Say, just who was that guy?
- The athletes MLB is most interested in are: Matsui Hideki (Giants), Nishi Toshihisa (Giants),
Matsui Kazuo (Lions), Matsuzaka Daisuke (Lions), and Ishii Kazuhisa (Swallows). (Names are
written surname first) - Of these, the athlete the majors are the most interested in is Matsuzaka.
- After Shinjo crossed over, a number of pro yakyu players have told this insider,
"If Shinjo can make it, so can I!" - One of these players plays for the (gasp!) Giants.
Who is this mysterious figure? He's "Tak" Kawamoto, Director of International Operations
for the Anaheim Angels.
Kawamoto-san has worked for a number of Major League teams: first with the Kansas City
Royals, then with the Montreal Expos, and now with the Angels. He has also written four books
comparing MLB with NPB. These are Dai riigu "aku" kanrigaku; Mejaa riigu no inbou;
Tak Kawamoto no dai riigu ryu no "rikaigaku"; and in a blatent rip-off, Koko ga hen
da yo, nippon no puro yakyuu.
You'll notice something about the teams he's worked for. They all have at least one
Japanese player, two in the case of the Expos. The odd thing is, Kawamoto-san doesn't seem
to have a thing to do with any of those players. Mac Suzuki was traded to Kansas City from
Seattle in 1999, after Kawamoto-san had already moved to the Expos. Hideki Irabu was traded
to Montreal before the 2000 season began, and when I checked the Expos webpage that year,
Kawamoto-san's name was not listed among the front office staff. And of course, Shigetoshi
Hasegawa went to Anaheim while Kawamoto-san was (ostensibly) working for the Expos.
About Kawamoto-san's books. The first was written in 1998-99, after McGwire's home run chase.
I can't seem to come up with a translation for the title that I'm satisfied with, but it's a
play on the title of one of Ochiai's books. It basically compares and contrasts the
organizational styles of MLB and NPB. It's actually quite interesting, and I'd recommend it
for any Japanese fan of MLB. However, Kawamoto-san waxes a bit hyperbolic, and predicts that MLB will start a minor league team in Japan and eventually take over the
Japanese pro leagues.
The second book rehashes a lot of the same anecdotal material but takes a much more
urgent tone. The title translates as "The Plot of the Major Leagues". The MLB-takes-over-NPB
angle is played up much more strongly. At the same time, however, he predicts that neither
Ichiro nor Matsui Hideki would make it in the Majors.
The third book is by far his weakest. It has little to do with baseball per se, and is more
in the vein of a self-help book, using the Majors as an example. Kawamoto-san reaches new
levels of hyperbole, and while I'm a fan of Major League Baseball, I hardly think the way it's
run is a model of success. Kawamoto-san praises the Darwinian competitiveness of the U.S.
minor leagues, but anyone who is involved with the minors will tell you they are not the most
effective method of player development.
Here's another example. Kawamoto-san relates a story where John Nunnally (then playing for the
Mets, later he played for Orix) nailed a catcher for the Expos with the follow through of his
swing. The catcher was apparently knocked unconscious. Kawamoto-san focuses on how Nunnally
made no move to apologize, or show any concern for the catcher, simply standing off to the
side and practicing his swing. Kawamoto-san says this is the way players should be.
"In America, this is normal and expected. There is no need to apologize for an accident
that can't be avoided."
Excuse me? I feel that if you ask any American, they'd say that Nunnally would be a
complete jerk for not apologizing. I feel the majority of players in the US would consider
it only right to apologize, and show some concern in such a situation.
The last book is not much better. While the title might be translated as "Strange Habits of
Japanese Baseball", and although it has all 12 team names written on the cover, he writes
very little specifically about Japanese ball. He rehashes a lot from his previous books (such
as the Nunnally story), and basically says that in every respect the Majors are better than
Japanese baseball. The worst thing about this book, I think, is that while he puts down the
bad aspects of Japanese ball, he also puts down the parts that are simply different, and not
necessarily bad. For example, in one chapter he writes,
"In Japan, there are a lot of Japanized English baseball terms used that would not be understood
at all in America, the home of baseball. With the increase in opportunities to see satellite
broadcasts of Major League games, certainly it would not be bad to learn the correct terms."
I don't think what he says here would be so bad if he then introduced some of the terms used
in Major League broadcasts, like Mikio E.'s "Baseball English Jam" column in Baseball Magazine-sha's
Gekkan Major League magazine. Instead, Kawamoto-san devotes a small footnote at the
bottom of each page in the chapter explaining how strange and odd a particular Japanese
baseball term is. His intent is good, I think, but his focus is wrong.
Which, in the end, is the biggest problem with Kawamoto-san's works, including his appearance
on Koko ga hen. He is unnecessarily negative with regards to pro yakyu, and much too
hyperbolic with regards to MLB in my case. He gives people the wrong idea about both. He
perpetuates the "power vs. power straight contest" myth of MLB, while putting down the
traditions that Japanese baseball has earned the right to have from their long baseball
history. His intent is good, I think. He simply wants to improve Japanese baseball. But
we know what the road to hell is paved with. In his eagerness to push his agenda, he loses
credibility.
In his first book, Kawamoto-san relates a story about a Major League scout who comes with him
to Japan, and thinks that one can drive from Tokyo to Hong Kong. He retells this story,
practically word for word, in his second book, only this time instead of a Major League scout,
the foolish American is a Kansas waitress. Which is it?
Then there's his appearance on Koko ga hen. He explains, to great dramatic effect,
how the Majors really want Matsuzaka. Well first, he works for the Angels. How can he
possibly speak for all of MLB? It's not like the other teams are going to share their
scouting plans with him. And second, so what if they want Matsuzaka? MLB knows it can't
get him until he's posted, at the very earliest. It's not like Seibu's going to give him up
for a few a minor league prospects. The "revelation" that the Majors want Matsuzaka is
obvious, meaningless, and simply used to add to this sense of crisis. It's unproductive. I
suppose I'm echoing Westbay-san's criticism of Kuehnert with this. But I think it's valid.
Kawamoto-san's first book seemed much more constructive than his last three. And he really
needs to be more responsible with his content. He's really spreading some misinformation and
misconceptions.
These have just been some thoughts simmering for the last six months or so, and they finally
came to a head last week after I saw Koko ga hen da yo, Nipponjin. I think many will
agree with me on this, but as the roads of MLB and NPB converge there has been a lot of
misinformation flying around these days.
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