how the heck did baseball get popular in japan, korea and taiwan?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: acheron

Originally posted by: LS21
the east goes apeshit over anything american. europeans dont like baseball cuz they are LAME

fixed

Agreed.

Also, maybe asians are good at baseball than other sports. You don't exactly need to be 6-5 300 lbs to be a baseball player. Baseball is a precision sport, and asians are precise people...

i hear their professional players play on little league sized fields.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: silverpig
US troops.

True for Korea and Taiwan, but not Japan. Baseball has a LOOOOONG history in Japan, going back to the 1800's! There's been a major leagues in Japan since before WWII.

Correct.

According to Wikipedia:
Hiroshi Hiraoka, who was in United States studying engineering, introduced the game to his co-workers at Japan?s national railways in 1878. He and his co-workers created the first baseball team, the Shimbashi Athletic Club, and dominated other teams which popped up in Japan. However it wasn?t until the team from Tokyo University started playing that the sport took hold in Japanese culture. In 1896 the team defeated an American team from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club 29 to 4. It was the first recorded international baseball game in Asia. After that victory, several other universities in Japan adopted the sport and it quickly spread throughout Japan. Since then teams from Japan have travelled to learn from their American counterparts.

How come no one before you took the time to do this?

 

[scttgrd]

How many scouts do you think are combing Africa or any of the other third world areas of the world looking for the next big talent? They are all over the Dominican looking for any kid that has talent and getting them in organized leagues.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: scttgrd
How many scouts do you think are combing Africa or any of the other third world areas of the world looking for the next big talent? They are all over the Dominican looking for any kid that has talent and getting them in organized leagues.

Not many because there are so few baseball leagues in those areas and raw talent (throwing 95 mph or hitting a ball 500 ft) doesn't really translate well into MLB success.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: acheron

Originally posted by: LS21
the east goes apeshit over anything american. europeans dont like baseball cuz they are LAME

fixed

Agreed.

Also, maybe asians are good at baseball than other sports. You don't exactly need to be 6-5 300 lbs to be a baseball player. Baseball is a precision sport, and asians are precise people...

i hear their professional players play on little league sized fields.

i wouldn't be surprised (although i bet it's bigger than little league). prob has to do with limited real estate and the fact that asian players aren't generally power hitters. however i would expect to see stat inflation in the next decade...those fucking koreans are getting huge.

 

[ed21x]

Originally posted by: Pegun

Originally posted by: Crono
Spheres of influence. US occupation brings a lot of our culture there. We're starting to get some of their culture here, but to a lesser degree.

Why do the Asian countries have people who try to be as "American" as possible? Listening to the same music, dress styles, etc? Its all about influence. On the contrast, countries like England, France and most African nations are proud to have their own identities and not follow the American influence.

in those three asian countries (korea, japan, taiwan), a ton of people travel abroad to the United States whether it be for pleasure or business, and bring alot of the culture back with them. It's not trying to be 'cool' like america, like Americans like to believe that everyone looks up to them. and american occupation in general brings more resentment than influence... except for the prostitution industry.

 

[alkemyst]

we are just used to holding that much wood in our hands regularly...doesn't make baseball so special here.

 

[dbk]

US influence = baseball
UK influence = cricket

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: jonks
Cuz Asians are smart. They looked at America and said Holy Shit, you guys kicked the crap out of us, so we're going to emulate you, your culture, your manufacturing, then we're going to improve everything and kick the crap out of you in all those areas!

Most of the rest of the world is just jealous they suck and instead of emulating and improving they criticize and attempt mass-murder. The japanese swallowed their pride and picked the right course for their future. The ME not so much. Once alternative energy explodes and oil revenue plummets to zip that region will return to 1001 arabian nights while the rest of the world marches on. But they do get 4 wives so I guess that's something.

Cuba is a communist country which is fanatical about baseball.

Agree about the middle east though, it's easier to point fingers and fight than cooperate and build, and it's a circular logic trap as they simply blame us for their lack of progress.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: sdifox
America troop stationed in these places for a while...

India got cricket from England.

I remember staying up really late (like 3am) to watch live broadcast of Taiwanese little league playing in California. I think only on Friday or Saturday night though.

This is what I assumed, as well.

In the aftermath of WW2, and during/after Korea, there were tons of US troops stationed in those countries. The US was actively rebuilding their devastated economies and as such (with the Japanese, at least), we developed some really strong cultural ties. Face it, the Japanese have been tits-wild over the US for decades. That, and baseball, more than any other sport, tends to attract higher-IQ fans that any other sport on average(well, such has been reported several times, anyway). It's all about numbers and stats, and we all know how asians like their numbers.

Even before these wars, Japanese and Koreans had large communities within the US, so a good bit of cultural exchange was going on prior to all of this. I remember some stories regarding the baseball leagues that formed within the Internment camps created for Japanese-American citizens during WW2.

US influence in central and south America

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: savoyboy

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: acheron

Originally posted by: LS21
the east goes apeshit over anything american. europeans dont like baseball cuz they are LAME

fixed

Agreed.

Also, maybe asians are good at baseball than other sports. You don't exactly need to be 6-5 300 lbs to be a baseball player. Baseball is a precision sport, and asians are precise people...

how many good ball players in MLB are under 5'10" 180 lbs? I'm guessing maybe a handful.

how many sports out there require you to be 6'5" 300 lbs? maybe sumo wrestler or NFL offensive linemen

plenty. each team really only has 2-3 "sluggers" tops. 2nd baseman/center fielder tend to be typical short-person positions.

Strength is important in baseball, but quickness is even more important. Hitting the ball successfully has far more to do with eyesight, timing, and bat speed than it does with raw power.

Also, the shorter you are, the smaller your strike zone, the greater opportunities for walks = win.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: silverpig
US troops.

True for Korea and Taiwan, but not Japan. Baseball has a LOOOOONG history in Japan, going back to the 1800's! There's been a major leagues in Japan since before WWII.

Correct.

According to Wikipedia:
Hiroshi Hiraoka, who was in United States studying engineering, introduced the game to his co-workers at Japan?s national railways in 1878. He and his co-workers created the first baseball team, the Shimbashi Athletic Club, and dominated other teams which popped up in Japan. However it wasn?t until the team from Tokyo University started playing that the sport took hold in Japanese culture. In 1896 the team defeated an American team from the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club 29 to 4. It was the first recorded international baseball game in Asia. After that victory, several other universities in Japan adopted the sport and it quickly spread throughout Japan. Since then teams from Japan have travelled to learn from their American counterparts.

whoa, that's cool.

 

[xcript]

Originally posted by: LS21
europeans dont like baseball cuz they know its LAME

:thumbsup:

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: sdifox
America troop stationed in these places for a while...

India got cricket from England.

I remember staying up really late (like 3am) to watch live broadcast of Taiwanese little league playing in California. I think only on Friday or Saturday night though.

This is what I assumed, as well.

In the aftermath of WW2, and during/after Korea, there were tons of US troops stationed in those countries. The US was actively rebuilding their devastated economies and as such (with the Japanese, at least), we developed some really strong cultural ties. Face it, the Japanese have been tits-wild over the US for decades. That, and baseball, more than any other sport, tends to attract higher-IQ fans that any other sport on average(well, such has been reported several times, anyway). It's all about numbers and stats, and we all know how asians like their numbers.

Even before these wars, Japanese and Koreans had large communities within the US, so a good bit of cultural exchange was going on prior to all of this. I remember some stories regarding the baseball leagues that formed within the Internment camps created for Japanese-American citizens during WW2.

US influence in central and south America

Babe Ruth famously toured Japan in the 1930's with an American all-star team.

 

[KMFJD]

Originally posted by: G Wizard

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: sdifox
America troop stationed in these places for a while...

India got cricket from England.

Yeah, this was my guess too. Netherlands, Japan, Korea, WW2?

I heard on the radio baseball became popular in the Netherlands during WWII as a way of subverting the German rule of the Netherlands.

It's not that popular in Holland...here's the wiki on it though Text

 

[palswim]

Perhaps soccer's too passionate for Asian countries?

 

[StinkyPinky]

I think it has already been answered. Places that were under UK influence in the 19th and early 20th century picked up cricket, and places under US influence in the 20th century picked up baseball. Very simple but very correct answer.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
I think it has already been answered. Places that were under UK influence in the 19th and early 20th century picked up cricket, and places under US influence in the 20th century picked up baseball. Very simple but very correct answer.

and it's also been posted that baseball was way popular in Japan even before the 20th century.

I know, I was surprised too.
:beer:

 

[IGBT]

stick ball is fun.