Between 1927 and 1934, the Philadelphia Royal Giants embarked on several goodwill tours across the Pacific--to Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the Hawaiian Territories. As African-Americans, they were relegated to second-class citizenship in the U.S., but abroad they were treated like kings. Unlike the previous tours of major league stars who ridiculed their opponents through embarrassing defeats, the Royal Giants made the games competitive, dignified and enjoyable for opposing players. In Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan, Kazuo Sayama and Bill Staples, Jr. chronicle the tours of the Royal Giants and demonstrate that without the skill and humanity displayed by the Negro Leaguers, Japanese ballplayers might have become discouraged and lost their love for the game. Instead, the experience of sharing the field with these "gentle, black giants" kept their spirits high and nurtured the seeds for professional baseball to flourish in Japan.

Between 1927 and 1934, the Philadelphia Royal Giants embarked on several goodwill tours across the Pacific-to Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the Hawaiian Territories. As African-Americans, they were relegated to second-class citizenship in the U.S., but abroad they were treated like kings. Unlike the previous tours of major league stars who ridiculed their opponents through embarrassing defeats, the Royal Giants made the games competitive, dignified and enjoyable for opposing players. In Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan, Kazuo Sayama and Bill Staples, Jr. chronicle the tours of the Royal Giants and demonstrate that without the skill and humanity displayed by the Negro Leaguers, Japanese ballplayers might have become discouraged and lost their love for the game. Instead, the experience of sharing the field with these "gentle, black giants" kept their spirits high and nurtured the seeds for professional baseball to flourish in Japan.

While the story of the Negro Leagues has been well documented, few baseball fans know about the Japanese American Nisei Leagues, or of their most influential figure, Kenichi Zenimura (1900-1968). A talented player who excelled at all nine positions, Zenimura was also a respected manager and would become the Japanese American community's baseball ambassador. He worked tirelessly to promote the game at home and abroad, leading goodwill trips to Asia, helping to negotiate tours of Japan by Negro League All-Stars and Babe Ruth, and establishing a 32-team league behind the barbed wire of Arizona's Gila River Internment Camp during World War II. This first biography of the "Father of Japanese-American Baseball" delivers a thorough and fascinating account of Zenimura's life.

Since 1971, 35 Negro League baseball players and executives have been admitted to the Hall of Fame. The Negro League Hall of Fame admissions process, which has now been conducted in four phases over a 50-year period, can be characterized as idiosyncratic at best. Drawing on baseball analytics and surveys of both Negro League historians and veterans, this book presents an historical overview of NLHOF voting, with an evaluation of whether the 35 NL players selected were the best choices. Using modern metrics such as Wins Above Replacement (WAR), 24 additional Negro Leaguers are identified who have Hall of Fame qualifications. Brief biographies are included for HOF-quality players and executives who have been passed over, along with reasons why they may have been excluded. A proposal is set forth for a consistent and orderly HOF voting process for the Negro Leagues.

This work examines the historical significance of the state of New Jersey in the Negro League legacy, especially the black baseball players, teams, owners and managers, and their struggles against not just segregation, and their accomplishments. The book includes photographs, appendices (records of New Jersey Negro League teams, 1923-1948, and a chronology), notes, a bibliography of research sources, an annotated list of suggested further readings, and an index.

1845: Felix Schneider, an immigrant from Germany, cheers the New York Knickerbockers as they play Three-Out, All-Out. 1908: Walter Snider, batboy for the Brooklyn Superbas, arranges a team tryout for a black pitcher by pretending he is Cuban. 1945: Kat Snider of Brooklyn plays for the Grand Rapids Chicks in the All-American Girls Baseball League. 1981: Michael Flint fi nds himself pitching a perfect game during the Little League season at Prospect Park. And there are fi ve more Schneiders to meet. In nine innings, this novel tells the stories of nine successive Schneider kids and their connection to Brooklyn and baseball. As in all family histories and all baseball games, there is glory and heartache, triumph and sacrifi ce. And it ain?t over till it?s over.

Rescued in 2010 from the small creek that runs next to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, a simple baseball launched an epic quest that spanned the United States and beyond. For eight years, "The Hall Ball" went on a journey to have its picture taken with every member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, both living and deceased. The goal? To enshrine the first crowd-sourced artifact ever donated to the Hall. Part travelogue, part baseball history, part photo journal, this book tells the full story for the first time. The narratives that accompany the ball's odyssey are as funny and moving as any in the history of the game.