Japanese and American Baseball: Part 4

The conclusion of my essay on how Japanese and American culture plays itself out through the sport of baseball.
It was during this time that Japan as an individual nation was looking for a place among the countries of the growing market. In an age of perceived Social Darwinism, Roden writes that “many assumed that only [...]

Japanese and American Baseball: Part 3

The continuance of my essay on how Japanese and American culture plays itself out through the sport of baseball.
By the 1890s baseball had become one of the most popular collegiate sports in Japan despite the constant exclusion from the game the Japanese often faced by Americans. Through the victories of Ichikō in Tokyo, the dominant [...]

Japanese and American Baseball: Part 1

And then there were 3. Last night, the Korean National Team was able to soundly eliminate Venezuela 10-2, clinching a spot in the WBC final. They await the winner of USA vs. Japan, who play today.
The US-Japan match up is intriguing from a historical perspective. Baseball is often considered the quintessential American game, the national [...]

Underdogs…

I think I’ve just witnessed some EPIC upsets in sports history… at least in international baseball history. The Netherlands baseball team, yes, baseball, defeated the heavily favored Dominican Republic in the pool’s second elimination game. The DR’s two losses? Both against Holland. It had been pointed out that the MLB players on the DR make [...]