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You Gotta Have 'Wa'

Robert Whiting's Homepage at JapaneseBaseball.com

You Gotta Have 'Wa'

by Morey Berger (May 1, 1989)

Digitized by Jessica Suchman and Catherine Nissley

Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa.
Macmillan. Jun. 1989. c.341p. photogs.
Bibliog. ISBN 0-002-627661-5. $17.95

Sports

"Wa," Japanese for "team spirit," is the creed of Japanese baseball, played since the 1850s and professionally since 1935. Whiting, a long-time Japan resident, concentrates on the two pro leagues. The Japanese leagues, he reports, believe their severely coached game to be superior to the U.S. game. They discourage Japanese from entering U.S. leagues. A few Americans, usually older ones, have been accepted on Japanese teams, but they meet with resentment, criticism, and discrimination. The book updates Whiting's earlier The Chrysanthemum and the Bat (LJ 10/1/76) and contrasts with Sadaharu Oh and David Falkner's Sadaharu Oh (LJ 6/1/84; o.p.). A revealing and disturbing account that is heartily recommended for adult and YA collections. – Morey Berger, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.

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