Baseball memorabilia is shown off by, from left, San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami; National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum president Josh Rawitch; former Yomiuri Giants slugger Warren Cromartie; and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel at the ambassador's residence in Tokyo, April 18, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — American and Japanese baseball players gathered in the Japanese capital recently to trumpet an exhibit of historic memorabilia that celebrate the two countries’ shared love of the game.
Thursday’s gathering at the U.S. ambassador’s residence promoted the July opening of an exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
“Yakyu/Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game between Japan and the United States” will showcase the history of players, fans and teams from both countries, Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch said at the event.
Major League Baseball memorabilia, including a jersey Shohei Ohtani wore during his first games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sits on display at the U.S. ambassador's in Tokyo, April 18, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Among the items brought to Tokyo by the Hall of Fame were:
A Los Angeles Dodgers jersey worn by Shohei Ohtani during his first home games with the team this season.
Spikes worn by Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki at Safeco Field on Oct. 1, 2004, when he broke a one-season record with his 258th base hit of the year. He got four more hits that season, setting a record of 262 that still stands.
A baseball thrown by Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo during his no-hitter at Denver’s Coors Field on Sept. 17, 1996.
A Cincinnati Reds cap worn by left fielder George Foster during the team’s 1978 tour of Japan. Foster was part of the “Big Red Machine” that won back-to-back World Series in 1975 and ’76.
The first Japanese player to appear on a Major League team, Masanori Murakami, posed for photos with a glove he wore during his time in America.
He was a relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in 1964 and 1965.
“I’m really grateful that I was able to play in that atmosphere,” he said, adding that many Japanese players followed in his footsteps.
“I’m extremely happy they are doing really well,” he said.
“Japanese players are taking American baseball by storm,” said U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. The former Chicago mayor, who also served as a congressman, said he lived six or seven blocks from the Cubs’ home ground, Wrigley Field.
Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami, left, and former Yomiuri Giants slugger Warren Cromartie show off baseball memorabilia at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Tokyo, April 18, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Outfielder Warren Cromartie, the first major leaguer to play in Japan during his prime, was also on hand for the event. The former Montreal Expo joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1984 and played seven seasons with the team, swatting 171 home runs.
Baseball transcends national boundaries, said Cromartie, whom fans dubbed the “Black Samurai.”
About a dozen Japanese players are with Major League teams in the United States today, he added.
“Since 1871, it has become a passion for the Japanese,” Cromartie said. “In my seven years here in Japan, I played with many great Japanese players who could have played in the majors.”
