{"product_id":"mashi-the-unfulfilled-baseball-dreams-of-masanori-murakami-the-first-japanese-major-leaguer-paperback-softback-9781496219510","title":"Mashi; The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer (Paperback \/ softback) 9781496219510","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eMashi\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRobert K. Fitts (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781496219510\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 April 2020\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e258 pages, 19 photographs, 1 illustration, 1 appendix, index\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.416 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e“Fitts, coupled with Murakami’s 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 \u003ci\u003eMashi\u003c\/i\u003e brings us all a few steps closer to what it was like to be there on this landmark journey.”-\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"This is a an excellent baseball story, a story of cultural adaptation and conflict, and above all the story of one man’s opportunity and the obstacles he overcame to make the most of that opportunity.\"\u003ci\u003e-\u003c\/i\u003eDuncan Jamieson, \u003ci\u003eJournal of Sport Literature\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMashi \u003c\/i\u003eis a nice look at a man and career that deserved to be more than footnotes in baseball history.\"-Bob D'Angelo, \u003ci\u003eTampa Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"Mashi Murakami's impact can still be felt in baseball stadiums on both sides of the Pacific. He is a pioneer in every sense of the word—a true ambassador for the game of baseball.\"—Allan H. \"Bud\" Selig, the ninth commissioner of baseball\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“Rob Fitts has fabulously transported us back to Mashi’s 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 \u003ci\u003eThrough a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“Sometimes historical analysis can’t compete with a good personal story, as Robert K. Fitts-a baseball expert and former archaeologist-proves with his newest book, \u003ci\u003eMashi\u003c\/i\u003e.”-\u003ci\u003eJapan Times\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"Robert Fitts has written a book that needed writing.\"-Joel S. Franks, \u003ci\u003eJournal of Sport History\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“Robert K. Fitts, an award-winning sportswriter with a good grasp of Japan’s baseball culture, clearly explicates the factors at play in this exotic baseball narrative-one that has become increasingly relevant as MLB extends its recruitment strategies internationally.”-Robert Birnbaum, \u003ci\u003eDaily Beast\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMashi\u003c\/i\u003e will take you along on his eventful ride from Yamanashi Prefecture to San Francisco.\"\u003ci\u003e-\u003c\/i\u003eRashaad Jorden, JETwit.com\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"Robert Fitts has undertaken a great task with this book.\"\u003ci\u003e-Gregg's Baseball Bookcase\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the spring of 1964, the Nankai Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League sent nineteen-year-old Masanori Murakami to the Class A Fresno Giants to improve his skills. To nearly everyone’s surprise, Murakami, known as Mashi, dominated the American hitters. With the San Francisco Giants caught in a close pennant race and desperate for a left-handed reliever, Masanori was called up to join the big league club, becoming the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues.\u003cbr\u003e               \u003cbr\u003e Featuring pinpoint control, a devastating curveball, and a friendly smile, Mashi became the Giants’ top lefty reliever and one of the team’s most popular players-as well as a national hero in Japan. Not surprisingly, the Giants offered him a contract for the 1965 season. Murakami signed, announcing that he would be thrilled to stay in San Francisco. There was just one problem: the Nankai Hawks still owned his contract.\u003cbr\u003e               \u003cbr\u003e The dispute over Murakami’s contract would ignite an international incident that ultimately prevented other Japanese players from joining the Majors for thirty years. \u003ci\u003eMashi \u003c\/i\u003eis the story of an unlikely hero caught up in an American and Japanese baseball dispute and forced to choose between his dreams in the United States and his duty in Japan.\u003cbr\u003e               \u003cbr\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 1\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 2\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 3\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 4\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 5\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 6\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 7\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 8\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 9\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 10\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 11\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 12\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 13\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 14\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 15\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 16\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 17\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChapter 18\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAfterword\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAppendix\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eNote on Sources\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52523400593688,"sku":"9781496219510","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/mashi-the-unfulfilled-baseball-dreams-of-masanori-murakami-the-first-japanese-major-leaguer-paperback-softback-9781496219510","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}