Robert K. Fitts - Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer

Fitts, coupled with Murakamis voice and experiences, tells the proud tale of a young man who was whisked into the spotlight and became a shining example of the equality that could be reached between the Japanese and Americans on the baseball diamond. Reading Mashi brings us all a few steps closer to what it was like to be there on this landmark journey.

San Francisco Examiner

Sometimes historical analysis cant compete with a good personal story, as Robert K. Fittsa baseball expert and former archaeologistproves with his newest book, Mashi .

Japan Times

Robert K. Fitts, an award-winning sportswriter with a good grasp of Japans baseball culture, clearly explicates the factors at play in this exotic baseball narrativeone that has become increasingly relevant as MLB extends its recruitment strategies internationally.

Robert Birnbaum, Daily Beast

Rob Fitts has fabulously transported us back to Mashis family roots, childhood passion for the grand game, and his trajectory to become the first Major Leaguer from Japan. It is a discovery and rediscovery of culture, baseball dynamics/politics, and the man who transcended the sport as a gigantic touchstone pioneer for future players from Asia.

Kerry Yo Nakagawa, author of Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball

A nice look at a man and career that deserved to be more than footnotes in baseball history.

Bob DAngelo, Tampa Tribune

A good read.

Richard C. Crepeau, Aethlon

Robert Fitts has written a book that needed writing.

Joel S. Franks, Journal of Sport History

Praise for Robert Fittss Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball

Extensively researched, well-written, and endlessly informative and fascinating, this book makes an excellent addition to anyones baseball library and is absolutely required reading for anyone interested in Japanese-American baseball relations.

Michael Street, Baseball Daily Digest

Serves as a great primer on the general historical evolution of Japanese baseball, seen through the career of Wally Yonamine.

Eric B. Salo, nine

2005 Sporting News -sabr award winner Fitts deserves high marks for bringing forth this title sure to grasp pro football and baseball enthusiasts alike.

Southern New England Chapter Society for American Baseball Research

This is a must-read and a must-add to the bookshelf for those with an interest in the history of Japanese baseball, and a worthwhile read for baseball fans looking to broaden their knowledge of this great game that has spread around the globe.

Pat Lagreid, Baseballbookreview.com

For over fifty years, Wally Yonamine has been an important bridge between Japanese and American baseball. He brought a new, exciting style of play to Japan and taught us the finer points of the game. I am glad that Americans can finally learn about Wallys contributions through this outstanding biography.

Hideki Matsui, NY Yankees outfielder

A great read about a Japanese baseball player who has been too long overlooked.

L. A. Heapy, choice

Wally Yonamine is one of the most important figures in the long, rich history of baseball in Japan. His life story, from the rustic schoolyards of prewar Maui to modern-day stateof-the-art Tokyo stadiums, is filled with drama and color. Author Rob Fitts has done us all this favor with his richly detailed, thoroughly researched, and heartfelt work.

Robert Whiting, author of The Samurai Way of Baseball

This book is much more than a smart biography of Wally Yonamine, the first American to play professional baseball in Japan; it is also a fascinating account of the game and culture of the Japanese national pastime.

George Gmelch, author of Baseball without Borders: The International Pastime

I got to know Wally in 1977 while he was still managing the Dragons, but wish I had seen him play twenty-five years earlier. Reading this biography is the next best thing. [Robert] Fitts leaves no stories untold about Yonamines life in this excellent book.

Wayne Graczyk, Japan Times

Praise for Robert Fittss Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan , winner of the 2013 Seymour Medal

In this book, Fitts strikes a perfect balance, weaving baseball history with American diplomatic efforts and Japanese cultural and political development into a striking tapestry.

Kenneth R. Fenster, nine

Deserves a spot in any baseball (or Japan) lovers library.

Robert Whiting, Wall Street Journal

How did two nations that shared the values of the same national pastime go from baseballs to bullets? Historian Rob Fitts tells a dark tale of baseball caught between democracy and fascism in prewar Japan. Banzai Babe Ruth is a sayonara home run!

John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball

Fitts, a master at depicting all of the key elements in prewar Japanese social and political life, gives the reader valuable insights into the influential moderates trying to hold the line against the army, as well as the American ballplayers taking a victory lap in front of adoring foreign fans. This book is a powerful snapshot of men from two contrasting cultures attempting to stop a slide into aggression.

Publishers Weekly

This dramatic story, equal parts baseball and history, should appeal to anyone interested in Japanese cultural and political history and the sports-politics nexus.

Library Journal

The history lessons in Banzai Babe Ruth go well beyond merely chronicling the games and the players. This is a well-researched, fascinatingly told tale of two super powers whose shared passion for baseball wasnt enough to maintain the peace, though it did help to restore it in the years following World War II.

James Bailey, Baseball America

Banzai Babe Ruth reads like a multi-stranded mystery novel. Fitts has an eye for the quirky details that make historical writing vivid.

Michael R. Stevens, Books & Culture

Far more than just a sports story. No one could have told this incredible story better than Robert K. Fitts.

ForeWord Reviews

Fitts is excellent at capturing occasional bouts of dissension among the American players, describing the respectable quality of play by their Japanese opponents, and especially at capturing the ominous atmosphere that surrounded the tour. Fans will love the stats and player photos, too!

Tom Lavoie, Shelf Awareness

Rob Fitts masterfully incorporates the forty-plus Japanese actors and American counterparts, detailing their various baseball, business, political, and military concerns and motives.

Southern New England Chapter Society for American Baseball Research

2014 by Robert K. Fitts

Sukiyaki, written by Hachidai Nakamura and
Rokusuke Ei 1962 EMI Music Publishing Japan
LTD . All rights administered by Sony/ ATV Music
Publishing LLC ., 8 Music Square West, Nashville
TN 37203. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fitts, Robert K., 1965
Mashi: the unfulfilled baseball dreams of