Asian Baseball History and Culture is Our Passion
Posts
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Let’s Talk Korean Baseball with Jee-ho Yoo. Zoom Event Monday June 22, at 8pm EST
SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee will host a virtual Zoom meeting at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 22, 2026. Our special guest will be Jee-ho Yoo. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.
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How to Follow Asian Professional Baseball
So how can English speakers follow Asian baseball? There are now numerous ways to track professional baseball in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan even if you don’t read the native languages. Let’s look at each country in turn.
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The Uniform of Youth: The Baseball Jacket
by Taein Chun It’s been over 40 years since professional baseball took root in Korea. It’s now gone beyond being just a sport and has deeply permeated Korean daily life and culture. Traces of baseball can be found not only in the cheers and songs at the stadium but also in everyday scenes outside the…
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1921 Vancouver Asahi’s Tour to Japan
by Satoshi Matsumiya and Yobun Shima Every Tuesday morning we will post an article from SABR’s award-winning books Nichibei Yakyu: Volumes I and II. Each will present a different chapter in the long history of US-Japan baseball relations. This week Satoshi Matsumiya and Yobun Shima focus on the 1921 tour of Japan by the Vancouver Asahi.
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Baseball returns to a Japanese American detention camp after a historic ball field was restored.
A good article on baseball at Manzanar from The Conversation
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New film explores how Japan and the U.S. found common ground through baseball
Congratulation to Yuriko Romer for this great review of her film Diamond Diplomacy in the Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/10/16/baseball/baseball-film-yuriko-gamo-romer-japan-usa/
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Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Hiroshima Carp’s First Pennant: Gail Hopkins Remembers the Clincher
On October 15, 1975, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp arrived in Tokyo to play the Yomiuri Giants needing a win to clinch the Central League pennant. In the Carp’s 25-year history, they had never finished above third place. Carp first baseman Gail Hopkins remembers:
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The 1921 Native American Tours of Japan
by Yoichi Nagata, Mark Brunke and Rob Fitts Every Tuesday morning we will post an article from SABR’s award-winning books Nichibei Yakyu: Volumes I and II. Each will present a different chapter in the long history of US-Japan baseball relations. Today Yoichi Nagata, Mark Brunke and Rob Fitts focus on the two Native American baseball tours…
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“‘No Fear’ — The Legacy Royster Left in the KBO League”
by Taein Chun The First Foreign Manager in the KBO At the end of 2007, the Lotte Giants needed a breakthrough to end their long slump. The team’s performance was declining, and fans’ frustration was mounting. At that time, Bobby Valentine, who was managing the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, was asked by Lotte’s ownership to…
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All-Stars, Amateurs and Acrimony: Gene Doyle’s 1920 Tour of Japan
by John Harney Every Tuesday morning we will post an article from SABR’s award-winning books Nichibei Yakyu: Volumes I and II. Each will present a different chapter in the long history of US-Japan baseball relations. Today John Harney focuses on the 1920 major league tour of Japan.. It began with big dreams and ended in chaos…
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Korean Players Who Experienced the “Third Baseball League”
by Jongho Kim Many Korean baseball players have challenged overseas leagues from the past to the present. Public attention has mostly focused on those who entered American or Japanese baseball. However, some players have taken on challenges in lesser-known leagues. The topic of this article is the “third baseball leagues” outside the U.S. and Japan,…
SABR Asian Baseball Research Committee Blog 