New book: biography of Kenichi Zenimura, Japanese baseball legend

I’ve written a lot over the past few months about the relationship between Japan and the United States when it comes to Major League Baseball. The past twenty or so years have found many very talented Japanese players coming over to the US and bringing their talents to the American version of the game. There were other influential players in alternative baseball leagues over the years, though, and they deserve similar recognition for their accomplishments.

A new book by Bill Staples, Jr. tells the inspirational story of Kenichi Zenimura, a “Japanese American Baseball Pioneer”, as he is called in the title.

So who is Zenimura? Read this passage to get an idea:

While Jackie Robinson and the Negro Leagues have been well documented, few baseball fans know about the Japanese American Nisei Leagues, or of their most influential figure, Zenimura. A phenomenal player who excelled at all nine positions, “Zeni” possessed a gift for using the game to transcend the ignorance and intolerance of his era.

This article from Rafu Shimpo, the Los Angeles Japanese Daily News, gives a lengthy description of the book, highlighting some of the contributions Zenimura made when he was around. One of the most notable accomplishments Zenimura carried out was the inception of a 32-team baseball league at the Gila River internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

The book is said to be much more than just a “baseball book”; Zenimura’s experiences and influence transcended the game, and had more to do with overcoming tremendous obstacles to forge a place in the history books. Toronto blue Jays bench coach Don Wakamatsu, who was the first Asian-American manager in MLB history, contributes the forward to the book.

If you’re at all interested in baseball, the history of Japanese baseball involvement, or just enjoy inspirational stories, this is probably worth picking up.

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