IU’s Role in Creating the Global Phenomenon of Baseball

John Leyden

Hypothesis

Sports have played a critical role in international relations. This is exemplified by competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup, which bring many countries together to compete against one another and exhibit their pride. Baseball has emerged as a sport not only relevant in The United States and has now developed internationally in a multitude of countries that now take place in international competition as well.

Indiana University Baseball’s visit to Japan in 1922 played a large part in the development of baseball as a sport and a cultural influence. Consequently, Indiana University should be credited with contributing to the spread of the sport internationally from the United States to places like Southeast Asia, Central America and the Caribbean in the early 20th Century. In 1922, IU baseball was invited by letter to Japan by a professor Iso Abe to participate in a series of games against his Waseda University.

IU baseball coach George Lewis accepted the offer and by late March the team was off for Japan. The course of the journey was documented by IU Baseball player Leonard Ruckelshaus who kept a diary of the trip. In Ruckelshaus’ diary, a perspective of a vastly different time period of the world is shown as well as a trip to a foreign country that not many people had the opportunity to experience at that time. Indirectly, an account of a different culture and society than America’s was produced. In a time before a second world war, these documents shed light to the ambitions and goals of japan as well as the pride the country had nationally to compete against a world power like America. Baseballs popularity and development around the world is because of programs like Indiana University’s that encouraged their baseball teams to travel to Japan in a time where many people were not able to do so.

Japan in the late 19th century and the early 20th century embraced the sport of baseball as a means of national pride for the country. Japanese amateur college teams such as Keio and Waseda were determined to compete against top talent and they found competition in American college teams. These Japanese college teams began touring the U.S as early as 1905 to play in series against American teams, with American teams soon finding way to Japan in the coming years (McCagg).

IU baseball was not alone in its visit to Japan, as it turns out many other U.S. college teams participated in trips abroad to play Japanese teams. U.S. college teams combined for 16 trips to Japan, the first of which being the University of Washington in 1908 (University of Washington digital collection)with schools such as University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago and Indiana University following suit in the coming years. These visits to each respective team’s countries became popular, with Japanese Americans showing up to see games between their current country’s teams as well as their previous countries teams. This popular reception was similar in Japan.

Even with IU’s visit, Ruckelshaus describes in his diary that thousands of Japanese spectators turned out in 1922 to view the games between Waseda and IU (Ruckelshaus). Although Japanese teams largely suffered in defeat in many games against their American competitors, much pride was still taken in being able to win any games at all (McCagg). This kind of response shows a great deal of pride in Japanese baseball, with tremendous respect for the competition between countries. This pride is crucial to how baseball developed in a way that fit Japanese culture.

As seen in Japan, baseball provided a great deal in the establishment of Japanese national identity in the first few decades of the 20th century, and was used as a gateway in the countries that fell victim to Japans imperialism. Baseball caught on elsewhere in Southeast Asia such as South Korea due to influence by the Japanese during occupation of Korea before World War II as well as from American Missionaries in 1905 (Cho).

As result, the game caught on culturally and began being played more and more throughout the 20th century. The popularity of American Major League Baseball in Korea was eventually developed into a “Korean national pastime” going as far as to install baseball into part of school curriculum. During Japanese colonization of Korea, baseball represented a way for Koreans to beat the Japanese at their own game and according to Cho, offered Koreans ways to affirm their national identity.

Baseball also developed in Taiwan in similar ways due to Japanese colonialization but now in contemporary times there still remains preference for Japanese players and coaches dubbed the “Japanese way”. The pattern of baseball being used as a means of nationalism and identity remains still in Asian Countries as the sport has evolved from being a an American pastime to now having international meaning outside of just Major League Baseball.

Although Baseball has grown significantly in other countries, Major League Baseball in the U.S. is still the league most recognized and followed. In the last few decades, the recruitment of international players from countries like Japan have become a popular marketing trend (Cho). Big name stars from the Japanese league have been recruited to come play in the MLB. Foreign players that sparked their careers in Japan such as Ichiro Suzuki to the Seattle Mariners, Hideki Matsui to the New York Yankees as well as various other successes have become a means to increase domestic as well as Japanese viewership and following of the MLB. Japanese players have proven they can make the transition to a more competitive league such as the MLB as players such as Ichiro broke through and was a star immediately, leading Seattle to set a record for wins in his first season on the team (McCagg). In 2007, the Chicago Cubs signed Kosuke Fukudome to a 4 year 48 million dollar deal and almost immediately there was hysteria surrounding his arrival. Chants and bowing from fans, even headbands with Japanese characters given away by the cubs as promotional material became mainstream (Waldstein, NY Times). These kinds of methods show the cultural impact baseball has had in the majors in both Japan and America.

As of recently, the MLB has undergone a lot of reshaping in its player base as well as having notable influence in Caribbean island nations such as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Due to Americanization of these areas as well as being warm climates year round, the playing of baseball is much facilitated in these areas helping result in culture that breeds baseball. As result, Major League Baseball has vested a great deal of interest in players from these regions, especially the Dominican Republic. Since the breakdown of racial barriers in the Majors in 1947 as well as the establishment of free agency in 1976, more Latino players have been able to come to America and play in the Majors and now have come represent a great percentage of MLB players (Klein). The popularity of baseball in these areas have led to the rise of MLB academies throughout them, acting as a channel for young players to one day play in the U.S. By taking prospective candidates and raising them with year-round baseball, players get fed, clothed and paid as well as the training and experience akin to that of college baseball, to hopefully be signed by a Major League team (Klein). This process is unique to countries like the Dominican and come to represent the multi-national business that baseball has become, ultimately becoming hegemonic relationship involving the U.S. and lesser economic countries where baseball represents a ticket to fortune to many.

Baseball is a unique sport in that its beginnings arose in the U.S. and as a consequence of U.S interests internationally, spread as a result. Through the use of college amateur teams, baseball was able to be shared in Japan becoming their own national pastime supplemented by competition against American college teams. This acted as a gateway for the sport to eventually spread to other places in South East Asia flowing Japans own imperialistic actions before and during WWII, furthering the competitive culture and meaning of baseball to various countries like Korea and Taiwan. The same competiveness now acts as another gateway for big name Japanese stars to come test themselves in the Majors and provide excitement to both their original and new fans. Later on in the 20th century, America vested interest in Caribbean players, developing some of the best talent baseball sees today because of its economic might and allure of the MLB. Today, baseball players play in the Majors that 100 years ago would not be able to. Because of programs such as Indiana University’s the sharing of baseball contributed to culture in numerous societies that shaping the way those societies have developed and how they exist currently.

Digital Portion

The goal of the digital portion of my project was to be able to effectivley showcase the patterns both American and Japanese baseball teams took when traveling to play different schools. Ideally, exact tour dates, routes and game loactions would have facilitated this process.

Ultimately, I was only able to find data about college games by city location and year. What resulted was this:

International Baseball Between US and Japanese Colleges

Indiana played a significant role in the amatuer competition that Japanese schools sought after. Out of the thirty-one series of games I have found between Amercian and Japansese college teams, Indiana baseabll was involved in two. This is significant in comparison to the thirteen American schools that only had one series against Japanese teams. This carto map shows that Japanese colleges were keen on inviting teams to play in their country, but were also willing to make the long boat trip across the pacfic themsleves to travel through America and play it’s baseball talent. Although games played by Indiana were not as frequent as games against west coast schools as well as the University of Chicago, IU was a part of a select group of schools that had the incredible opportunity to be play Japansese teams in Japan.

Bibliography

Cho, Y. (2012). Major League Baseball as a forged national pastime: constructing personalized national narratives in South Korea. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 13(4), 532-547. doi:10.1080/14649373.2012.717600

Klein, A. M. (1991). Sport and Culture as Contested Terrain: Americanization in the Caribbean. Sociology Of Sport Journal, 8(1), 79-85.

McCagg, David (2015). The Power and Limitations of Baseball as a Cultural Instrument of Diplomacy in US-Japanese Relations. Retrieved from DigitalGeorgetown Repository for Theses and Dissertations.

Sakai, K. (1908). Baseball team visiting Japan. University of Washington Campus Photographs.

Waldstein, D. (2010, September 21). For Cubs’ Japanese Star, Cheers Become Whispers. New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/sports/baseball/22fukudome.html