Category: The Chrysanthemum and the Bat
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The Chrysanthemum and the Bat review
by Library Journal (Aug 15, 1977) Japanese baseball, even more than its American counterpart, is a game of custom and tradition, a sport which has acquired staggering appeal. Children play baseball 12 months a year; major league players are treated with deference reserved for royalty and clergymen. Whiting touches upon these topics in this definitive…
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Review: The Chrysanthemum and the Bat
by L. Vington, Fort Worth Star Telegram (Jul 17, 1977) Although baseball is a business affair in America, in Japan, despite its vast popularity, a ball club is often merely a tax write off for its sponsoring firm. Which is but one of the numerous differences in the game that seem to be the same…
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In Japan, umpires even get hits – in the head
by Abe C. Ravitz, The Plain Dealer (Jul 14, 1977) An easy ground ball is booted by the shortstop as the winning run scores. The offending player looks at the crowd and smiles. An error doesn’t bother him, it’s perfectly human. That’s baseball Samurai style. A popular .350 hitter speaks disrespectfully to his manager and…
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Sideline Slants: Eureka-reared writer scores with new book
by Don Terbush (Jul 10, 1977), Eureka Times Robert Whiting, Eureka High School class of ’61, has written an interesting and widely acclaimed book “Chrysanthemum and the Bat.” In it he describes the Japanese character through the common game of baseball. “The very different way the Japanese approach the game mirrors their fundamentally different approach…
Tokyo Junkie 