In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball

Baseball is the national pastime of both the United States and Japan, but the two countries approach and play the game differently both on the field and away from it. To shed light on these differences and help fans gain a greater appreciation for Nippon Professional Baseball, Robert K. Fitts turns to the true experts, the people who play, oversee, promote, and watch the game, to find out what makes Japanese baseball special. In the Japanese Ballpark features engaging interviews with twenty-six baseball personalities to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the game.

Fitts speaks with participants in the games such as players, managers, and an umpire; support staff including an interpreter, trainer, and data analyst; front office personnel such as an owner, general and assistant managers, and marketing directors; ballpark workers including cheerleaders, a mascot, beer vendor, and usher; and professionals who surround the sport, such as baseball writers, a player agent, and a sports card dealer; as well as a league commissioner. Through their personal experiences, these individuals reveal the inner workings of the Japanese game and explain the cultural aspects that make Nippon Professional Baseball different from Major League Baseball.

In the Japanese Ballpark features interviews with Bobby Valentine, Trey Hillman, Matt Murton, Robert Whiting, Marty Kuehnert, Tomoko Namba, Ambassador Ryozo Kato, and many others. Their experiences and insights provide inside knowledge to make the fan experience more enjoyable, for both those watching a Japanese game for the first time and well as for seasoned followers.

Robert K. Fitts is a curatorial consultant for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a baseball historian. He is the author of eleven books of Japanese baseball, including Issei Baseball: The Story of the First Japanese American Ballplayers (Nebraska, 2020), Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan (Nebraska, 2013), and Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer (Nebraska, 2015), and is the coeditor of Nichibei Yakyu: U.S. Tours of Japan, volumes I and II.