Tokyo Junkie

Home of Robert Whiting, best-selling author and journalist

Tag: baseball

  • Upside Down – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2009) It used to be, many, many years ago, that aging MLB stars would come to Japan for one last big, fat paycheck. Those of you older readers might recall the days of Gary Thomasson, the multi-million dollar “Giants Human Fan,” who signed a big money deal for Kyojin and delivered mediocre…

  • Super Rookie Yusei Kikuchi – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2009) One of the big differences between baseball in Japan and baseball in the U.S. is that in the former, 19-year-old high school pitching stars are the subject of intense, nationwide scrutiny, while in the US, they are virtually ignored. The only amateur baseball star to get mass media scrutiny that remotely…

  • Strike Three – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2009) As many of you vividly recall, Ichiro Suzuki was thrown out of a game late in the season for arguing a called third strike, the first ejection in his entire baseball playing career. According to present MLB custom, it is absolutely forbidden to argue judgement calls—which include called balls and strikes—so…

  • Hard Luck Ichiro – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2009) Ichiro just can’t win. On September 13, Ichiro broke a record that has stood for over 100 years when he got his 200th hit for the 9th season in a row. It was a remarkable achievement combining batting artistry, durability and dedication. One has to play a lot of games every…

  • Divorce, MLB Style – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2009) What does divorce law have to do with Major League Baseball? Well, a lot if you happen to live in California. The Los Angeles Dodgers—present home of Hiroki Kuroda—have been turned upside down as a result of the impending divorce of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife, Dodgers CEO Jamie…

  • Albatross – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2009) “It has been the best of times and the worst of times.” These days, for Japanese baseball in the United States, Charles Dickens’ opening line in “A Tale of Two Cities”—may be the most fitting. On the one hand, Japanese baseball’s reputation in the USA hit an all-time peak in the…

  • Remembering Hideki Irabu – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2011) Hideki Irabu, once considered to be one of the best pitchers in the world, has died as most of you know by now. He led a troubled life and his time in major league baseball was marked by turmoil. But he also had an historic impact on U.S.-Japan baseball relations and…

  • 2020 MLB season postponed – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2020) PART I The MLB season has been postponed, thanks to the coronavirus,  and may not start until midsummer, if at all. With New Yorkers, among other big city residents,  ordered to stay home for 90 days beginning March 21,  an order which includes the New York Yankees players and those of…

  • Baseball cheaters – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2020) Cheating has a long and dishonorable history in baseball, both in the US MLB and Japan. The title of greatest team cheater in MLB may possibly belong to the New York Giants. It happened on October 3, 1951, when New York Giants hitter Bobby Thomson hit the famous home run against…

  • Oh in Athletic top 100 – Yukan Fuji

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    By Robert Whiting (2020) As discussed in a previous column, the popular digital sports magazine The Athletic  has been running a series of essays by veteran writer Joe Posnanski, on the top 100 MLB players of all time. #100 was Ichiro Suzuki which occupied a previous column. +++ Llisted at #85, in the series so far, is  Sadaharu Oh,…