Japanese Baseball Memories
One thing that I need to know is, how did Tony Solaita, Mike Reinbach, and Bobby Marcano die? They all died at such a young age, but I never read anything about their deaths in the Japanese press.
As for the deaths of the former greats, the only one I was able to find (thanks to Garland-san's site) was The Tony Solaita Story. It's a very good read about his life before, during, and after Japan, up to his tragic death.
The above biography also mention that Solaita was the 2nd player to hit four home runs in a single game. Actually, looking at my Record Book (by Baseball Magazine Sha), I see that he was actually the third, behind Iwamoto in 1951 and Oh in 1964. Perhaps he was the one you saw hit the four homers at Seibu Stadium, as the only other person to have hit four in a single game was Nippon Ham's Nigel Wilson in 1997. Sorry I can't confirm that memory.
Also, can't forget Tatsunori Hara. He was a skilled player and one of my idols. He was still in his first few years when I followed him, and he went on to have a good, solid career.
I also recall Enatsu, he was a solid pitcher. I think he won the MVP the year before I moved to Japan, and might have been dealt to the Fighters soon after...?
My favorite pitchers were Egawa (Giants) and O. Higashio (Lions). I think the Carp were led by Kinogusa and Yamamoto, both good players as I recall.
The Giants won the championship 2 of the years I lived there, with Seibu losing twice in the series (once to Chunichi).
When I moved to Japan as a 10 year old, I had never seen a Major League Baseball game. Japanese baseball was my first exposure, and I immediately fell in love with the game over there. I studied the rosters and the players, watched many games on television and in person, and spent many hours emulating the batting stances and pitching windups of the players.
Since I returned to the states in 1984, I have been to 6 Major League Baseball stadiums, and over 50 games, even though I live far away from any teams. And while my focus changed over to the American game, I never forgot the fond memories of Japanese baseball.
Seibu Stadium was an outdoor showplace with a really bad team. Same with Yokohama Stadium. Kawasaki was an old place with a bad team. The Swallows won a championship around this same time. My friends and I used to break into Jingu and run the bases at night. Never saw security. Once we were fooling around pretending to jump for HR balls off the fence and left a nasty mud smudge on one of the adds in left center. You could see it on TV for a week after!
Bobby Marcano, Pete LaCock, Felix Millan, Dave Hilton, Charlie Manuel, the Lee Brothers, Roy White, Reggie Smith, Julio Cruz, Randy Bass, Maury Wills, Jim Lytle, the Lions wearing pink, and the Whales in Green and orange. I also remember an exhibition preseason game on TV where the Lions played back in Kyushu with an active volcano off in the distance!
Baseball was not the only sport I saw live. I saw Pele with the Cosmos in '77 with Beckenbauer, Chinaglia (sp?) and Messing pre J-league. The original Mirage Bowl games... Boston College (0-11 with several future all pros) vs Temple, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and the Grambling Marching Band at Korakuen, UCLA-Oregon and several Japan Bowls.
But baseball was where it was at! I did see two MLB all star tours and watched the game in Japan live while Americans did not in the summer of '81. I even remember watching Mel Allen calling a Giants' game from the stands that summer... "How About That!"
Sorry for the inconvience.
This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
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(aka westbaystars)
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What do I remember...?
Seibu Stadium and attending many games there. I remember many long blasts off the bat of Tabuchi, and thought the Lions had the best merchandise, logo, colors, etc. Terry Whitfield was one of their foreigners for a couple of years.
I went to a Lotte Orions game, and recall Leron and Leon Lee throwing out candy to the fans. I also remember leaving there with a big bag of Lotte candy.
I saw the Yomurii Giants play on many occasions, including Oh's last season. The games were always packed and they didn't lack fan support. Roy White and Gary Tomasson were two foreigners that played for the Giants back then.
I remember buying bags and bags of potatoe chips from the Yen store near our house, just to get the baseball cards. After many months and a cupboard full of chips, the owner started selling me just the cards, and most of the time gave me great deals.
I went to see the Kansas City Royals play the Giants in 1981, getting close to Brett, Quisenberry, etc. This was a big deal for us then, to be able to see a MLB team, and a good one at that. The Japanese loved George Brett, and for a brief moment I thought they were going to tear the side of the Royals team bus off to get at him. I still have my program from that game.
Tony Soliata was a masher back then for Nippon Ham, and sadly I read about his life ending some years back.
Most of all I remember the festive atmosphere that Japanese baseball brought to the game. It was almost like a festival, where there happened to be a baseball game being played. The action in the stands only added to the overall experience. Loud chants, people yelling, flag waving, music and bands playing, food cooking, mascots dancing, it was something else. I still have my flags from 5 or 6 of the teams.
Back then (and excuse me if my memory is off a little), the teams were Nankai Hawks, Yokohama Taiyo Whales, Lotte Orions, Tokyo Yomuri Giants, Seibu Lions, Hankyu Braves, Kintetsu Buffaloes, Nippon Ham Fighters, Yakult Swallows, and Hiroshima Carp. I'm not sure if I am missing a couple, but those are the teams I recall.
I remember attending an afternoon game at Seibu Stadium one hot summer day, and watching Kinogusa hit 4 home runs in one game...? Can anyone verify this, I don't recall if that was his name. He played first base for the Fighters, it might have been Kashiwabara? Can anyone verify a 4 homerun game from one of these players between 1980 and 1983?
So, memories from the 80's or earlier...? Would love to read about some of the things that other people can recall about their Japanese baseball experience.