Japanese Baseball has existed in Japan since 1873. It first appeared amid the social, cultural and technological spasms Japan endured on the heels of the Meiji restoration. (Pacific U.) In Japan baseball is known as Yakyu. (Baywell) The game of baseball was introduced from the United States during the early Meiji period. Horace Wilson is the man who receives credit for starting baseball in Japan. (Allen) Wilson was an American professor of English at a Tokyo university. Through the early 1920’s the only baseball the Japanese saw was high school baseball. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that baseball really caught on in Japan as a professional sport. (Embassy of Japan)

In the 1930’s American all-star teams would come over to Japan to play a host of good will games. These games started in October of 1931. The U.S. all-star team

In the U.S. we have our own national heroes their names are ones like Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and White Ford. In Japan they have players like Oh Sadaharu, who played as an infielder for the Yomiuri Giants. During his 22-year career, Oh Sadaharu hit a total of 868 home runs, surpassing Babe Ruth's 714 and the 755 held by U.S. Major League record holder, Hank Aaron. (Brown) There was Kaneda Masaichi, a left-hander who won over 400 games. (Brown) There is the Japanese “Iron Man” Kinugasa Sachio of the Hiroshima Carp; he played in 2,215 consecutive games. (Brown) The most popular player in all of Japan is Nagashima Shigeo, he was an infielder with the Yomiuri Giants. Known as baseball's, "Mr. Giants," Nagashima led his team to 9 consecutive national championships between 1965 and 1973. (Brown)

When an America player starts to play in Japan he has to learn some new words and ways for handling themselves. (McGinnis) First of all there is no charging the mound or fighting in baseball. This is seen as very disrespectful. Second, there is no arguing with the umpire for any reason. This is also seen as being very disrespectful to the team and the game. The obvious thing to learn is the “baseball language.” In Japan when the umpire says one and two he means one strike and two balls, not two balls and one strike like it is in American baseball. There are also several phrases a player should know such as the following: “Getto-tsuu,” means double play, “Goro,” means ground ball, “Droppu,” is a sinker, “Rainaa,” is a line drive, “Sanshin,” is a strikeout, “Shinjin,” is a rookie, “Taimuri hitto,” is a clutch hit, and “Kohkyuu,” is a good pitch. (McGinnis)

Most Japanese teams have a relationship with at least one major league franchise. The Orix Blue Wave, have a working agreement with the Seattle Marines while the Chiba Lotte Marines often do business with the San Diego Padres. The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and Yokohama BayStars get most of their foreign players from the Boston Red Sox organization. The Yakult Swallows sign many players from the Cleveland Indians\' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, New York. (Baywell)

Japanese baseball differs from the version that we know in many ways. Their rules are generally the same, but the way the game is played is different. In Japan if a player is traded it is considered a disgrace and he should be ashamed. (Drenched) The baseball its self is different. First of all it’s smaller than the U.S.’s and there is no single, official ball sanctioned by either league or by the Commissioners office. (Hung) Instead, the commissioners’ office certifies that the balls of different sporting goods manufacturers are eligible to be used in official games, provided they meet the commissioner's specifications. Each team is allowed to use balls, from up to three different makers, during ea

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