The Babe Ruth Baseball Museum hosts this talk with noted author and Japanese baseball expert Rob Fitts. Fitts will speak about the 1934 All-American tour of Japan.

This is a virtual event, free to members of the Babe Ruth Baseball Museum and SABR. To register and to make a suggested donation of $15, please visit the Babe Ruth Baseball Museum’s website.

About Rob Fitts

A former archaeologist with a Ph.D. from Brown University, Robert K. Fitts left academics behind to follow his passion — Japanese baseball. An award-winning author and speaker, his articles have appeared numerous journals, magazines, and websites. He is also the author of ten books on Japanese baseball and Japanese baseball cards. Fitts is the founder of SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee and a recipient of the society’s 2013 Seymour Medal for the Best Baseball Book of 2012 (Banzai Babe Ruth); the 2019 and 2023 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Awards; the 2012 Doug Pappas Award for the best oral research presentation at the annual convention; and the 2006, 2021, 2023 and 2024 SABR Research Awards. He has twice been a finalist for the Casey Award and has received two silver medals at the Independent Publisher Book Awards. While living in Tokyo from 1993 until 1994, Fitts began collecting Japanese baseball cards and now runs Robs Japanese Cards LLC. For more information and to purchase Fitts’s books, please visit his website.

About Banzai Babe Ruth

In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of “Banzai! Banzai Babe Ruth!” The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour—and the two nations’ shared love of the game—could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan’s growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d’état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour’s success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and—of course—baseball, Banzai Babe Ruth is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All-American baseball tour.

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Susan McCormac 9/20/24 Susan McCormac 9/20/24

JAA & JACL-NY TO SCREEN “BASEBALL BEHIND BARBED WIRE”

Baseball Behind Barbed Wire

Sunday, September 22 from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

The Japanese American Association of New York – 49 W. 45th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), 5th Floor

The Japanese American Association of New York (JAA) and the Japanese American Citizens League – New York (JACL-NY) present a screening of Baseball Behind Barbed Wire, a short film by Yuriko Gamo Romer. The documentary tells the story of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans through the uncommon lens of baseball, America’s national pastime. Following the screening, author and historian Robert K. Fitts and yours truly, Susan Miyagi McCormac of JapanCulture•NYC, will lead a discussion about the film and the importance of baseball throughout Japanese American history and within the JA community. There will also be a book signing by Fitts.

Registration is required. To RSVP, please click here and fill out this Google doc.

About Robert K. Fitts

A former archaeologist with a Ph.D. from Brown University, Robert K. Fitts left academics behind to follow his passion — Japanese baseball. An award-winning author and speaker, his articles have appeared numerous journals, magazines, and websites. He is also the author of ten books on Japanese baseball and Japanese baseball cards. Fitts is the founder of SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee and a recipient of the society’s 2013 Seymour Medal for the Best Baseball Book of 2012 (Banzai Babe Ruth); the 2019 and 2023 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Awards; the 2012 Doug Pappas Award for the best oral research presentation at the annual convention; and the 2006, 2021, 2023 and 2024 SABR Research Awards. He has twice been a finalist for the Casey Award and has received two silver medals at the Independent Publisher Book Awards. While living in Tokyo in 1993-94, Fitts began collecting Japanese baseball cards and now runs Robs Japanese Cards LLC. https://www.robfitts.com/

About Susan Miyagi McCormac

Susan Miyagi McCormac is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of JapanCulture•NYC, an English-language website that introduces Japanese culture to New Yorkers and connects members of the Japanese and Japanese American community while promoting Japanese-related events. A 1990 graduate of North Carolina with a degree in communications, she has also had a long career in sports television, which has taken her to Tokyo to work Yankees games as well as the World Baseball Classic. Her career in baseball merged with her community involvement when the Japanese Consulate tapped her to moderate a panel discussion celebrating the 150th anniversary of baseball’s introduction to Japan, which featured Yomiuri Giants and New York Yankees legend Hideki Matsui. Susan is a Vice President of The Japanese American Association of New York, serves on the Board of Directors of the JET Alumni Association of New York, and is the co-chair of the Communications Committee of the U.S.-Japan Council’s New York Region. https://www.japanculture-nyc.com/

About Yuriko Gamo Romer

Yuriko Gamo Romer is an award-winning director based in San Francisco. She holds a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University and is a Student Academy Award winner, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Scholar, and American Association of Japanese University Women Scholar. Her current documentary project, DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, explores the relationship between the United States and Japan through a shared love of baseball.

She directed and produced MRS JUDO: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be BeautifulI, the only biographical documentary about Keiko Fukuda (1913-2013), the first woman to attain the 10th degree black belt in judo. MRS JUDO has traveled to more than 25 film festivals internationally and was awarded the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the 2013 International Festival of Sport Films in Moscow and broadcast on PBS nationally as part of CAAM’s Japanese American Lives in 2014. Additionally, her film Occidental Encounters won numerous awards, among them a Student Academy Award Gold Medal, Heartland FF’s Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award, and National Media Network’s Silver Apple. Romer’s short films include Reflection; Kids will be Kids; Sunnyside of the Slope; Fusion; and Friend Ships, a short historical animation about John Manjiro, the inadvertent Japanese immigrant rescued by an American whaling captain. https://www.flyingcarp.net/

Baseball Behind Barbed Wire is available through GOOD DOCS.

Susan McCormac 8/29/24 Susan McCormac 8/29/24

TOMODACHI NIGHT AT CITI FIELD

Tomodachi Night – Boston Red Sox vs New York Mets

Tuesday, September 3
Pregame Events: 6:40 p.m. — Game: 7:10 p.m.

Citi Field — Flushing, Queens

Admission: $28 to $91.25

Enjoy a special Tomodachi Night as the New York Mets host Masataka Yoshida and the Boston Red Sox in an Interleague matchup. Extend your Labor Day Weekend with baseball!

Special pregame events include

Ceremonial First Pitch by Koji Sato, President of JAANY
Amazin’ Awards to be presented to leaders of Japanese American community organizations
Unforgettable opportunity for 500 members of our community to stand on the warning track at Citi Field to watch the national anthem.* Be sure to wear red and white!

Please purchase tickets through this link: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/tomodachi

A portion of ticket sales will be donated to The Japanese American Association of New York, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Nippon Club, Japan Society, U.S.-Japan Council, and the Japanese American National Museum.

*Please note that you MUST purchase tickets using the special online link that the Mets have created specifically for this game in order to be invited onto the field for the pregame festivities. Approximately one week before the game, you will receive an email with instructions about where and at what time to assemble. This privilege is first come, first served and limited to 500 fans, so please arrive early!

Warning Track Salute Timeline*

Meet up time: 6:00 p.m.
Meet up location: Left Field Ramp (right inside Left Field Gate)
Begin lining up at the ramp: 6:15 p.m.
Line closed: around 6:30 p.m. depending on the size
Arrive at the Warning Track: between approximately 6:45 to 7:00 p.m.
Exit by the staircase to Section 135 after the anthem

*weather permitting

Amazin’ Awards

JAA — Julie Azuma
JCCI — Maasaki Maeda
USJC — Susan McCormac (I’m honored to represent the New York region of the U.S.-Japan Council!)
JANM — Kathryn Bannai

Susan McCormac 8/17/23 Susan McCormac 8/17/23

Japanese Heritage Night at Citi Field

Japanese Heritage Night

Friday, August 25 – Pregame activities at 5:00 p.m. (First pitch at 7:10 p.m.)

Citi Field – 41 Seaver Way, Flushing, Queens

Admission: $35.50 to $127.50

Kodai Senga and the New York Mets host Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels in this celebration of Japanese heritage! The Japanese American Association of New York, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan Society, the U.S.-Japan Council, the Consul-General of Japan in New York, and the Japanese American National Museum are collectively organizing what promises to be an Amazin’ night at Citi Field.

Senga, a five-time Japan Series champion with the SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets last December and has been dazzling fans with his “ghost forkball.” Shohei Ohtani, the über-talented two-way star who won the American League MVP in 2021 and led Samurai Japan to the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship, is having another MVP-caliber season and is currently leading the American League with 43 home runs.

But this will be more than just a game. On August 25, with two Japanese All-Stars opposing each other at Citi Field, the Japanese and Japanese American community in New York will come together to celebrate our rich culture and the important contributions we make in this city each day. Before the game begins, sensational all-female taiko drumming group Cobu will give their trademark energetic performance in the Mets Plaza (between the Mets/Willets Point 7 train station and the Jackie Robinson Rotunda) at 5:30 p.m. Inside the park on Citi Field’s massive centerfield scoreboard, the Mets will show a video about our vibrant community and the MLB team’s connection to Japanese baseball players. Afterward, six community leaders representing each of the Japanese Heritage Night organizations will receive Mets Spirit Awards at a ceremony at home plate, followed by musical theater actress Rina Maejima singing the national anthem. Finally, Ambassador Mikio Mori, Consul General of Japan in New York, will throw the honorary first pitch to JAA President Koji Sato. Disclosure: As a Vice President of JAA and a member of USJC, I am part of the committee that is organizing Japanese Heritage Night.

Pregame Activities

Cobu performs in Mets Plaza
Dedicated Japanese and Japanese American community video played on the big scoreboard
Presentation of the Mets Spirit Awards to six community leaders:
Ambassador Mikio Mori – Consul General of Japan in New York
Koji Sato – President, The Japanese American Association of New York
Tomonori Wada – President, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Terry Suzuki – New York Regional Chair, U.S.-Japan Council
Gary Moriwaki – Member of the Board of Directors, Japan Society
Kathryn Bannai – Member of the Board of Trustees, Japanese American National Museum
The national anthem sung by Rina Maejima
Honorary first pitch thrown by Ambassador Mikio Mori to Koji Sato

Purchase Discounted Tickets

The Mets have designated seating sections throughout Citi Field specifically for the Japanese and Japanese American community at a discounted rate. Purchase through this online offer and receive a Limited Edition 2023 Japanese Night Mets Hat while supplies last! To redeem your hat, go to the Group Sales Redemption Booth behind Section 130 before the end of the fifth inning, and an attendant will scan your digital ticket. Limit one hat per ticket. Please note: You MUST purchase your ticket through this special link to receive your hat!

Let’s show the Mets, Senga, and Ohtani that our New York community loves baseball. Once again, to purchase tickets at the special discounted rate, please click here.

To purchase group tickets of 15 or more, please contact Young Choi at 718-559-3027 or YChoi@nymets.com.

The Mets are also having a special giveaway on August 25. The first 15,000 fans who enter the stadium will receive a Kodai Senga Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost Fork Ball. This giveaway is open to all fans at Citi Field and not exclusive to the Japanese and Japanese American community.

Fitts to Give Virtual Talk about the 1934 Baseball Tour of Japan

Rob Fitts: Banzai Babe Ruth and Baseball in Japan