As I’ve done in years past, it is time for me to get more baseball literate. Recently I have told myself that I am not allowed to buy any more new (or used) baseball books until I read the ones I have. Here are some that I will maybe never get completely through, but will provide invaluable reference as I research the team for a book that I dream of writing one day.
This includes the team’s special 80th-anniversary book that contains replicas of all sorts of relics from the team’s past. I have perused it before, but one day must read it cover to cover. Next to it is a set of magazines that cover different eras in team history. They were also put out in 2015 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the team’s founding. On the right, there is also the club encyclopedia (3 volumes) that covers the entirety of the Showa Era (1925-88). If I ever need details on any games or players, this tome should have me covered.
In the black plastic bag on the far right (hard to even notice there) are several newspaper clippings from the team’s two most recent pennant wins. If all of these are not enough to keep me busy…
This shelf has a combination of English and Japanese, baseball and spiritual. It covers a lot of topics that I am interested in, and I do want to become a bit more well-rounded than the baseball nutcase that I have become. Anyhow, here’s a rundown of some of the titles you can see on there…
Do You Want to Work in Baseball? by Bill Geivett: I am actually reading this one now, and it is rather interesting. It takes you through the back door and into the kitchen so you can see some of the inner workings of baseball clubs. What kind of traits do they look for in new employees? What kinds of jobs are available, and what kind of training needs to be done ahead of time? And more. While I will probably never work in MLB, I am interested in it and its Japanese counterpart, and so this is a real eye-opener of a book.
二軍史 (Nigunshi = History of Farm Teams) by Tadashi Matsui: I guess I am a bit of a nerd in this respect, but I wonder how the lower runk of pro Japanese baseball all began! I have done no prior reading in this area, so whatever is in here will add directly to my knowledge bank! This one had been on my “to buy” list on Amazon for a couple of years, and I finally picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Can’t wait to dig in!
新本格猛虎会の冒険 (Shin Honkaku Mo-kokai no Bo-ken = The Adventures of the New Hardcore Fierce Tiger Club) by a bunch of authors: I am honestly not 100% sure what this one is about, but if I understand correctly, it is a series of short stories written by famous authors who also happen to be Hanshin Tigers fans. How much of this is connected to the Tigers of yesteryear (the book was written in the spring of 2003), I have no idea… but this book will probably bridge the gap between my interest in all things Tigers and Japanese literature.
プロ野球１２球団ファンクラブ全部１０年間入会してみた (Puro Yakyu Juni Kyudan Fan Kurabu Zenbu Ju Nenkan Nyukai Shite Mita = I Joined All 12 Pro Baseball Teams’ Fan Clubs for 10 Years) by Shoichi Hasegawa: This was a present from my boy Zorny, along with the barely visible Chipper Jones book on the far right. I am not sure when I will find time to read this, but it really is intriguing. I will be entering my 7th year in the Hanshin Tigers fan club next year, so I cannot fathom the amount of swag this guy got from his 120 subscriptions! It will definitely be interesting to see how the clubs compare in what they offer.
素晴らしき！メジャーリーガー人生 (Subarashiki! Meja- Ri-ga- Jinsei = What a Wonderful Life as a Major Leaguer!) by Shigetoshi Hasegawa: I got this one for free somewhere, and I cannot for the life of me remember where. I suppose it is of interest to me because I have yet to ever read the memoirs of a Japanese player who went to the majors, had a decent amount of success and then came back to Japan (though he actually lives in America now). Interestingly, I never really followed his career anywhere, and until recently had no reason to be interested in him as an individual. However, I have learned a few things in recent months… (1) He is an alumni of the university where I currently work; (2) He went to the majors out of a motivation to live in America, not to play baseball; (3) He put on a seminar last week to help Japanese people enjoy learning English (which is also related to my profession). I attended and it was fun to hear his thoughts. Now I can’t wait to read this one, though until recently, it was just another book sitting on my shelf collecting dust.
ガッツタイガース！(Gattsu Taiga-su! = Guts Tigers???) by Norimoto Fujiwara. This was written sometime during the 1981 season, which was a year with no real significance in team history, which is part of what intrigues me. What were journalists and authors saying at the time about a team that hadn’t won a pennant in 16 years? (Ironically, our current team is entering its 16th season since the last pennant win, too.) Actually, this one was cited in a bunch of other history books I have read about the Tigers, which is where I got the idea to pick it up. I hope it is insightful in some form.
The rest of the books are probably of less interest to those of you who follow me for baseball-only purposes. And since this post has kind of gone on long enough (and taken time away from my desire to read), I shall end here. If you want my thoughts on any of the other books, you can either ask me in one of the old fashioned ways (email, comments on social media) or follow me on Goodreads.
I should also mention that I have a few books sitting in my Kindle archives, so yeah, even if somehow I get through all of this literature, there’s more to be digested before I can say that I have run out of new books in the house. Time for hibernation, folks! I will be around to update this site from time to time, but if you don’t hear anything for weeks at a time, it’s probably because a book has engrossed me. Happy offseason, everyone!