Full Description
With the rise of stars such as Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, and now Daisuke Matsuzaka, fans today can easily name players from the island country of Japan. Less widely known is that baseball has long been played on other Pacific islands, in pre-statehood Hawaii, for instance, and in Guam, Samoa and the Philippines. For the multiethnic peoples of these U.S. possessions, the learning of baseball was actively encouraged, some would argue as a means to an unabashedly colonialist end.
As early as the deadball era, Pacific Islanders competed against each other and against mainlanders on the diamond, with teams like the Hawaiian Travelers barnstorming the States, winning more than they lost against college, semi-pro, and even professional nines. For those who moved to the mainland, baseball eased the transition, helping Asian Pacific Americans create a sense of community and purpose, cross cultural borders, and--for a few--achieve fame.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
I. Baseball and Imperial America in the Philippines and Hawaii
II. Baseball and Asian Pacific American Communities on the Hawaiian Islands
III. Baseball and Asian Pacific American Communities on the American Mainland
IV. Asian Pacific American Amateurs and Semi-Pros
V. Barnstorming the Mainland with the Hawaiian Travelers, 1912-1916
VI. Asian Pacific American Minor Leaguers
VII. Asian Pacific American Big Leaguers in the United States and Japan
Afterword
Chapter Notes
References
Index
