You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond

Whiting, Robert

ISBN 10: 0026276615 / ISBN 13: 9780026276610

Published by Macmillan, 1989

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 1.8M_MV_H0006BU3

Bibliographic Details

• Title: You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond
• Publisher: Macmillan
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0026276615
• ISBN 13: 9780026276610
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Offers an intriguing and often humorous look at the differences and similarities between the national obsession over baseball in Japan and in the United States and a detailed account of the game of "besoboru."

Reviews

The "wa" one must have is the group harmony that is the essence of Japanese "besoboru," or baseball. (Japanese baseball fans view individualism as the fatal flaw in the American game.) This interesting comparative study of the sport as it is played on both sides of the Pacific concentrates on the American stars who have gone to play in Japan. Whiting ( The Chrysanthemum and the Bat ) shows how Americans abroad have adapted to punishing spring training and pre-game practices throughout the season in Japan, and their adjustment to such aspects of the sport as the sacrifice bunt, the hit-and-run and the squeeze. He also chronicles American athletes' problems with tyrannical managers and coaches and umpires bent on saving face. The conclusion: American and Japanese baseball are vastly different games. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Wa," Japanese for "team spirit," is the creed of Japanese baseball, played since the 1850s and professionally since 1935. Whiting, a long-time Japan resident, concentrates on the two pro leagues. The Japanese leagues, he reports, believe their severely coached game to be superior to the U.S. game. They discourage Japanese from entering U.S. leagues. A few Americans, usually older ones, have been accepted on Japanese teams, but they meet with resentment, criticism, and discrimination. The book updates Whiting's earlier The Chrysanthemum and the Bat (LJ 10/1/76) and contrasts with Sadaharu Oh and David Falkner's Sadaharu Oh (LJ 6/1/84; o.p.). A revealing and disturbing account that is heartily recommended for adult and YA collections.
- Morey Berger, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.