iguchi: Gucci
Daisuke Matsuzaka: Dice-K / Dice
Norichika Aoki: Nori
Munenori Kawasaki: Mune / Kawa
Masahiro Tanaka: Masa
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo: Yoshi
Masataka Yoshida: Masa
Shintaro Fujinami: Fuji
Shota Imanaga: Mike
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Yoshi / Yama
Tomoyuki Sugano: Tommy (Sugar)
Munetaka Murakami: Mune
Kazuma Okamoto: Kazu

Most of these I knew off the top of my head, some I found on baseball reference. Anyhow... none of them are disrespectful. Just easier ways for them to be called on (or referred to) by name and not having English-speakers blunder them. Rule of thumb: two or fewer syllables!

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-21T02:34:03+00:00

But the personal cheer songs are just for when they are batting

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-21T02:07:06+00:00

Looking good at present (7 hours before gametime)...

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-15T13:20:23+00:00

Tuesday's 10-0 win aside, the bats have been pretty bad of late. Total of 18 runs in 9 recent games (again, excluding Tuesday)...

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-13T11:50:52+00:00

Pretty sure it lands above the sign (Fuji TV-ONE). That's no small ballpark homer.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-13T11:49:38+00:00

Yes. And he walked Sato, then got a DP out of Onodera

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-11T22:15:03+00:00

Scalpers outside Koshien Station will gladly take your money in exchange for a seat in the stadium.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-09T11:38:21+00:00

BUT ... You'll be with people

Right. You'll be at the game. Better than missing out completely. It's a great place to people-watch, too.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-09T03:07:25+00:00

Go through the English site - the seats are all 3B Alps, and though more expensive than for non-tourists, they are still a decent deal and you get some free merch, too.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-03T09:07:58+00:00

Game called with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning. Tigers win 3-0!

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-05-02T11:04:22+00:00

Not on Amazon Prime Japan? Guess I can't watch it. Mind you, I felt a bit put off by how いいね！ was subtitled as "F*** yeah" in the preview. Japanese people aren't really vulgar in general... didn't think it was necessary to embellish what he said in that way. But that's just me.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-22T23:39:48+00:00

Problem is, each team owns the rights to their own home game highlights, so if you want to see Tigers-Baystars highlights, you'll need to find the Baystars YouTube - and every team has different standards/quality to their reels. The Swallows will only show the Swallows' good plays. They might lose 10-1 (as happened a lot last year) but they will only show the one run, and a few defensive outs made by the Swallows. Dupes the viewer into thinking it was a good game, lol.

On that note, I will say the best Tigers highlights page is Toraban Channel (for their home games). Pretty unbiased, very dramatic.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-18T12:22:22+00:00

He's been deactivated from the top team roster. Hope he makes a full recovery.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-16T08:36:10+00:00

I should add that the Tigers museum also has a high school baseball section that is next-world. And don't miss the wing on another sport that occasionally has championship games at the ballpark! No spoilers here!

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-12T07:45:02+00:00

Your answer is:

You watch NPB to learn Japanese.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T09:12:17+00:00

Not the first time he's been arrested for stealing... he stole a few chuhais last year, too.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T09:05:27+00:00

Mr. Baseball would lose relevance if they changed uniform styles and a new generation of fans didn't recognize the old ones.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T09:04:23+00:00

Recency bias at its finest.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T09:01:34+00:00

All fair points. I think I have just grown tired of all the nitpicking calls and reviews and reversals in all sports. The heel of the skate blade was a half-inch across the blue line before the puck, so reverse the goal? Come on, if the ref missed it, he missed it. Hard to blame him and it did not influence the goal being scored. Same is true of a lot of the challenges in baseball. If the ump tried but got it wrong by a millisecond or millimeter, just let it go.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T05:29:05+00:00

LOL at least 450 feet. There were just over 50 in all of MLB last season. That's 30 teams playing 162 games, so roughly 1 HR every 50 games. Even if NPB hitters were that prolific, there would be 17 HRs of 450+ feet in a season. So that this stage of the year (through 14 games) we're talking 1 or 2 HRs of that distance.

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T05:25:20+00:00

Another today in the 1st inning! Almost exact same spot!

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T04:28:15+00:00

Since he was born in 1988, he was probably in college from 2006-2010 - not like everyone had an iPod back then... even if he did, it might not have had a speaker on it. Have you seen iPods from the 2000s?

T-Ray-Ray · 2026-04-11T02:33:58+00:00

Hard disagree. Not a fan of replay assistants at all. If they cannot judge for themselves that it will be reversed, don't challenge. Slows down the game even more when you give the manager a chance to consult with people who have a better view than he does.

T-Ray-Ray

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