Baseball was widely played by Chinese soldiers as a grenade-throwing exercise at the turn of the 19th century, according to Joe Reaves, author of the award winning book, Taking in a
Game: Baseball in Asia.
This fact was one of many discussed by baseball authors, journalists, and scholars, on Friday, May 7, when Professors Ted Gilman and George Gmelch hosted a day-long program on “Baseball in Asia.”
The next day, Union students joined the two Union professors and four lecturers, on a bus trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in nearby Cooperstown, N.Y.
Robert Whiting, author of two books, You've Gotta Have Wa
and the recently released The Meaning of Ichiro, spoke about the
influence that Japanese players, like Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, and Hideo Nomo, have had on the U.S. and Japanese major leagues.
Whiting is working with DreamWorks to create a major motion picture version of one his fictional books, Tokyo Underworld.
Marty Kuehnert, a one-time journalist, broadcaster, and agent in Japan's major league, and author of books on Japanese
baseball, talked about the reasons for baseball's current Japanese decline.
He suggested much of the blame falls on their league's corporate structure, but also cited the recent exodus of Japanese superstars.
Bill Kelly of Yale University, who has written on the
Hanshin Tigers and Japanese fans in general, gave an anthropological
perspective.
In addition to speaking at Union on Friday, the four scholars
were the featured panelists in a roundtable discussion at the Baseball Hall of
Fame the next day, also entitled, “Baseball in Asia.” The special program,
moderated by Prof. George Gmelch, was hosted in the Hall of Fame Library's
Bullpen Theater on Saturday afternoon.
For the students, the trip was a great opportunity to
interact with their professors and the speakers in an informal setting. Not
only did the they get a chance to chat on the bus trip up, but also at the HOF's
Doubleday Field where they had lunch.
Notes
“Baseball in Asia” was the culmination of five weeks of Asian-themed events. Past topics included, “The Current Chinese Olympic Movement,” “The Development of Sport in Japan,” “Sumo,” and “Fitness, Aerobics, and Beauty in Japan.”
Although open to the public, last Friday's program was
especially attended by students taking “Sport, Society & Culture”, taught by Prof. George Gmelch, and “Politics & Sports in Asia”, taught by Prof. Ted Gilman.