All of us have hobbies that have been around for longer than we have. Some hobbies have clear, linear histories, but others meander a lot more. Baseball has been around for a couple of centuries already in America, but how did it come to Asia? Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia (Joseph A. Reaves) attempts to answer that question for us. But it does so much more than that. It also delves into how the game developed, turned pro, or died out.

The 160-page volume is easy to read through, and while it sticks to the facts, it also includes a lot of colorful anecdotes about the game and its famous players in five different countries. Here is what I remember from my read through the book, which, I admit, took me a long time because my book-reading life has meandered a lot this offseason.

China – The government sent a contingency of young men to America to learn culture and get educated at top-notch universities. The boys adhered to their home country’s culture and expectations at first, but as they grew infatuated with baseball, they shed their Chinese garb and hairstyles, and became westernized. This was part of the reason for the government’s annulling of the program, but when the lads returned to China, they brought the game with them.

Japan – Started by an American missionary teacher in the Meiji Era. I think I’ve written about this in more detail in this book review, so I’ll abbreviate this part here. I liked that Reaves divided his telling of Japanese history into amateur and pro. I also thought he relied heavily on Robert Whiting’s books (Chrysanthemum and the Bat and You Gotta Have Wa), so there was not a lot of new insight here for me.

Philippines – This chapter began in Alaska, which was quite confusing… but an American who was employed there in the late 1800s became fascinated with the game of baseball, which locals played in the middle of winter. When he later was sent to the Philippines as a member of the US Military, he brought the game with him. Filipinos at that time were far more interested in sitting around and watching the Americans play the game. It was a huge hit, but primarily as a spectator sport. Eventually, though, it took root and the Philippines actually became stronger than any other Asian country during the pre-World War II years. The sport ultimately died out when the economy struggled, and there was no avenue for the game to spread (couldn’t build stadiums, afford equipment, etc.). Meanwhile, basketball was a much more affordable and exciting game, and it is still a wildly popular sport in the Pearl of the Orient.

Korea – Started by an American missionary in the early 1900s. The game became wildly popular, but there was no professional league until 1982. Much like in Japan, the professional game was an advertising tool for large corporations whose names were attached to the clubs. The book talks about how Koreans are known for their literal fighting spirit, and how brawls and riots were fairly commonplace at baseball games (in the stands, mostly). Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula affected the development of the game in many ways – it created rivalry but also promoted understanding and reconciliation. Ironically, it was the American troops’ presence post-World War II that caused a resurgence in baseball fever.

Taiwan – Japanese occupation is what brought the game to this island nation, although locals did not take to the game very well at first. They did not want to become assimilated, after all. It was not until youth teams started to dominate the Little League World Series that the game really took off. There was a lot of interesting talk of gambling and how the game was tainted by gangster influence. Comparisons were drawn to the Black Sox scandal, particularly in the clever chapter title: Say It Ain’t So, Kuo. Note: I read the book reviews on Amazon, and one reviewer who said he was doing his PhD on amateur Taiwanese baseball said there were many inaccuracies in this chapter… and if that is the case, then who’s to say the rest of the book is accurate and authoritative?

On the whole, this was a really enjoyable read. I enjoyed it thoroughly, though it falls short of a true classic, in that it borrows a lot from staple books that most true fans of baseball in Asia have already read. Also, the alleged flaws in the final chapter about Taiwan cast some doubt on the rest of the book. I still recommend you give it a read if you are interested in how your hobby became widespread throughout the largest continent in the world.

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