Mashi

by Robert K. Fitts     (Get the Book)
Baseball has been and always will be a game of firsts—the first no-hitter, the first night game, the first African American to play in the major leagues. Hidden among those firsts is Masanori Murakami—Mashi—the first native of Japan to play in the major leagues. Called up from the minors in 1964, Mashi pitched only two years for the San Francisco Giants. In 1964 and 1965, he pitched in 54 big league games, all but one in relief, winning five and losing one with nine saves—far from Hall of Fame statistics. But Mashi's rise is a fascinating story, as much off the field as on. Baseball historian Fitts (Banzai Babe Ruth; Wally Yonamine) traces the evolution of baseball in Japan as well as the player's development. Mashi's two seasons with the Giants were closely followed with great pride in Japan, which Fitts so aptly details, meshing baseball with the social impact in America and Japan. He returned to Japan in 1966 and pitched in more than 550 games in a solid career. VERDICT A thoughtful baseball biography of interest to fans of the game, especially considering the increasing number of Japanese players at all levels. --Library Journal