(see: "Big in Japan") American players hold several NPB records, including highest career batting average (Leron Lee, .334), highest single season batting average (Randy Bass, .389), and the dubious record of most strikeouts in a season by a hitter (Ralph Bryant, 204).
Americans rank #3 (Tuffy Rhodes, 55) and #5 (Randy Bass, 54) on the list of most home runs in a season, and #2 in single-season RBI (Bobby Rose, 153).
For most of its history, NPB regulations imposed "gaijin waku", a limit on the number of non-Japanese people per team to two or three — including the manager and/or coaching staff.
[6] In addition to the foreign culture, the language barrier, and loneliness, differences in the way the game is played in Japan are often challenges for American players.
[7] The American writer Robert Whiting wrote in his 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat that, The Japanese view of life, stressing group identity, cooperation, hard work, respect for age, seniority and 'face' has permeated almost every aspect of the sport.
[10] Now, however, Japanese teams scout American Triple-A games and monitor MLB transactions, looking for players being shuttled back and forth between the minors and the majors.
[10] A good majority of American players recruited to play in NPB are power hitters, which traditionally are in short supply in Japan.
Owner Shōriki survived an assassination attempt by right-wing nationalists for allowing foreigners (in this case, Americans) to play baseball in Jingu Stadium.
Harris, North, and Bonner were joined by the Japanese-American players Kiyomi "Slim" Hirakawa, Kazuyoshi "George" Matsuura, Yoshio "Sam" Takahashi, and Tadashi Wakabayashi.
In October 1940, responding to rising hostility toward the West due to World War II, the league outlawed the use of English in Japanese baseball.
A multi-skilled outfielder, Yonamine was a member of four Japan Series Championship teams, the Central League Most Valuable Player in 1957, a consecutive seven-time Best Nine Award winner (1952–58), an eleven-time All-Star, and a three-time batting champion.
[17] In 1953, while serving in the military, former Boston Braves pitcher Phil Paine pitched in nine games for the Nishitetsu Lions, becoming the first former major leaguer to play in Nippon Professional Baseball.
That same year, fellow American pitcher Gene Bacque of the Hanshin Tigers compiled a 29-9 record with a 1.89 ERA, becoming the first non-Japanese player to receive the Eiji Sawamura Award.
Former Chicago Cubs major league ballplayer George Altman played professional baseball in Japan from 1968 through 1975, for the Lotte Orions and the Hanshin Tigers, where he had a .309 batting average with 205 home runs.
Pepitone spent his days in Japan skipping games for claimed injuries only to be at night in discos, behavior which led the Japanese to adopt his name into their vernacular—as a word meaning "goof off.
"[28] In 1974, the 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) MLB home run slugger Frank Howard joined the Taiheiyo Club Lions at age 37.
Willie a 3 time Gold Glove winner for the Dodgers in 1971-72-73 for his Centerfield Defense had 2547 hits upon arrival in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In 1977 he won the Pacific League player of the month for June but got hurt in early July and with less than 300 ABs he hit 25 HR’s and batted over .300 for 1977.
Baseball (played by actor Dennis Haysbert) is believed to be based on the experiences of several African American players in Japan, including the Lee brothers.
Wildly popular for his tenacious style of play and his power-hitting abilities, Manuel was dubbed "Aka-Oni" (The Red Devil) by fans and teammates.
[36] In 1984, at 30 years old, Warren Cromartie became the first, and perhaps the most prominent, American player still in his prime to sign with a Japanese baseball team[37] when he joined the Yomiuri Giants before the 1984 NPB season.
In 1989, Cromartie batted .378 with 15 home runs and 78 RBIs to be named MVP of the Central League, and lead his team to the Japan Series championship.
In the deciding game of the series with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, Cromartie doubled in the fourth inning to ignite a three-run rally and homered in the seventh.
[38] First-basemen Randy Bass is often credited for single-handedly turning around the fortunes of the Hanshin Tigers, which resulted in the team's run and eventual victory of the Japan Series in 1985.
He won the season MVP award that year, and also tied Sadaharu Oh's career record for hitting three home runs in a game five times.
Tuffy Rhodes played thirteen years in NPB; he is the all-time home run leader for foreign-born players — and tied for 11th overall — with 474 homers in Japan.
[40] In 2005, Chiba Lotte manager Bobby Valentine led the Marines to their first Pacific League pennant in 31 years after emerging victorious in a close playoff with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Trey Hillman's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters won the Pacific League championship in 2006, and returned to defend their title in 2007.
It was the first pennant for the franchise in 25 years when they won the championship in 2006, and the repeated success in 2007 was accomplished despite the loss of key players such as Michihiro Ogasawara and Hideki Okajima.
Following the example of Chiba Lotte Marines manager Bobby Valentine, Hillman showed his appreciation towards fans by speaking in broken Japanese sentences.