Mashi

“Fitts, coupled with Murakami’s voice and experiences, tells the proud tale of a young man who was whisked into the spotlight and became a shining example of the equality that could be reached between the Japanese and Americans on the baseball diamond. Reading Mashi brings us all a few steps closer to what it was like to be there on this landmark journey.”—San Francisco Examiner
 

"This is a an excellent baseball story, a story of cultural adaptation and conflict, and above all the story of one man’s opportunity and the obstacles he overcame to make the most of that opportunity."—Duncan Jamieson, Journal of Sport Literature

"Mashi is a nice look at a man and career that deserved to be more than footnotes in baseball history."—Bob D'Angelo, Tampa Tribune

“Mashi Murakami’s impact can still be felt in baseball stadiums on both sides of the Pacific. He is a pioneer in every sense of the word—a true ambassador for the game of baseball.”—Allan H. “Bud” Selig, the ninth commissioner of baseball

“Rob Fitts has fabulously transported us back to Mashi’s family roots, childhood passion for the grand game, and his trajectory to become the first Major Leaguer from Japan. It is a discovery and rediscovery of culture, baseball dynamics/politics, and the man who transcended the sport as a gigantic touchstone ‘pioneer’ for future players from Asia.”—Kerry Yo Nakagawa, author of Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball

“Sometimes historical analysis can’t compete with a good personal story, as Robert K. Fitts—a baseball expert and former archaeologist—proves with his newest book, Mashi.”—Japan Times
 

"Robert Fitts has written a book that needed writing."—Joel S. Franks, Journal of Sport History

“Robert K. Fitts, an award-winning sportswriter with a good grasp of Japan’s baseball culture, clearly explicates the factors at play in this exotic baseball narrative—one that has become increasingly relevant as MLB extends its recruitment strategies internationally.”—Robert Birnbaum, Daily Beast
 
 

"Mashi will take you along on his eventful ride from Yamanashi Prefecture to San Francisco."—Rashaad Jorden, JETwit.com

"Robert Fitts has undertaken a great task with this book."—Gregg's Baseball Bookcase