When this book popped up on my radar, I knew I would be among the first to read it and review it, at least among the ex-pat population. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get some insight into the mind of one of Randy Messenger, Hanshin’s most beloved import players ever? My one hesitation was that he’s still mid-career, and the timing of this book’s release was kind of strange: the team was in the middle of a real rough patch, which was coming in the middle of a pretty rough season. The words “I want to win with Hanshin” don’t exactly heighten any expectations that it’s going to happen anytime soon!
However, when he started writing the book I bet the season was either not yet under way, or just beginning, so we move past that point and into the book’s content. Let me just say as a quick summary that this was clearly written to be tailored to a Japanese baseball fan audience. That should be obvious, since it was translated into Japanese, but we’ll just say the editors (or translator) took the liberty of making it a little more kitch than it should have been. Examples will follow in the review. So here we go…
Chapter 1 – Differences Between Japanese & American Baseball
No real surprises here. As someone who grew up watching MLB and still follows it to an extent, I already knew most of what he wrote here. (Number of games between starts, practice schedules, and so on.) Anyhow, I wish he had talked a little more about what his between-starts routine involved. What does he do the day after starts? How much running/stretching/throwing does he do on a daily basis? How does he mentally prepare for his next opponent? Very little talk of that, unfortunately. Also, I am somewhat surprised he did not mention (or wasn’t asked to mention by the editors) about the difference in the cleanliness of dugouts and bullpens? I can guarantee he would not spit his tobacco into an empty drink bottle in America, as he has been seen doing here in Japan.
Chapter 2 – Great Tigers Teammates
This chapter was fun, in that he talked about some of his mates like Hiroki Uemoto (Uepon), whose power impressed both him and Matt Murton. He talks about how he and Yamato always greeted each other by full name (probably because Mr. Maeda doesn’t use his family name in baseball). On the whole, though, I didn’t really care for the translator’s (or editor’s) use of excessive katakana (English words in Japanese phonemes) in the writing, particularly in this chapter. It definitely didn’t sound like proper Japanese, but then, I understand that Japanese readers could more easily imagine them as Randy’s words because of it.
Chapter 3 – The Messenger Way of Doing Things
This was a great chapter that gave us a look into what it took for Randy to come back from the broken bone he suffered in August 2017. It just shows what a tough and dedicated player he is. But the chapter continues even more to talk about his opinion on how much running pitchers need to do, how important playing catch (during warmups) is, and what new import players need to learn to do (and not do) in order to survive in NPB. Randy’s seen his share of guys come and go, after all!
Chapter 4 – The Day a Shy Kid Made the Majors
Probably my favorite chapter in the book, because it talks about his family back home and how he grew up. We really get to see how dedicated his father was to practicing baseball with him, how much he moved around, and how much he played other sports, too. He got cut from his basketball team twice so he practiced hard on his own and eventually became a very good baller. He even got offered scholarships to play basketball in university! He also had to choose between baseball and football during high school because football training camp was scheduled to start before the baseball season ended. You can guess which sport won out. His dream was to be a slugger like Jose Canseco, he says.
Ultimately, his career in North America didn’t work out the way he’d hoped, and coming to Japan gave him his best shot at regular playing time. Through talking with then-Mariners teammate Kenji Johjima, he was convinced that this was the way to go. The chapter ends with him reflecting on his first year in Japan: the initial superstar treatment, his time on the farm (where he reintroduced his curveball into the mix — Japanese media say that Coach Kubo taught it to him), and his transformation from reliever to starter.
Chapter 5 – The Incredible Depths of the World of Ramen
Probably my least favorite chapter of the book, but one that the publishers likely insisted on. (This is unverified, but I can imagine the Japanese really want to know more about this part of Randy.) It starts with the story of his first spring training that saw him flabbergasted at the food – he thought bacon and eggs was bacon and eggs, but when in Japan, they’re not. (No spoiler alert beyond that.) That was interesting, but then it starts to feel a little like a Japanese TV show about food. When does he eat it, where, how does he like it, and so on. He does include some personal stuff, like going out for ramen with his family. But the book also ends with him talking about how he loves different other aspects of Japan: certain phrases, certain cultural practices, and a short description of the home he was able to purchase stateside.
The book ends with two “testimonials” from people who have had a huge impact on Randy’s success in Japan: ex-farm pitching coach Kubo (now with the SoftBank Hawks organization), and former favorite catcher Akihito Fujii (now Tigers farm development coach).
On the whole, I enjoyed reading this one. It gave just enough new nuggets of information and anecdotes about Messenger the pitcher and Messenger the man to satisfy me. However, I am also currently reading Yutaka Enatsu‘s autobiography, and that one is (in my opinion) more interesting… more specific talk about specific games, matchups, and the thoughts that went through his head during those games and throughout his playing career. Perhaps when Randy’s career comes to a close, he will write another one, and we can hear a little more depth about Randy on the mound in Japan, something I felt was missing from this one.