The gutsy, traditional Japanese baseball culture showcased in this video is changing. The high school that won last year's Koshien Championship adopts the principle of "enjoying baseball" and allows freedom in hairstyles as well.
By the way, the winning school is also famous as the high school with the highest deviation value in Japan. After graduation, they will work in the bureaucracy or in prestigious companies. This comment uses a translation site
Bobby Valentine who isn't really a players coach, took a nothing team to a Japan Series title w/ the radical idea that coaches aren't allowed to beat the shit out of their players. This idea probably also got him fired twice from the same team.
As someone who has played in the Japanese little league for a few years I can attest that these Japanese little league teams are insane. My team didn't personally practice more than a few hours a week, and it showed. Against the Japanese teams, our team was absolutely horrible and once got a game called in the 3 inning because we were losing 27 to 3, even though most of our players were at least a few years older than most of the other team. They just had an ungodly ability to make hard contact, and their pitching was leaps and bounds above anything I had seen before. Japanese little league is no joke.
@@SadBoysCollectiveCirca96 imagine how many hundreds of thousands of boys go thru all the same stuff but don’t even make it to the japanese professional league much less the MLB like Shohei
As an American who spent 3 years growing up in Nagoya Japan. Watching the Nagoya Dragon baseball team is something I will never forget. Made it onto the jumbo-tron 3 times in a game and the crowd was WILD yet respectful. Drums, chants, cheers. Great life experience.
those games are fun especially if hometeam is winning but it takes some getting used to--especially when the home team is losing but the chanter/cheerleaders are still cheering and singing like they have a shot at winning...
@@cejannuziI'm replying as a Japanese person who loves baseball. That's completely off the mark. Japanese people deeply love baseball. It just became a form of singing cheering songs when supporting your favorite team. That's why I'm always happy and sad about what happens on the field, and when an opposing player makes a good play, I applaud even if it's from the opposing team, and I pay close attention to every move made by the players on the team I'm rooting for. This is because the fans have a deep love for their team and baseball itself.
You really see how high schoolers don't care about the pro's either in the MLB or NPB. The focus was always nationals and only after that was it mentioned being pro.
@@toidIllorTAmI Its just how the culture there is about high school baseball. Unless you also think americans are abused to think college/high school sports matter since even in europe thats not the case
Facts. This guy and Jxmyhighroller are the pinnacle of sports journalism on TH-cam. Excellent content. I’m not even a basketball fan and I watch Jimmy’s videos. And this channel has turned me into a baseball fan
A factual error regarding Ohtani: he wanted to come to the MLB as soon as he graduated from high school, but the team who drafted him, Nippon Ham Fighters, persuaded him not to be too hasty. They drew up a "business plan" which would better prepare Ohtani as a pro, both as a hitter and pitcher, so he would be ready for MLB a few years later. They wanted him to succeed first in the NPB, and then send him off.
It ended up great for both at end of the day, Ohtani became a legend even on MLB, while Fiighters had won with Ohtani, a thing that they are still yet to do even with Big Boss in command
I believe it was more about MLB teams not being interested in him as a hitter. No doubt they were wrong, but the precedent for an elite 2-way player was a sample of 1 a hundred years ago. Combine that with the fact that every Japanese hitter besides Ichiro being a bust, MLB teams weren't going to develop him as a hitter, point blank. Japanese players famously have no leverage when it comes to going pro in the US (once they are in the NPL), and when you combine that with the fact that Ohtani would miss our on a TON of money because of new MLB salary rules (if he had left right after HS, he would have been grandfathered into the old uncapped system), he made a serious sacrifice joining the NPL. His team did give him unprecedented verbal commitments though, which they honored. This allowed him to play as the two-way player he wanted to be, and they allowed him to leave whenever he wanted, which was unprecedented.
I believe it was more about MLB teams not being interested in him as a hitter. No doubt they were wrong, but the precedent for an elite 2-way player was a sample of 1 a hundred years ago. Combine that with the fact that every Japanese hitter besides Ichiro being a bust, MLB teams weren't going to develop him as a hitter, point blank. Japanese players famously have no leverage when it comes to going pro in the US (once they are in the NPL), and when you combine that with the fact that Ohtani would miss our on a TON of money because of new MLB salary rules (if he had left right after HS, he would have been grandfathered into the old uncapped system), he made a serious sacrifice joining the NPL. His team did give him unprecedented verbal commitments though, which they honored. This allowed him to play as the two-way player he wanted to be, and they allowed him to leave whenever he wanted, which was unprecedented.
I believe it was more about MLB teams not being interested in him as a hitter. No doubt they were wrong, but the precedent for an elite 2-way player was a sample of 1 a hundred years ago. Combine that with the fact that every Japanese hitter besides Ichiro being a bust, MLB teams weren't going to develop him as a hitter, point blank. Japanese players famously have no leverage when it comes to going pro in the US (once they are in the NPL), and when you combine that with the fact that Ohtani would miss our on a TON of money because of new MLB salary rules (if he had left right after HS, he would have been grandfathered into the old uncapped system), he made a serious sacrifice joining the NPL. His team did give him unprecedented verbal commitments though, which they honored. This allowed him to play as the two-way player he wanted to be, and they allowed him to leave whenever he wanted, which was unprecedented.
I had a small skinny Japanese kid on my little league team who just moved to America. That was many years ago, but he’s one of my only teammates I remembered. He threw like a rocket, perfectly accurate throws from the outfield or from 3rd to 1st, like 70 mph when the rest of us probably only threw 40 mph
I was on an American little league team that played, in Tokyo, against the then LLWS series champ. Our American team was so much larger, so much faster, and we could throw faster than the Japanese kids. It really isn't true that the Japanese generally throw faster and harder than Americans. BUT, their pitchers could throw change-ups, screw balls, knucklers, and curves like American pros. ALL of their batters could accurately PLACE a ball and some even used POOL-STYLE ENGLISH on the balls so they would spin in to the dug-out after going FAIR. Our AMERICAN pitchers could only throw change-ups. The small Japanese kids hit our pitches like it was batting practice, and they beat us 22-2. This was before the 10-run-lead rule.
I was a baseball player when I was growing up in 70’s. Coach pushed us so hard in the middle of summer practicing WITHOUT water, I ended up having kidney stone! The big scar on my left side is my reminder that hard practice without scientific evidence is nothing but stupidity ! I still love Japanese baseball. But I think I like it better with modern scientific Japanese baseball. Hail to Ohtani !
they have changed. most of the npb teams have staff that have worked in the majors and a lot of players have been going to driveline and similar facilities in the offseason@@Set_Your_Handlle
Japanese players who go to the MLB always say that one of the hardest things they have to adjust to, is the minimal amounts of practice they get before the game. Seiya Suzuki, known quite famously in Japan for practicing a lot despite his already successful career in npb, said in an interview that he had to find time to practice by himself in the MLB, since practice sessions before games are extremely short, and major league players simply don’t practice as much as normal npb players. Really shows the difference in culture between the two.
Same dynamic in basketball too. Euro players practice far more with many Americans down to little league equivalents considering 6 games a week as practice.
Unless I am misunderstanding, the Euro players in basketball are totally dominating, as they have a significantly better grasp of the basics of basketball and team play. Americans just want the highlight play and... well Carmelo Anthony is proof that gets you nowhere @@davidnelson7719
I mean, it seems healthier to me. Besides the fact that they should have LIVES. The morality of telling people they have to give their current lives and futures with destroyed bodies is ghastly. It also seems to spit in the face of the purpose of a GAME is to have fun. You can for sure have extreme competition and take it seriously, but it seems to dishonor the spirit of the games.
This channel changed my life when I stumbled on this video. I knew nothing about baseball and now I can't live without it... I even changed my Japan itinerary and visited a bunch of stadiums including koshien + the hall off fame museum. Now I'm following MLB religiously and went to my first game (blue jays v. dodgers). All of that happened literally in a span of 3 months from watching this video lmao... I wish I'd gotten into it sooner! So excited for post-season.
As a Taiwanese I loved this video, baseball in Taiwan is basically the little brother of japan and although we have a very powerful baseball team it’s nothing compared to how powerful Japanese baseball has become in the last 5 years. We loved watching npb in Taiwan and have tried to learn more and more from Japan aswell
You guys got a pretty good league in your own right. Wish Asian baseball was more available to watch over here, I’d love to watch those two leagues and KBO
I was fortunate enough to be in Japan for the Asia cup game between Japan and Taiwan last year. Taiwan's shortstop was so slick and Rui-Yang Gu Lin absolutely carved up a team of Japanese all-stars for 7 innings with his deadly curveball. Would love to see both of them on the world stage again!
It sucks we cant stream japanese baseball here in the US without paying i found a link, but it was blocked in the US I wanted to watch their world series i couldnt find it if you know a link tell me the name for japan korea taiwan all of um at least there is the caribean series starting next week its only 10 days long though i hope i can find it, if its not on american tv i think espn has it, not sure for mlb,, check mlb66, they record games, and you can rewatch them up until the next day, and check, vsportsurge, thestreameast, best polaris stream,, those work pretty good
The Japanese love the Taiwanese squad. So humble and respectful but at the same time giving everything they’ve got during the game. This is what the game is all about. Winning is just a bonus.
I played baseball on an American high school team in Japan. Our main competition was the other international schools and US military base schools in the area, but we would also play Japanese schools during the season. Mind you, none of the Japanese schools we played were Koshien caliber, but they would smoke us every time.
@@itslife1399 What do you mean? At the HS school level, only a few American HS teams could compete with Japan's HS teams. But that is based on what we care about at each level of the game. Our professional teams are significantly better than theirs though. Yoshida was a top 5 hitter in the entire league over in Japan and was the second best rookie on his own team over here, a team that finished last place in their division. America is still clearly better at baseball. We just don't care about HS baseball that way. For good reason - I wouldn't let my kid play baseball if they were going to get tortured by coaching staff. I appreciate the respect, integrity, and tradition in the Japanese game, but there are better ways of promoting those values than the degree of physical abuse they put players through.
@@wwpjd28this dude said “finished last place in the division” as an argument lol. Ohtani hasn’t had a single playoff appearance with angels and is 2x unanimous mvp and best player in baseball. Sorry the sport is a team game. Maybe add some context, no you don’t appreciate Japanese baseball, you’re offended at the video and felt the need to subtly diss japan and boast about how the US Is still the best. Yoshida was in genuine rookie of the year talks in the middle of the season, he didn’t have a bad year at all. In fact he finished top 5, and was only the 2nd best rookie on the team because another Red Sox finished 3rd in rookie rankings. And Another funny thing regarding your “last place in division” comment is the fact that the Red Sox play in the best division in baseball, and their record despite finishing last, is better than 4/5 of the entire Al central. Context matters. And if you’re going to list yoshida, you can also name Kodai senga who came over as a 30 year old, runners up for rookie of the year and dominated. But only players that fit your point right?
@@wwpjd28Oh yeah that’s why the highest paid player if all time and pitcher of all time are from Japan because American is sooooo much better than Japan at baseball… keep coping that Japan is far superior than the US at the sport and producing great baseball players😂 you should be happy that Japan takes the sport so seriously maybe players from other countries will start putting in the effort to be as disciplined and good as the people who love this sport the most
As a 23 year old Japanese guy who played baseball for 12 years in Japan, this content is so fun to watch. When in it comes to abusing, when I was in junior high school, I got kicked at my belly by a coach, but it was totally fineI got used to it and he’s too old no power When I was in high school, we were so focused on baseball to go to “Koshien”. In Japan, we have almost no rest day, personally when I was in a junior high school n high school, we had only one rest day in a week. I dumped my girlfriends cuz I wanted to practice it more and I had to study for uni we rarely had time to hang out with friends But this memory in high school is my treasure
I think most people are okay with brutal work you put it. What people object to is making injured players play causing them further injury. It causes some people to die like some of the examples cited in this video, and dying for baseball is kind of the dumbest thing in my opinion. The same thing happens in American Football with traumatic brain injuries. People getting irreparable brain damage while playing a high school sport is also dumb.
As an American this was so shocking to watch. We’ve definitely begun to respect Japanese baseball again with the rise of Ohtani & the 2023 WBC. What’s more shocking is how realistic I’m realizing the Anime *Ace of Diamond* is. I thought it was just over dramatic like anime often is, but NO HAHAHA
It is sad lol my friend and I got hit in the ass with baseball bats lol One got an hematoma and the mother complained Lol baseball culture was so fucked up lolololol BORING AND TRAUMA INDUCING😅
I work at the koshien stadium, and there’s been talks every year about not having the tournament there anymore because it’s outdoors and the high schoolers are playing baseball in 37-40 degree heat during the day. But these proposals have been denied because almost all of the players put insane focus on playing at THE koshien stadium. I feel like that information itself shows how sacred this stadium/tournament is to them.
Hideo deserves it more than anyone. I can't wait til Ichiro gets in this year. I watched his entire career since I've been a Mariners fan since 1989. And his buddy, Ken Griffey Jr is my favorite player. I fill believe Ichiro will be unanimous. Griffey should have been.
@@masonc9565OK but that's a totally different subject altogether. There's also the fact that he's not Japanese 🤷 yea he did a lot for free agency but Hideo Nomo is to Japanese people what Jackie Robinson is to African Americans. Hideo essentially opened up MLB to Asian players just like Jackie did for Black players.
One fact I'd like to add about koshien and best performances: There was one player named Seiichi Shima, who back in 1939 pitched 5 games, allowed 5 hits, 5 shutouts, 57 Ks, and 2 no hitters in the semi finals and finals which earned him the nickname "The legendary pitcher". Sadly he was killed in ww2 before he ever got the chance to play professionally
@@dog-ez2nuhe was drafted into the navy in 1944 when he was still a student at Meiji university, where he was studying to be a newspaper reporter. He died onboard an escort ship in March 1945 when it struck a mine. Doesn’t matter which side you might have supported: this was a tragic loss of life, and your simplistic hero villain brush painting is deplorable.
Could u imagine "big boss" rolling into Dodger Stadium on the hovercraft. The opposing team would be so butt hurt. The atmosphere of Japanese baseball is sick!!
@@ebscoHOSTpubsomeone hasn't been to dodger stadium in another teams jersey.. wear a braves, Astros, or Yankees jersey in the outfield at dodger stadium and tell me the fans are vanilla.
To put those population numbers in context, Japan is 124 million people total. That means half the population of the entire country watched the national team’s exhibition games 😮
Basketball is just called Basketball in Japan and is written in Katakana like a foreign word. Baseball in Japanese is written as 野球 (Yakyū). They gave it Kanji and a Japanese name. Ramen doesn't even have Kanji. It's still written in Katakana.
This is entirely true. I'm Japanese and have been playing baseball for basically my entire life, but man is it tough. Nowadays its more of a taboo to force players to push themselves too hard to the point of "pissing blood" or abusing them hence public opinion, but some elite schools still have this kind of training.
I'm glad things are changing. It seems that the spirit of sport and competition got lost in translation with Japan, with it becoming war. Sport is supposed to be fun. Not torture
Even though they lost by 82 points in the summer Koshien tournament, they cannot afford to give up. They are the players who know that this game will be their last official match in their baseball life, and their best friends.
As someone coming from Japan who's followed Japanese baseball since 90's, I can testify that this video touches on every single significant moment/topic of the last 3 decades and on point with its analysis of pros and cons of Japanese baseball. Hats off to incredible research. Amazing work!
The reason why it's like this is because of nationalistic and historical disputes that trail back from China dating back to ancient times! Japan wanted to show what respect really should be.
It's respectable but they really need to change their ways when dealing with pitcher's in their youth...that much strain definitely does damage and shortens their careers
Stories of abuse in high school baseball sounds like an extreme version of how American Football is treated in the US. Still remember an incident when a player broke his leg and missed practice for 2 weeks. He ended up having to run up and down the football field, and do a push-up every 5 yards. He did that 14 times, to make up the 14 days of practice he missed.
yeah that’s honestly probably the best american sport to compare it to, especially since football has a similar level of fervent respect among fans and players of all levels of the sport. it just doesn’t have the militaristic element of japanese baseball.
I remember a story from like maybe a decade ago. I saw it on the local news since I lived in MD. A university of Maryland football player died it was either of heat stroke or a heart attack. I think they were denied water in like 80* heat.
I attended a Baystars game last year (Tokyo Giants). The atmosphere was amazing!!! Exactly what you want to encounter in MLB but never do except for the playoffs. They had songs for the pitchers, batters, etc. Their cheerleader sections were as professional as a college football marching band. Japan loves baseball. Just a few weeks ago I was in Japan on New Years vacation. I saw a team of (I'm guessing) middle schoolers during their afternoon (?) run down in Enoshima while walking to the train station. I was too slow to the entrance and the entire team apologize for blocking the way and bow as they continue their run. Not saying that the child abuse isn't real but I'm glad the video highlighted that it also promoted good values of hard work & dedication to the little guys. Great video!
Because of my business, I would frequent Japan, and one occasion, I spent a month in Nagoya. The place where I worked was near a little league field. Every day I would spend my dinner sitting in the stands watching the kids practice and would sometimes watch a game during the weekends. They were so fundamentally sound with every aspect of the game.
Japan has so many good baseball players it’s crazy. Lot of dudes in the NPB that aren’t going to come over to MLB or too young can easily step into starting roles.
Out of the 8 Japanese players in mlb last season, only 3 were chosen for the WBC. Americans mistake that all of the Japanese players in mlb are the best group japan has to offer…..without realizing that MOST of japans mlbers are not even among the best of japan, while overwhelming majority of japans best talent is literally in japan. Roki sasaki has some saying he’s already the best pitcher in the world currently and he hasn’t played a single mlb game. The NPB has world class Japanese players. The difference in level from the mlb is simply because the mlb draws the best talent around the world, while the NPB only has the best talent from their own, the Japanese.
@@usersixnine347this is only partially true. Even if the MLB was only American players, the talent would still be greater. The US WBC and Olympic teams never feature the absolute best players they have to offer.
I often joke about the idea of Shohei Ohtani being created in a lab as part of something akin to a supersoldier program, but the more I see of Japanese baseball culture? The more I think they might *actually* try and do that, lol.
China had a breeding program to create superstar basketball players which ended up creating Yao Ming (yes this is a true story) They basically took the tallest men and women they could find, forced them to have intercourse, then trained the kids in basketball
Kousien is every man's dream in Japan. Before the Summmer Kousien we have a competition in the every prefecture and the winning team will get the ticket to the Kosien.
Funny that you mention Jimmy Dugan. Think of when that movie is set. Then think about what kinds of things Japan was doing at the time. Suffice to say, the extreme and hardcore approaches that country holds dearly as a matter of tradition has exhibited some serious batshittery that goes well beyond torn UCLs and dislocated shoulders.
Seeing this after seeing “Ace of Diamond” anime, this puts it into another perspective, and I absolutely loved it. I think I’m going to rewatch it, that’s how hyped up this video got me for Japanese baseball. P.S. 1 hour video from their channel a gift from the creator. We your fans thank you.
This anime perfectly embodies HS japanese baseball and the sheer amount of effort and training put into it. And that hard and non-stop training creates utter monsters like Todoroki Raichi. The Koshien mindset is also pinpoint perfect
I watch quite a bit of japanese and Taiwan and south Korean baseball. They are like college football games. They have bands that play absolutely all game long and never let up, even when the pitcher is about to pitch.
The World Baseball Classic this past March was legendary; epic matches like Japan vs Mexico, their Championship Match vs USA with Ohtani facing Trout in the 9th inning and having viewership ratings that far surpass any other country. Their passion and dedication to the sport is intense, scary yet impressive. Japan's too strict or the US is too soft in baseball? Japan brings discipline, Latinos bring spice and fun
Lmao yet USA gets to the gold medal round and goes toe to toe with them. You would think all that pissing blood practice and discipline would go reaches farther than American baseball but it doesn't 😂 its just people like you putting the Japanese on a God like pedestal.
@@AirLancer Buddy it's a joke. And it's not like Turn Based RPGs aren't enjoyed by everyone hell the Germans invented the whole concept of miniature wargames.
I know it’s not the same, but high end Texas High school football has a lot of similar practices that really don’t get talked about. I and a lot of other kids I knew destroyed our bodies bc we would be bullied out of getting injuries checked out, we would get pinned against one another constantly, underclassmen and upperclassmen with no prospects of starting were used as literal live tackling dummies for us to practice getting an idea of the other teams plays, so much so that often JV only got about 30 minutes of practice a week the day before game day to actually practice got there own games. I had a friend who almost died bc he kept being told he was just trying to get out of practice when he said he was sick, they wouldn’t let him leave till he started to throw up blood, turned out good appendix was in the process of bursting. He left a starter and came back 3 weeks later after being berated about being out and never touched the field again in a game in any meaningful way. My first head coach was allowed to step down rather than be fired after he slammed a players head off a locker when he caught them with a vape. They used to hit us, verbally abuse us in ways that were nuts looking back. We would lift and train for 2 hours before school, we would watch film for an hour before practice, practice for 3 hours in the beating Texas sun, then go for another hour long lift to finish up the day. When I went to quit after my 3rd hip surgery my head coach looked at me and said, “I destroyed my knees and I don’t regret it, I think this is just you taking the pussy way out.” And I just left his office without saying anything else. I was a pretty important player to the team as we were thin at offensive line as it was and I was the second best of the ones we had, and they just saw you as a stepping stone to move them along in there career to either an athletic director position at one of the 5A or 6A schools or a good position on a college coaching staff. It’s just very predatory on young kids and using there dreams to manipulate them and use them into accomplishing your own. Not all the coaches are that way, but A LOT of them are.
Full discretion, I'm a knuckle dragger that only watches UFC, but holy moly this was an amazing documentary and really gave me a whole new appreciation for Japan and baseball. Thank you so much for the hard work in this documentary and showing me a whole new world I didn't even know existed! Time to go train harder!
As someone who's actually been to a Japanese Baseball game, yeah I completely agree with this video. These guys LOVE the sport. I went to see the Yokohama BayStars back in 2011. They were a basement dwelling team and the cheering and support was like being at the Super Bowl. I learned that day that the most expensive seats in the house aren't necessarily best. Next time I'm over there, I'm getting a seat next to first base.
saw the giants play the baystars in the tokyo dome. one of one experience food was amazing and the atmosphere was awesome. reminds me of our college football but so coordinated chants and everything. still my favorite baseball experience
I've not been into Baseball long, as I'm in the UK and it's not a big deal over here, I kind of stumbled into it during covid, I know aside from the U.S, Baseball is massive in Japan, I just want to say thanks for the videos, and helping me learn more about it
I know right, it’s so interesting just seeing how much baseball impacts many parts of the world. I’ve met Japanese baseball players and even some from Venezuela 🤯
Thank you Hideo Nomo. As a Latino kid growing up and admiring Valenzuela I enjoyed watching Hideo when he was with the Dodgers. I was ecstatic when he had his no hitter, in Coors Field, of all places.
Koshien is a dream destination for children who play baseball, and a place where high school students absolutely want to participate. High school students practice hard every day to earn the right to participate. Japanese people love the pure efforts and passionate battles of high school students.
Another perspective on the crying. Consider the following. You just realized that your baseball career is over, as you've lost the last tournament game in your 3 years of high school. You get flashbacks of all the training and sacrifice over not only high school but years previous. Seven days of repetive grounders, cleaning the baseball grounds with your hands, 35+ degree temperature, verbal and physical humilation. But you strive on. It's all you've known for years. Surrounding you now are teammates, who've taken the journey with you. Your juniors come and both congratulate and console you, thanking you for your guidance, promising to continue the fight. All is over now ... bittersweet. Every year, this is what many highs schoolers go through. After you've given your all, and finality inevitably comes ... how can you not cry?
It's definitely similar in America in terms of that mindset. I remember my last game in high school and how disappointed I was in not being able to continue playing with my teammates. All the hard work I had put in over 4 years (3 years with our new head coach) with fellow seniors that I have known since either my JV days freshman year, or with two teammates, our club days. It is bittersweet to let go. Some will openly cry, others will not, but the pain is mostly still there.
Good points. To add on to that.. in Japanese baseball they expect the players to cry after a loss, therefore they're encouraged to let those emotions out. In American baseball you're expected to not cry after a loss, therefore most players suppress and hold back their emotions. There's even the popular saying here in America, "There's no crying in baseball!"
As an american who never got into baseball until watching the anime Major just so i could appriciate the sport 10 years ago, Its since to see an indepth look at japanese baseball, the history and traditions and how its evolving.
My grandmother most important time of the year was high school baseball season. I was born and raised in Japan but you sir have dug into things that even Japanese media struggles to tackle due to the cultural importance. One small thing I wanted to add was that practically every school can participate and most of the star players move into being majors such as ohtani and even if they stop after high school some major companies will simply hire them just for that achievement. But to young Japanese men it has always been a symbol that is tangible to all high schoolers that anyone can reach greatness with the right mentality and hard work. But ya shocked to hear the extent.
As a 23 year old Japanese guy who played baseball for 12 years in Japan, this content is so fun to watch. When in it comes to abusing, when I was in junior high school, I got kicked at my belly by a coach, but it was totally fine😂I got used to it and he’s too old no power When I was in high school, we were so focused on baseball to go to “Koshien”. In Japan, we have almost no rest day, personally when I was in a junior high school n high school, we had only one rest day in a week. I dumped my girlfriends cuz I wanted to practice it more and I had to study for uni 😅 we rarely had time to hang out with friends But this memory in high school is my treasure 😌
Culturally, it may look abusive and very well maybe. But when you contrast it with some American inner city Highschools whats more Abusive militarist sports culture or After School Gang violence & crime that leads to incarceration, homicide and zero contribution to society.
@@stalfithrildi5366 Write more than three word in a reply to someone else and you attention junkies line up like addicts. Reminds me of the 80's street corners.
@@Peakfreud The fact that its somewhat approved by the culture as whole and lead by supervised adults is what makes it abusive compared to gang violence(don’t even know why you thought this was a good comparison). Wait, gangsters in America go to high school? 😂
I love Japanese baseball. Everyone should experience going to a game at least once in their lives. The school I teach at is known for baseball and it’s a joy to watch the kids play. Makes me wish I played baseball as a kid. 😂
I'm not really a baseball fan, but I happened to be in Japan for about 6 weeks which also included the WBC title. I had no idea baseball was THAT big of a deal in Japan. It was everywhere, and pretty cool to see. Even as an American myself I found myself rooting for the Japan team just because of all the devotion they had over there for it (also because like I said, I don't watch baseball so I had no particular loyalty to the US team). Anyways really good video, I don't know how it ended up in my feed but I was not expecting to actually be entertained enough to watch it all. Incredibly interesting.
and to think that Ohtani went through this system, dominated it, and still be the nicest guy in the world? my respect for the guy (as high as it already was) has just gone through the roof. And of course, this goes for all the other players in Japan as well. I knew it was strict but I didn't know it was this outrageously strict.
Hm it may seem Extreme to us and it def is in some respects but honestly you pay the price for greatness , American culture is a shallow clownshow in many respects and promotes being a loser as ok.
Just for fairness. Far from all coaches are abusive! (Some footage of this video used scenes from old tv drama totally unrelated to baseball..for more dramatic effect) The abuse cases were so bad it was in the media..not a norm. In fact, Most coaches are munched loved for their devotions to their students. Or nobody will play baseball or letting their kids play bb. Shohei’s Coach Hiroshi Sasaki, refused to let Shohei pitch in their decisive Koshien games, because he had seen int the X-Ray that Ohtanis joints still weren’t finished growing.. The team lost the game. Shohei cried and cried but Coach Sasaki was adamant. He cared more about Shohei’s career and future. Same coach also is the Social studies teacher and made the student write, the now famous, Mandala chart of their life goals when he was 15 yrs old. Coach was disciplinary, when Sho overslept and kept others waiting he had to run extra hour and clean more spaces and the toilets for three days. And wasn’t allowed to play for those days..
@@Dylonysus I don`t think that same culture has produced some of the greatest Athletes in history without ever needing such a grueling training . It is like they are working mindlessly hard without thinking too much That system is abusive it is not difference of culture rather just that japan is still backwards in social values
As someone who is an International baseball scorer for the WBSC and has scored tournaments all over the world involving these Japanese phenoms when they were young and also with NPB, including the 2021 gold medal game in Tokyo, I knew a lot of this about Japan and their baseball process. But this video was still awesome, informative, interesting and well well done. Props to Baseball Doesn't Exist for this! I know baseball fans in the small baseball countries in Europe and other places will really really enjoy this as well. I had other stuff to do, but just sat and watched this video uninterrupted. Loved it!
I remember when Yuki Saito actually came to South Carolina a year after winning the Koshien as part of a series between the Japanese and American college all-star teams that was to be played a week later in North Carolina. His team played the Columbia Blowfish in the game I went to, and despite the Blowfish not being that good for a college summer team at the time would beat the Japanese All-Stars. One player who graduated from the same high school as mine even got a big hit off Saito in the 6th inning. There were a swarm of Japanese media covering Saito and I was even interviewed by one reporter since I was pretty much the only person in the crowd who had heard of Saito and knew his nickname (which I learned in the local newspaper which most people don't read).
I went to a Tokyo Swallows-Hanshin Tigers regular season game while i was there. I was super impressed by the crowd participation, all the fans knew all the chants. Hanshin was the away team and they completely filled up the visiting section and brought a pep band. Dont see that in the MLB lol
The 12-hour practices these kids have to endure makes me feel better about my 12-hour overnight shift. The discipline and determination in everything the Japanese do is unrivaled.
Japanese culture loves abusing and taking advantage of people. It's why suicide is so prevalent in Japan. It's why no one wants to have children. People in charge push anyone below them to their brink; anything less than that is seen as a betrayal.
I worked in Nishinomiya..where Koshien Stadium is... that place is to Japanese is as sacred as Arlington National Cemetary, Sistine Chapel, Italy and Mecca. For most Japanese players.. it is number one on the bucket list, more so the NBL or MBL.
I got to be honest, an 1 hour long video is tough to watch, but not for this channel. Is entertaining, narrative and even funny the way you tell the stories, and situations in your videos. Great job!
my friend ron passed away last year and i wish he was still here to sit down and enjoy this absolutely monster of a video from you he would have loved that you made an hour long vid!
Can we all take a minute to acknowledge the perfectly executed narration, background music, & editing? It's not often all three come together so flawlessly. We might as well appreciate the research required to make an hour long video, as well as the unbelievable amount of time spent just to go through and select all the individual clips. Great work my friend, truly impressive.
Having attended the inaugural World Baseball Classic in Orlando, I was amazed how Domincan and Venezuelan fans celebrated in te stands. It was awesome to see and a lesson MLB can learn from.
The whole American Attitude sucks about baseball. The whole "unwritten rules" bullshit they believe in takes away from the fun. Players should strut and celebrate after a home run. They should talk shit and celebrate for striking out someone ending an inning and so on. Instead they feel slighted they would rather hit them with a pitch which is dumb and dangerous. The way the latin teams celebrated was way more fun and should be commended.
If you want more insight into Japanese baseball, I highly recommend the anime Major. You get to see the MC go through the grueling Japanese process from a kid to the major leagues
This was a masterpiece. Had my attention riveted to the screen for all 60 minutes and 33 seconds. This is a monumental accomplishment because I find baseball generally intolerable unless it’s an exceptional highlight reel. In real time, the Sport is a snooze fest for 90 percent of the game with the players spending half of it on their asses. BUT MAN THE DRAMA THATS JAPAN BRINGS TO THE TABLE!! It’s just infectious.
Watching Ohtanis run as the GOAT culminating in him winning the JPN-USA against his American teammate who is also considered by some is one of the Greatest players is nothing short of poetic. How could you not love baseball?
To be fair ohtani doesn't even come close to Trout yet. His last few seasons have certainly been historic, and will certainly go down as some of the single greatest seasons ever along with Babe Ruth's dual seasons... But he's got a lot of baseball to play and an awful lot of injuries stacking up. So let's revisit the who is better between ohtani and trout in about 8 to 10 years Because as of right now Trout's body of work is still far more impressive
@RandallBalls I think Ohtani already out-pitches Trout. Do you think Trout would have his batting performance if he also pitches too? As for Babe, I wouldn't say "ALONG with Babe as a two-way player" Ohtani already surpassed Babe as a two-way player, before Babe decided to be a full time batter. PERIOD!!!!! Babe playing in a segregated league traveling only a few states to play other teams.
Japan is quietly awesome at sports. They started doing an American Football world championship years ago and Japan always finishes in the top 3. They seem to be all around good at sports.
@mr.dynamite2924 they've only made it out of group stage at world cup 4 times in their entire history. Making it to the world cup is decent, but like I said they've never ascended from okay to good
While I can appreciate the intensity and commitment it’s great to hear that the abusive culture has changed. There is no question that those kids are committed and dedicated, while discipline is great, there’s a fine line between abuse and discipline, that said they are doing a lot to address it these days. That said, it’s great for the MLB & Baseball in general that Japanese baseball is getting more recognition and exposure; plus it’s amazing to see more Japanese players in the MLB too.
Upon getting over halfway though the video I finally realized why I love the unity and discipline in Japanese baseball culture so much, it’s like hbcu show band culture, which I not only love quite a bit but am a proponent of. Only at the high school level thus far but still, the semi-militaristic nature, the hellish practice, the school/cultural spirit, the camaraderie, the determination, it’s insane. If show bands were as popular in America as baseball is in Japan I think I’d explode from joy.
The 2006 Koushien tournament was what got me into baseball. Handkerchief prince was a god in Japan that year. I wonder what would've happened had he become a pro after high school I stead of going to university but I imagine he must be satisfied with his life, I see him on Japanese TV all the time even now, 18 years later.
I’m just a bloke from London that doesn’t watch baseball at all and you’re one of my favorite TH-cam channels and make me want to watch baseball proper content mate
These Koshien stories about guys throwing a million pitches are insane. If I saw a sports anime where the pitcher main character threw a 200 pitch complete game then threw another 200 pitch complete game the next day I would assume it was a laughable exaggeration, but not only does it happen but we have it on tape! That’s insane
I grew up playing my countries version of baseball but as a kid never really had an opportunity to get familiar with American or Japanese baseball so had no idea of any of this going on. However this was such an amazing video. So well put together and narrated that in my opinion it deserves to be on Netflix and other streaming platforms.
getting to watch Ichiro emerge into american baseball with my own eyes was genuinely something special. getting to watch Ken Griffey Jr. was amazing, and he will always be my hero, but Ichiro was one of a kind. the only other person i can think of that was close in terms of hitter profile was Tony Gwynn.
@@jongordon7914 didn't score a lot of runs? Ichiro is 90th on the ALL TIME RUNS list. that's top 100. all time. literally one slot in front of David Ortiz. wtf were you smoking when you made this hot armchair analysis? lmfao. bro came in here and stated the obvious while being completely wrong at the same time.
This may sound very foreign to Americans, but alot of young Japanese boys thats into baseball somewhat looks up and are attracted to the militaristic style culture of Japanese baseball. The military style culture has been deeply ingrained into Japanese baseball so much to the point that its been heavily romanticized through various medias. The hierarchical system, camaraderie, harsh discipline, living among your teammates, the shaved heads, marching like soldiers during the Koshien opening ceremony, representing your prefecture, waving the school flag etc. All of these images is what attracts young Japanese boys in wanting to be part of this baseball culture. Although they may look up to Japanese players in the MLB such as Shohei Ohtani, they’re not particularly attracted to the individualistic and laid back culture of American baseball. Its making it to the Koshien tournament while in high school they all dream of. Koshien tournament is the pinnacle of Japanese baseball culture and the idea of going professional(or even going to the MLB) after graduating is secondary for most. Even some NPB players who have played professional for years would still express regret for not having a successful Koshien run.
@@puckered6036 Do you think the number of baseball participants among American youths would increase if they adopted this militaristic style culture(but in an American way) to the sport?
It's not because the boys want it that it is not child abuse and is ok. It's insane. How many baseball generational talent have been lost due to injuries and abuses ?
@@melo7038 I dont know what being a drone is but different country=different cultural mindset=different aspiration. Trust me, the popularity of baseball would decrease by ALOT if Japanese baseball culture shifted towards becoming more American. The sport would be as dead as it is in America.
Watching baseball in Japan hits different. It might be difficult to get tickets for games with popular teams like the Hanshin Tigers or the Yomiuri Giants, but you will never forget the memories. The atmosphere is on another level.
The Japanese have a tradition of perfecting everything they do. So it doesn’t surprise me seeing so more & more Japanese athletes making a name for themselves in western sports. I myself am a skateboarder & they are literally taking over the sport. ✌🏾
True. The only reason Japan hasn't taken over soccer yet is because Japanese soccer has become professional in th mid 90s. And thus is still developing. Yet the sheer increse in quality that Japan is showing in their players is astounding. In a couple of decades they will be a power to be reckoned with.
@@CSLucasEpic They also can't get away with being barbarians to their players and killing them in the modern era like they could with Baseball early on
The story of the catcher playing with teeth knocked out is nutty. When I was in high school I got my front tooth nearly knocked out by a fastball and got a root canal from it, painful.
I watch Japanese baseball more than the MLB I started after Trevor started playing overseas and I’ve never stopped they have world class talent from the crowds to the staff to the production quality just awesome love for the game the MLB need to learn how to love the game again
I lived in Japan for 2 years in my early 20s as a Mormon Missionary. One night in the spring we were going through a park (Japanese parks are INSANE btw) and we saw a little league team practicing. It was nearly 9 o clock at night and these kids were grinding it out. They were throwing a ball around the bases and yelling "SPEED! SPEED! SPEED!" with every throw. It was insane.
@LC--22so called can mean the same as "also known as" - maybe just a lil slip-up. Ppl get so mad for the smallest things lmao. He just reports this stuff. It does way more towards helping the japanese athletes in future than anything you do lol
we used to watch the autumn and summer tournament and summer koushien in 2022-2023. we often screamed our heads of the overpitching that kept going on. and yet sometimes, even teams with a lot of star pitchers didn't always win.. one of the other problem is the 20-man count for highschool teams for the prefectural tournaments and the 18-man count for summer koushien. iirc professional baseball teams have 40 man count.
Ryuhei Ueda, the famous Japanese comedian who entertained the audience with a kiss at the beginning of this video, died by suicide the year before last. May he rest in peace
The Japan Baseball discord is incredible and helped me enjoy the 2023 NPB season. Folks in there helped me watch games during the season, explained things and made it feel like a perfect fit to watch baseball in the mornings.
24:40 My theory why Japanese players got injured so much less is that: they started training from a young age so their bodies have time to adapt, the year long training kept them in peak physical condition so injuries were less severe and they recovered much faster, and Japanese culture (plus the additional practice hours) focuses much more on good form (such as the traditional leg swing, while not as good for hitting fast pitches it is utilizing more of your body so it's less wear on your shoulder/arm). It's one of those things where they would get horribly injured because of how much and how how hard they play, if they ever got out of shape or out of practice, so the only solution is to keep playing and training to stay at the top of the game.
except that's complete bullshit, the younger you start the more injury prone you are. Sure being in peak physical condition is beneficial for preventing injuries but starting young increases wear and tear specifically on the joints and tendons, causing tears ruptures and just overall worsening of joint function because of decreased cartilage. focusing on correct and safe form is the best way to prevent injuries and not overworking yourself in both the short and long term.
Hallelujah ! The depth of your research and subsequent analysis to make the video is second to NONE ! And I grew up playing baseball in the infamous Japanese military baseball league !
I played very competitive little league baseball. Went to the Little League World Series twice and i can say my coach for those teams definitely took the Japanese training methods to heart. Puking as 10 year olds because of running for miles and miles. It was absuive but something amazing at the same time. I dont even know how to describe it accurately. We had many "death paractices" that were over 4 to 5 hrs long. I was so engrained in baseball that after those practices i would come home and play wall ball with myself and my glove until i went to bed. Thankfully my house had a this massive brick fireplace in my living room with vaulted ceilings. So i was able to throw the tennis balls high like a pop up and practice jumping over walls with the furniture. By age 15 i was a well oiled machine but was completely burnt out. One thing I would have loved carry over to the US is no forefeits. I would love to rock pitcher after pitcher until we were up 82-0 lol. But many of our games ended after 3 innings because we were up by twenty so I only got to bat twice if I was lucky. However whenever we played a competitive tournament I could catch 18 innings a day. You should see a picture of my knee cap lol. I'm 35 and my body is that of a 50 year old. Have had multiple concussions as well. I remember playing over 100 games during the spring and summer and then starting "fall ball" the next week. With all said, it definitely helped me become the man I am today. I deal with the trauma yes, but I also know anything is possible and I will never quit on something until I achieve it.
The gutsy, traditional Japanese baseball culture showcased in this video is changing. The high school that won last year's Koshien Championship adopts the principle of "enjoying baseball" and allows freedom in hairstyles as well.
Yesssir (^｡^)
Donald Douglas summed it up similarly, "Here's proof that free men can out-produce slaves."
By the way, the winning school is also famous as the high school with the highest deviation value in Japan. After graduation, they will work in the bureaucracy or in prestigious companies.
This comment uses a translation site
Bobby Valentine who isn't really a players coach, took a nothing team to a Japan Series title w/ the radical idea that coaches aren't allowed to beat the shit out of their players. This idea probably also got him fired twice from the same team.
He covered this in the video.
As someone who has played in the Japanese little league for a few years I can attest that these Japanese little league teams are insane. My team didn't personally practice more than a few hours a week, and it showed. Against the Japanese teams, our team was absolutely horrible and once got a game called in the 3 inning because we were losing 27 to 3, even though most of our players were at least a few years older than most of the other team. They just had an ungodly ability to make hard contact, and their pitching was leaps and bounds above anything I had seen before. Japanese little league is no joke.
Awesome story, thanks for sharing. Was good to read!
but the end result is shohei otani
@@SadBoysCollectiveCirca96 imagine how many hundreds of thousands of boys go thru all the same stuff but don’t even make it to the japanese professional league much less the MLB like Shohei
I’m sure I played against some future talents.
@@anamoose461 because they’re not Shohei Otani
As an American who spent 3 years growing up in Nagoya Japan. Watching the Nagoya Dragon baseball team is something I will never forget. Made it onto the jumbo-tron 3 times in a game and the crowd was WILD yet respectful. Drums, chants, cheers. Great life experience.
I lived in Kasugai for 2 years.
Yeah but they just go on cheering all the time instead of responding to what is going on the game. It's annoying.
those games are fun especially if hometeam is winning but it takes some getting used to--especially when the home team is losing but the chanter/cheerleaders are still cheering and singing like they have a shot at winning...
@@cejannuzilol i feel you man but it’s about the culture. In Japan the crowd cheers for Both teams for some reason and I still don’t get it tbh.
@@cejannuziI'm replying as a Japanese person who loves baseball. That's completely off the mark. Japanese people deeply love baseball. It just became a form of singing cheering songs when supporting your favorite team. That's why I'm always happy and sad about what happens on the field, and when an opposing player makes a good play, I applaud even if it's from the opposing team, and I pay close attention to every move made by the players on the team I'm rooting for. This is because the fans have a deep love for their team and baseball itself.
If you watched/read Ace of Diamond, you cried watching this. The amount of heart these kids have brings me to tears.
kataoka was the first person i've thought of when i saw this video😂 i was looking for a Daiya no Ace comment and i found yours😂
Amazing anime. Big Windup! is amazing too
You really see how high schoolers don't care about the pro's either in the MLB or NPB. The focus was always nationals and only after that was it mentioned being pro.
As they are abused to think that way about the sport...
@@toidIllorTAmI Its just how the culture there is about high school baseball. Unless you also think americans are abused to think college/high school sports matter since even in europe thats not the case
An hour long BDE video? What did we do to deserve this blessing??
Wow I didn’t even notice this. Time for popcorn. And explains why he hasn’t been posting recently
Joey and his team putting in some WORK!
I thought I was tripping 😭
Ikr
BDE fans eating good today!
I'm not that into baseball, but this channel is one of the best things in sports journalism today.
Facts. This guy and Jxmyhighroller are the pinnacle of sports journalism on TH-cam. Excellent content. I’m not even a basketball fan and I watch Jimmy’s videos. And this channel has turned me into a baseball fan
Same. I literally never watch baseball but I find the stories entertaining
No shit, can't be into a game that doesn't exist
@@a006deltalol 😭😭😭
@@cargopilotguy305Secret base is also a fantastic sports channel especially any content Jon Bois makes.
A factual error regarding Ohtani: he wanted to come to the MLB as soon as he graduated from high school, but the team who drafted him, Nippon Ham Fighters, persuaded him not to be too hasty. They drew up a "business plan" which would better prepare Ohtani as a pro, both as a hitter and pitcher, so he would be ready for MLB a few years later. They wanted him to succeed first in the NPB, and then send him off.
It ended up great for both at end of the day, Ohtani became a legend even on MLB, while Fiighters had won with Ohtani, a thing that they are still yet to do even with Big Boss in command
MLBがドラフト指名出来るのはアメリカ🇺🇸プエルトリコ🇵🇷カナダ🇨🇦国籍か所属選手だけ。大谷は直接MLBと契約出来ません
【追加】
上記の件につき,幾つかの異議,異論が寄せられましたのでまとめて述べておきます
①｢internationalFAで直接行けるはず｣→internationalFAには｢移籍の制限｣｢国内ルールを優先｣項目があります。②｢高校卒業でMLBと契約をすれば行ける｣→大谷がNBPからドラフト指名を受けた時点で上記の項目に抵触します。大谷は実際ファイターズから指名を受け契約交渉権を指名した球団が破棄しない限り,翌年ドラフトまでファイターズが契約交渉権を保有し,他球団(海外であろうと)は契約出来ません
③｢マイナーと契約出来る｣MiLBだろうが,MLB機構の傘下です。
現実的な話として大谷がMLB(マイナー含む)にNPB経由せずに行くには日本のドラフト指名がなかった場合かアメリカの大学に進学しドラフトを受けるケースしか考えられないが,私が知らないだけで(大谷の場合)NPBを経由しないで最短でMLB(マイナー含む)と契約入団出来るコースがあったら逆に教えて欲しい
I believe it was more about MLB teams not being interested in him as a hitter. No doubt they were wrong, but the precedent for an elite 2-way player was a sample of 1 a hundred years ago. Combine that with the fact that every Japanese hitter besides Ichiro being a bust, MLB teams weren't going to develop him as a hitter, point blank.
Japanese players famously have no leverage when it comes to going pro in the US (once they are in the NPL), and when you combine that with the fact that Ohtani would miss our on a TON of money because of new MLB salary rules (if he had left right after HS, he would have been grandfathered into the old uncapped system), he made a serious sacrifice joining the NPL.
His team did give him unprecedented verbal commitments though, which they honored. This allowed him to play as the two-way player he wanted to be, and they allowed him to leave whenever he wanted, which was unprecedented.
I believe it was more about MLB teams not being interested in him as a hitter. No doubt they were wrong, but the precedent for an elite 2-way player was a sample of 1 a hundred years ago. Combine that with the fact that every Japanese hitter besides Ichiro being a bust, MLB teams weren't going to develop him as a hitter, point blank.
Japanese players famously have no leverage when it comes to going pro in the US (once they are in the NPL), and when you combine that with the fact that Ohtani would miss our on a TON of money because of new MLB salary rules (if he had left right after HS, he would have been grandfathered into the old uncapped system), he made a serious sacrifice joining the NPL.
His team did give him unprecedented verbal commitments though, which they honored. This allowed him to play as the two-way player he wanted to be, and they allowed him to leave whenever he wanted, which was unprecedented.
I believe it was more about MLB teams not being interested in him as a hitter. No doubt they were wrong, but the precedent for an elite 2-way player was a sample of 1 a hundred years ago. Combine that with the fact that every Japanese hitter besides Ichiro being a bust, MLB teams weren't going to develop him as a hitter, point blank.
Japanese players famously have no leverage when it comes to going pro in the US (once they are in the NPL), and when you combine that with the fact that Ohtani would miss our on a TON of money because of new MLB salary rules (if he had left right after HS, he would have been grandfathered into the old uncapped system), he made a serious sacrifice joining the NPL.
His team did give him unprecedented verbal commitments though, which they honored. This allowed him to play as the two-way player he wanted to be, and they allowed him to leave whenever he wanted, which was unprecedented.
I had a small skinny Japanese kid on my little league team who just moved to America. That was many years ago, but he’s one of my only teammates I remembered. He threw like a rocket, perfectly accurate throws from the outfield or from 3rd to 1st, like 70 mph when the rest of us probably only threw 40 mph
Was he crying after lost
@@AmericanOfficalCB he prob cried, and beat the coach with a belt
Whats your little league team called
I was on an American little league team that played, in Tokyo, against the then LLWS series champ. Our American team was so much larger, so much faster, and we could throw faster than the Japanese kids. It really isn't true that the Japanese generally throw faster and harder than Americans. BUT, their pitchers could throw change-ups, screw balls, knucklers, and curves like American pros. ALL of their batters could accurately PLACE a ball and some even used POOL-STYLE ENGLISH on the balls so they would spin in to the dug-out after going FAIR. Our AMERICAN pitchers could only throw change-ups. The small Japanese kids hit our pitches like it was batting practice, and they beat us 22-2. This was before the 10-run-lead rule.
song 2:25??
I was a baseball player when I was growing up in 70’s. Coach pushed us so hard in the middle of summer practicing WITHOUT water, I ended up having kidney stone! The big scar on my left side is my reminder that hard practice without scientific evidence is nothing but stupidity ! I still love Japanese baseball. But I think I like it better with modern scientific Japanese baseball. Hail to Ohtani !
Yeah discipline and hard work are virtues but that sort of nonsense is just posturing.
So, you had a kidney stone? Well, you’ve got two kidneys don’t you? Get back out there, ya quitter!
Since all this footage was so old I suspect they've been integrating more science recently
Yeah, we've done some pretty fucked up things in the sports world... and for what? Thankfully some of these practices have changed over time
they have changed. most of the npb teams have staff that have worked in the majors and a lot of players have been going to driveline and similar facilities in the offseason@@Set_Your_Handlle
I'm just some random British bloke who has never watched baseball in my life but this video is sensational
That's because the UK sucks when it comes to sports
Yeah baseball is peak Americana
@@stelladavis7832 this video is good because the UK supposedly sucks at sports? Bizarre take
@@Gehenaus235 Yes, that's because the UK sucks at sports
@@Gehenaus235 you would hate it, Dead boring.
Japanese players who go to the MLB always say that one of the hardest things they have to adjust to, is the minimal amounts of practice they get before the game. Seiya Suzuki, known quite famously in Japan for practicing a lot despite his already successful career in npb, said in an interview that he had to find time to practice by himself in the MLB, since practice sessions before games are extremely short, and major league players simply don’t practice as much as normal npb players.
Really shows the difference in culture between the two.
Which is why Ichiro had his own in-season and off-season routines. In a way, his whole life was built around his training and practice routines.
Same dynamic in basketball too. Euro players practice far more with many Americans down to little league equivalents considering 6 games a week as practice.
I mean, it isn't a surprise. As easy as is to respect on the surface, the same mentality is destroying Japan... even down to the demographics.
Unless I am misunderstanding, the Euro players in basketball are totally dominating, as they have a significantly better grasp of the basics of basketball and team play. Americans just want the highlight play and... well Carmelo Anthony is proof that gets you nowhere @@davidnelson7719
I mean, it seems healthier to me. Besides the fact that they should have LIVES. The morality of telling people they have to give their current lives and futures with destroyed bodies is ghastly. It also seems to spit in the face of the purpose of a GAME is to have fun. You can for sure have extreme competition and take it seriously, but it seems to dishonor the spirit of the games.
This channel changed my life when I stumbled on this video.
I knew nothing about baseball and now I can't live without it... I even changed my Japan itinerary and visited a bunch of stadiums including koshien + the hall off fame museum. Now I'm following MLB religiously and went to my first game (blue jays v. dodgers). All of that happened literally in a span of 3 months from watching this video lmao... I wish I'd gotten into it sooner! So excited for post-season.
Dude same
song 2:25??
As a Taiwanese I loved this video, baseball in Taiwan is basically the little brother of japan and although we have a very powerful baseball team it’s nothing compared to how powerful Japanese baseball has become in the last 5 years. We loved watching npb in Taiwan and have tried to learn more and more from Japan aswell
You guys got a pretty good league in your own right. Wish Asian baseball was more available to watch over here, I’d love to watch those two leagues and KBO
We Japanese enjoyed Taiwanese team in WBC tournament. Your team was exciting and fun to watch. From Japan
I was fortunate enough to be in Japan for the Asia cup game between Japan and Taiwan last year. Taiwan's shortstop was so slick and Rui-Yang Gu Lin absolutely carved up a team of Japanese all-stars for 7 innings with his deadly curveball. Would love to see both of them on the world stage again!
It sucks we cant stream japanese baseball here in the US without paying
i found a link, but it was blocked in the US
I wanted to watch their world series
i couldnt find it
if you know a link tell me the name
for japan korea taiwan all of um
at least there is the caribean series starting next week
its only 10 days long though
i hope i can find it, if its not on american tv
i think espn has it, not sure
for mlb,, check mlb66, they record games, and you can rewatch them up until the next day, and check, vsportsurge, thestreameast, best polaris stream,, those work pretty good
The Japanese love the Taiwanese squad. So humble and respectful but at the same time giving everything they’ve got during the game. This is what the game is all about. Winning is just a bonus.
I played baseball on an American high school team in Japan. Our main competition was the other international schools and US military base schools in the area, but we would also play Japanese schools during the season. Mind you, none of the Japanese schools we played were Koshien caliber, but they would smoke us every time.
I can say that some of our best could compete with their best. It's just there's more of them.
@@itslife1399 What do you mean? At the HS school level, only a few American HS teams could compete with Japan's HS teams. But that is based on what we care about at each level of the game. Our professional teams are significantly better than theirs though. Yoshida was a top 5 hitter in the entire league over in Japan and was the second best rookie on his own team over here, a team that finished last place in their division. America is still clearly better at baseball. We just don't care about HS baseball that way. For good reason - I wouldn't let my kid play baseball if they were going to get tortured by coaching staff. I appreciate the respect, integrity, and tradition in the Japanese game, but there are better ways of promoting those values than the degree of physical abuse they put players through.
@@wwpjd28this dude said “finished last place in the division” as an argument lol. Ohtani hasn’t had a single playoff appearance with angels and is 2x unanimous mvp and best player in baseball. Sorry the sport is a team game. Maybe add some context, no you don’t appreciate Japanese baseball, you’re offended at the video and felt the need to subtly diss japan and boast about how the US Is still the best. Yoshida was in genuine rookie of the year talks in the middle of the season, he didn’t have a bad year at all. In fact he finished top 5, and was only the 2nd best rookie on the team because another Red Sox finished 3rd in rookie rankings. And Another funny thing regarding your “last place in division” comment is the fact that the Red Sox play in the best division in baseball, and their record despite finishing last, is better than 4/5 of the entire Al central. Context matters.
And if you’re going to list yoshida, you can also name Kodai senga who came over as a 30 year old, runners up for rookie of the year and dominated. But only players that fit your point right?
@@wwpjd28Oh yeah that’s why the highest paid player if all time and pitcher of all time are from Japan because American is sooooo much better than Japan at baseball… keep coping that Japan is far superior than the US at the sport and producing great baseball players😂 you should be happy that Japan takes the sport so seriously maybe players from other countries will start putting in the effort to be as disciplined and good as the people who love this sport the most
Were you an ASIJ Mustang? I was a Kinnick Red Devil.
As a 23 year old Japanese guy who played baseball for 12 years in Japan, this content is so fun to watch.
When in it comes to abusing, when I was in junior high school, I got kicked at my belly by a coach, but it was totally fineI got used to it and he’s too old no power
When I was in high school, we were so focused on baseball to go to “Koshien”.
In Japan, we have almost no rest day, personally when I was in a junior high school n high school, we had only one rest day in a week. I dumped my girlfriends cuz I wanted to practice it more and I had to study for uni we rarely had time to hang out with friends
But this memory in high school is my treasure
I think most people are okay with brutal work you put it.
What people object to is making injured players play causing them further injury.
It causes some people to die like some of the examples cited in this video, and dying for baseball is kind of the dumbest thing in my opinion.
The same thing happens in American Football with traumatic brain injuries.
People getting irreparable brain damage while playing a high school sport is also dumb.
As an American this was so shocking to watch. We’ve definitely begun to respect Japanese baseball again with the rise of Ohtani & the 2023 WBC.
What’s more shocking is how realistic I’m realizing the Anime *Ace of Diamond* is. I thought it was just over dramatic like anime often is, but NO HAHAHA
@BuffaloBob-556it sums up how boring baseball that you gotta came with gay ideas to make interesting lol
It is sad lol my friend and I got hit in the ass with baseball bats lol
One got an hematoma and the mother complained
Lol baseball culture was so fucked up lolololol
BORING AND TRAUMA INDUCING😅
@@skydivenext lol
I work at the koshien stadium, and there’s been talks every year about not having the tournament there anymore because it’s outdoors and the high schoolers are playing baseball in 37-40 degree heat during the day.
But these proposals have been denied because almost all of the players put insane focus on playing at THE koshien stadium. I feel like that information itself shows how sacred this stadium/tournament is to them.
Nomo should be in the hall of fame, simply for his impact on the baseball world. You can't tell the story of baseball without Nomo.
Curt Flood too!
Hideo deserves it more than anyone. I can't wait til Ichiro gets in this year. I watched his entire career since I've been a Mariners fan since 1989. And his buddy, Ken Griffey Jr is my favorite player. I fill believe Ichiro will be unanimous. Griffey should have been.
@@masonc9565OK but that's a totally different subject altogether. There's also the fact that he's not Japanese 🤷 yea he did a lot for free agency but Hideo Nomo is to Japanese people what Jackie Robinson is to African Americans. Hideo essentially opened up MLB to Asian players just like Jackie did for Black players.
@@J.C... I’m saying because of Flood’s impact on the baseball world lol
Bro I love to imitate his action
One fact I'd like to add about koshien and best performances:
There was one player named Seiichi Shima, who back in 1939 pitched 5 games, allowed 5 hits, 5 shutouts, 57 Ks, and 2 no hitters in the semi finals and finals which earned him the nickname "The legendary pitcher". Sadly he was killed in ww2 before he ever got the chance to play professionally
@@dog-ez2nuwas about to say the exact same thing.
@@dog-ez2nuhe was drafted into the navy in 1944 when he was still a student at Meiji university, where he was studying to be a newspaper reporter. He died onboard an escort ship in March 1945 when it struck a mine. Doesn’t matter which side you might have supported: this was a tragic loss of life, and your simplistic hero villain brush painting is deplorable.
@@dog-ez2nu what the other guy said for 1. For 2: either way a war took away what could've been one of the best pitchers seen
@@dog-ez2nuI mean it’s the governments that throw their ppl into wars. Japan was basically a dictatorship (‘absolute monarchy’) at the time
@@dog-ez2nuI don’t think he personally planned Pearl Harbor or the Chinese war, so yes sadly he was killed in ww2
Could u imagine "big boss" rolling into Dodger Stadium on the hovercraft. The opposing team would be so butt hurt. The atmosphere of Japanese baseball is sick!!
NPB is taking baseball entertainment to the nth degree !
Japan also had the best MMA presentation with Pride
NASCAR-levels of wacky extra crap!
Dodger fans are some of the most vanilla. Why would anyone be butt hurt big boss flies around Dodger stadium?
@@ebscoHOSTpubsomeone hasn't been to dodger stadium in another teams jersey.. wear a braves, Astros, or Yankees jersey in the outfield at dodger stadium and tell me the fans are vanilla.
To put those population numbers in context, Japan is 124 million people total.
That means half the population of the entire country watched the national team’s exhibition games 😮
That's just going by televisions, probably way more
Insane to think about, I cannot imagine that many people in America watching anything @@KBEM.mp4
Sadly a lot of that population are geriatrics
Yeah... That's not how TV works. There's a few million in there that are from other countries.
Basketball is just called Basketball in Japan and is written in Katakana like a foreign word. Baseball in Japanese is written as 野球 (Yakyū). They gave it Kanji and a Japanese name. Ramen doesn't even have Kanji. It's still written in Katakana.
I think the most shocking fact was that the MOST pitches thrown in the 2023 season was 117… NOBODY got to the 120’s.. WILD
The only one I can think of is Michael Lorenzen during his perfect game with 124
That pitcher that did it is pushing 41 to lol. The younger guys gotta step up their game.
@@carlolingesso1471 Why’d he say the highest was 117 then?? I knew that sounded off..
I think that was because of the pitch clock. Pitchers were getting gassed in 7th because they couldn’t slow the pace.
alex cobb threw 131 on august 29
This is entirely true. I'm Japanese and have been playing baseball for basically my entire life, but man is it tough. Nowadays its more of a taboo to force players to push themselves too hard to the point of "pissing blood" or abusing them hence public opinion, but some elite schools still have this kind of training.
I'm glad things are changing. It seems that the spirit of sport and competition got lost in translation with Japan, with it becoming war. Sport is supposed to be fun. Not torture
選手育成ノウハウがない時代にそういった指導が蔓延しただけ
今はまずない
@@melo7038
ballsports as a profession brings out the worst in humans.
Even though they lost by 82 points in the summer Koshien tournament, they cannot afford to give up.
They are the players who know that this game will be their last official match in their baseball life, and their best friends.
K dork
As someone coming from Japan who's followed Japanese baseball since 90's, I can testify that this video touches on every single significant moment/topic of the last 3 decades and on point with its analysis of pros and cons of Japanese baseball. Hats off to incredible research. Amazing work!
But american baseball is still good too.
Now do hockey
The reason why it's like this is because of nationalistic and historical disputes that trail back from China dating back to ancient times! Japan wanted to show what respect really should be.
It's respectable but they really need to change their ways when dealing with pitcher's in their youth...that much strain definitely does damage and shortens their careers
Stories of abuse in high school baseball sounds like an extreme version of how American Football is treated in the US. Still remember an incident when a player broke his leg and missed practice for 2 weeks. He ended up having to run up and down the football field, and do a push-up every 5 yards. He did that 14 times, to make up the 14 days of practice he missed.
yeah that’s honestly probably the best american sport to compare it to, especially since football has a similar level of fervent respect among fans and players of all levels of the sport. it just doesn’t have the militaristic element of japanese baseball.
Japan far worst yout American nfl soft
@anamoose461 you Americans makee laugh .. Japan baseball alot harder on the people then football in America
I remember a story from like maybe a decade ago. I saw it on the local news since I lived in MD. A university of Maryland football player died it was either of heat stroke or a heart attack. I think they were denied water in like 80* heat.
@@NRC613Thats why the comment said it was more extreme? He admitted that japenese baseball is much more difficult.
I attended a Baystars game last year (Tokyo Giants). The atmosphere was amazing!!! Exactly what you want to encounter in MLB but never do except for the playoffs. They had songs for the pitchers, batters, etc. Their cheerleader sections were as professional as a college football marching band. Japan loves baseball.
Just a few weeks ago I was in Japan on New Years vacation. I saw a team of (I'm guessing) middle schoolers during their afternoon (?) run down in Enoshima while walking to the train station. I was too slow to the entrance and the entire team apologize for blocking the way and bow as they continue their run. Not saying that the child abuse isn't real but I'm glad the video highlighted that it also promoted good values of hard work & dedication to the little guys. Great video!
If you like college football marching band you should see koshien, they use bands simmilar to US college football marching bands
育成ノウハウのない時代に虐待指導が蔓延していました
今は殆ど聞きません
Because of my business, I would frequent Japan, and one occasion, I spent a month in Nagoya. The place where I worked was near a little league field. Every day I would spend my dinner sitting in the stands watching the kids practice and would sometimes watch a game during the weekends. They were so fundamentally sound with every aspect of the game.
I’m curious, what type of business do you have that would make you frequent Japan ?
@@timbolandyy2295 tentacle-porn author
Japan has so many good baseball players it’s crazy. Lot of dudes in the NPB that aren’t going to come over to MLB or too young can easily step into starting roles.
Out of the 8 Japanese players in mlb last season, only 3 were chosen for the WBC. Americans mistake that all of the Japanese players in mlb are the best group japan has to offer…..without realizing that MOST of japans mlbers are not even among the best of japan, while overwhelming majority of japans best talent is literally in japan. Roki sasaki has some saying he’s already the best pitcher in the world currently and he hasn’t played a single mlb game. The NPB has world class Japanese players. The difference in level from the mlb is simply because the mlb draws the best talent around the world, while the NPB only has the best talent from their own, the Japanese.
@@usersixnine347this is only partially true. Even if the MLB was only American players, the talent would still be greater. The US WBC and Olympic teams never feature the absolute best players they have to offer.
@@the_weasler massive cope. The USA sent their best batters and were shut down by NPB pitching in last years wbc lmfao.
@@usersixnine347 Japan won by 1 run against a staff where Adam Wainwright was the best pitcher and was outhit 9-5.
Please define "Shut down"
id rather have the Japanese than all the arrogant and mediocre Dominican players
I often joke about the idea of Shohei Ohtani being created in a lab as part of something akin to a supersoldier program, but the more I see of Japanese baseball culture? The more I think they might *actually* try and do that, lol.
then you've totally misinterpreted Japanese culture...
China had a breeding program to create superstar basketball players which ended up creating Yao Ming (yes this is a true story)
They basically took the tallest men and women they could find, forced them to have intercourse, then trained the kids in basketball
All this just to lose to Dominicans ☠️☠️
As a Japanese, I can confirm Shohei Ohtani is the result of a scientific experiment😂
@@montanawildhack2760Call it culture or whatever you want but at the core that's kinda what it is.
Kousien is every man's dream in Japan. Before the Summmer Kousien we have a competition in the every prefecture and the winning team will get the ticket to the Kosien.
It makes me think of a Baseball version of March Madness, our college basketball tournament. The things dreams are made of.
Jimmy Dugan: "There's no CRYING in baseball!!!"
Japanese Baseball manager: "There IS crying in baseball!!!"
And it better be blood!
Manly tears in baseball: not a bad idea at all.
Funny that you mention Jimmy Dugan. Think of when that movie is set. Then think about what kinds of things Japan was doing at the time. Suffice to say, the extreme and hardcore approaches that country holds dearly as a matter of tradition has exhibited some serious batshittery that goes well beyond torn UCLs and dislocated shoulders.
Seeing this after seeing “Ace of Diamond” anime, this puts it into another perspective, and I absolutely loved it. I think I’m going to rewatch it, that’s how hyped up this video got me for Japanese baseball.
P.S. 1 hour video from their channel a gift from the creator. We your fans thank you.
I just realized I made a huge mistake in not including “Mr. Baseball” in this conversation. 🎞️
I was literally thinking of Ace of the Diamond once he mentioned the cheering section lol
Major! is another great baseball manga/anime
This anime perfectly embodies HS japanese baseball and the sheer amount of effort and training put into it. And that hard and non-stop training creates utter monsters like Todoroki Raichi. The Koshien mindset is also pinpoint perfect
The GOAT of sports anime, too bad no one has heard of it though. @@jac_238
I watch quite a bit of japanese and Taiwan and south Korean baseball. They are like college football games. They have bands that play absolutely all game long and never let up, even when the pitcher is about to pitch.
I like those beacuse of it too
The World Baseball Classic this past March was legendary; epic matches like Japan vs Mexico, their Championship Match vs USA with Ohtani facing Trout in the 9th inning and having viewership ratings that far surpass any other country. Their passion and dedication to the sport is intense, scary yet impressive.
Japan's too strict or the US is too soft in baseball?
Japan brings discipline, Latinos bring spice and fun
Lmao yet USA gets to the gold medal round and goes toe to toe with them. You would think all that pissing blood practice and discipline would go reaches farther than American baseball but it doesn't 😂 its just people like you putting the Japanese on a God like pedestal.
Trout is a bum
venezuela vs USA was a fun match too. lots of great games
Japan definitely too strict if they are physically beating on players.
@@ljpal18that’s just a cultural thing. Beatings like those are completely normal in eastern Asian societies. You might find it abusive but they don’t.
Baseball coincidentally follows a similar structure to traditional turn-based JRPG combat. No wonder they took to it so well.
They’re also kinda similar to Vulcans who love Baseball. th-cam.com/video/QnQ-U0Ovgks/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Chfnpv2AhhondUBw
lmao this is amazing
ive unironically thought this before
You say that like baseball hadn't had decades of presence in Japan before video games even existed.
@@AirLancer Buddy it's a joke. And it's not like Turn Based RPGs aren't enjoyed by everyone hell the Germans invented the whole concept of miniature wargames.
Suddenly, Tanaka's talk from "Major League II" about a baseball player needing to be a "warrior" makes a lot more sense.
Best comment on this video 😀
I know it’s not the same, but high end Texas High school football has a lot of similar practices that really don’t get talked about. I and a lot of other kids I knew destroyed our bodies bc we would be bullied out of getting injuries checked out, we would get pinned against one another constantly, underclassmen and upperclassmen with no prospects of starting were used as literal live tackling dummies for us to practice getting an idea of the other teams plays, so much so that often JV only got about 30 minutes of practice a week the day before game day to actually practice got there own games. I had a friend who almost died bc he kept being told he was just trying to get out of practice when he said he was sick, they wouldn’t let him leave till he started to throw up blood, turned out good appendix was in the process of bursting. He left a starter and came back 3 weeks later after being berated about being out and never touched the field again in a game in any meaningful way. My first head coach was allowed to step down rather than be fired after he slammed a players head off a locker when he caught them with a vape. They used to hit us, verbally abuse us in ways that were nuts looking back. We would lift and train for 2 hours before school, we would watch film for an hour before practice, practice for 3 hours in the beating Texas sun, then go for another hour long lift to finish up the day. When I went to quit after my 3rd hip surgery my head coach looked at me and said, “I destroyed my knees and I don’t regret it, I think this is just you taking the pussy way out.” And I just left his office without saying anything else. I was a pretty important player to the team as we were thin at offensive line as it was and I was the second best of the ones we had, and they just saw you as a stepping stone to move them along in there career to either an athletic director position at one of the 5A or 6A schools or a good position on a college coaching staff. It’s just very predatory on young kids and using there dreams to manipulate them and use them into accomplishing your own. Not all the coaches are that way, but A LOT of them are.
Full discretion, I'm a knuckle dragger that only watches UFC, but holy moly this was an amazing documentary and really gave me a whole new appreciation for Japan and baseball. Thank you so much for the hard work in this documentary and showing me a whole new world I didn't even know existed! Time to go train harder!
UFC fans always make watching ufc their personality 😭
@@avery.a5948soccer fans 👀
Edit sorry “football” I knew that would have made someone mad
Mma fan as well and now i know why Aoki always cries
Nobody asked for your Grindr bio
As someone who's actually been to a Japanese Baseball game, yeah I completely agree with this video. These guys LOVE the sport. I went to see the Yokohama BayStars back in 2011. They were a basement dwelling team and the cheering and support was like being at the Super Bowl. I learned that day that the most expensive seats in the house aren't necessarily best. Next time I'm over there, I'm getting a seat next to first base.
There was a Japanese Vtuber who was allegedly fired because she tweeted that she didn't understand Baseball.
@@Jordan-Ramses I think Korone just came to her house with a baseball bat.
I saw a game in the Tokyo Dome. A once in a lifetime experience!
2011年のベイスターズがスーパーボウルみたいな声援だった？？？
m.th-cam.com/video/9NgPTrGxui0/w-d-xo.html
↑これが？？？
この時期は暗黒時代ですよ？常に最下位でガラガラ
saw the giants play the baystars in the tokyo dome. one of one experience food was amazing and the atmosphere was awesome. reminds me of our college football but so coordinated chants and everything. still my favorite baseball experience
I've not been into Baseball long, as I'm in the UK and it's not a big deal over here, I kind of stumbled into it during covid, I know aside from the U.S, Baseball is massive in Japan, I just want to say thanks for the videos, and helping me learn more about it
If you really want to learn about baseball mate … look no further than an island in the Caribbean called The Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
The Caribbean, South Korea, and Taiwan as well
Baseball is a bigger sport than your football (soccer for muricans) in Taiwan, South Korea, and japan.
Baseball is an old sport in Japan.
I know right, it’s so interesting just seeing how much baseball impacts many parts of the world. I’ve met Japanese baseball players and even some from Venezuela 🤯
When you think about the size of Japan it’s pretty cool that some of the best players come from there. Makes me think of Ivory Coast in soccer
It’s physically the e size of California but has like 3.5 times the population. Japan is pretty big!
Thank you Hideo Nomo.
As a Latino kid growing up and admiring Valenzuela I enjoyed watching Hideo when he was with the Dodgers. I was ecstatic when he had his no hitter, in Coors Field, of all places.
Koshien is a dream destination for children who play baseball, and a place where high school students absolutely want to participate.
High school students practice hard every day to earn the right to participate.
Japanese people love the pure efforts and passionate battles of high school students.
This video finally made all the baseball manga about going to Koshien make so much more sense.
Another perspective on the crying. Consider the following. You just realized that your baseball career is over, as you've lost the last tournament game in your 3 years of high school. You get flashbacks of all the training and sacrifice over not only high school but years previous. Seven days of repetive grounders, cleaning the baseball grounds with your hands, 35+ degree temperature, verbal and physical humilation. But you strive on. It's all you've known for years. Surrounding you now are teammates, who've taken the journey with you. Your juniors come and both congratulate and console you, thanking you for your guidance, promising to continue the fight. All is over now ... bittersweet. Every year, this is what many highs schoolers go through. After you've given your all, and finality inevitably comes ... how can you not cry?
It's definitely similar in America in terms of that mindset. I remember my last game in high school and how disappointed I was in not being able to continue playing with my teammates. All the hard work I had put in over 4 years (3 years with our new head coach) with fellow seniors that I have known since either my JV days freshman year, or with two teammates, our club days. It is bittersweet to let go. Some will openly cry, others will not, but the pain is mostly still there.
Good points. To add on to that.. in Japanese baseball they expect the players to cry after a loss, therefore they're encouraged to let those emotions out. In American baseball you're expected to not cry after a loss, therefore most players suppress and hold back their emotions. There's even the popular saying here in America, "There's no crying in baseball!"
As an american who never got into baseball until watching the anime Major just so i could appriciate the sport 10 years ago, Its since to see an indepth look at japanese baseball, the history and traditions and how its evolving.
What a dedicated weeb
...jk
Are you bragging about watching anime?
My grandmother most important time of the year was high school baseball season. I was born and raised in Japan but you sir have dug into things that even Japanese media struggles to tackle due to the cultural importance.
One small thing I wanted to add was that practically every school can participate and most of the star players move into being majors such as ohtani and even if they stop after high school some major companies will simply hire them just for that achievement. But to young Japanese men it has always been a symbol that is tangible to all high schoolers that anyone can reach greatness with the right mentality and hard work. But ya shocked to hear the extent.
As a 23 year old Japanese guy who played baseball for 12 years in Japan, this content is so fun to watch.
When in it comes to abusing, when I was in junior high school, I got kicked at my belly by a coach, but it was totally fine😂I got used to it and he’s too old no power
When I was in high school, we were so focused on baseball to go to “Koshien”.
In Japan, we have almost no rest day, personally when I was in a junior high school n high school, we had only one rest day in a week. I dumped my girlfriends cuz I wanted to practice it more and I had to study for uni 😅 we rarely had time to hang out with friends
But this memory in high school is my treasure 😌
Best choice. Highschool girlfriends are just stress
Culturally, it may look abusive and very well maybe. But when you contrast it with some American inner city Highschools whats more Abusive militarist sports culture or After School Gang violence & crime that leads to incarceration, homicide and zero contribution to society.
@@Peakfreudah yes, the Only Two Options
@@stalfithrildi5366 Write more than three word in a reply to someone else and you attention junkies line up like addicts.
Reminds me of the 80's street corners.
@@Peakfreud The fact that its somewhat approved by the culture as whole and lead by supervised adults is what makes it abusive compared to gang violence(don’t even know why you thought this was a good comparison).
Wait, gangsters in America go to high school? 😂
I love Japanese baseball. Everyone should experience going to a game at least once in their lives. The school I teach at is known for baseball and it’s a joy to watch the kids play. Makes me wish I played baseball as a kid. 😂
I'm not really a baseball fan, but I happened to be in Japan for about 6 weeks which also included the WBC title. I had no idea baseball was THAT big of a deal in Japan. It was everywhere, and pretty cool to see. Even as an American myself I found myself rooting for the Japan team just because of all the devotion they had over there for it (also because like I said, I don't watch baseball so I had no particular loyalty to the US team).
Anyways really good video, I don't know how it ended up in my feed but I was not expecting to actually be entertained enough to watch it all. Incredibly interesting.
and to think that Ohtani went through this system, dominated it, and still be the nicest guy in the world? my respect for the guy (as high as it already was) has just gone through the roof. And of course, this goes for all the other players in Japan as well. I knew it was strict but I didn't know it was this outrageously strict.
Hm it may seem Extreme to us and it def is in some respects but honestly you pay the price for greatness , American culture is a shallow clownshow in many respects and promotes being a loser as ok.
Just for fairness. Far from all coaches are abusive! (Some footage of this video used scenes from old tv drama totally unrelated to baseball..for more dramatic effect)
The abuse cases were so bad it was in the media..not a norm.
In fact, Most coaches are munched loved for their devotions to their students. Or nobody will play baseball or letting their kids play bb.
Shohei’s Coach Hiroshi Sasaki, refused to let Shohei pitch in their decisive Koshien games, because he had seen int the X-Ray that Ohtanis joints still weren’t finished growing..
The team lost the game. Shohei cried and cried but Coach Sasaki was adamant. He cared more about Shohei’s career and future.
Same coach also is the Social studies teacher and made the student write, the now famous, Mandala chart of their life goals when he was 15 yrs old.
Coach was disciplinary, when Sho overslept and kept others waiting he had to run extra hour and clean more spaces and the toilets for three days. And wasn’t allowed to play for those days..
to be honest, this video is a little outdated. The system is not as harsh and has been more modernized.
@@Dylonysus I don`t think that same culture has produced some of the greatest Athletes in history without ever needing such a grueling training . It is like they are working mindlessly hard without thinking too much
That system is abusive it is not difference of culture rather just that japan is still backwards in social values
@@mirikaku5811 That coach was good not all coaches are abusive but many of them are it is quite clear
As someone who is an International baseball scorer for the WBSC and has scored tournaments all over the world involving these Japanese phenoms when they were young and also with NPB, including the 2021 gold medal game in Tokyo, I knew a lot of this about Japan and their baseball process. But this video was still awesome, informative, interesting and well well done. Props to Baseball Doesn't Exist for this! I know baseball fans in the small baseball countries in Europe and other places will really really enjoy this as well. I had other stuff to do, but just sat and watched this video uninterrupted. Loved it!
I remember when Yuki Saito actually came to South Carolina a year after winning the Koshien as part of a series between the Japanese and American college all-star teams that was to be played a week later in North Carolina. His team played the Columbia Blowfish in the game I went to, and despite the Blowfish not being that good for a college summer team at the time would beat the Japanese All-Stars. One player who graduated from the same high school as mine even got a big hit off Saito in the 6th inning. There were a swarm of Japanese media covering Saito and I was even interviewed by one reporter since I was pretty much the only person in the crowd who had heard of Saito and knew his nickname (which I learned in the local newspaper which most people don't read).
Can't find anything about this when looking it up, got a link to an article or something?
I went to a Tokyo Swallows-Hanshin Tigers regular season game while i was there. I was super impressed by the crowd participation, all the fans knew all the chants. Hanshin was the away team and they completely filled up the visiting section and brought a pep band. Dont see that in the MLB lol
Hanshin Tigers are the most popular team in Japan and Swallows are a akin to White Sox/Mets but in Tokyo where they are the second team in the city
The 12-hour practices these kids have to endure makes me feel better about my 12-hour overnight shift. The discipline and determination in everything the Japanese do is unrivaled.
More akin to abuse than that
200 pitches every other day in high schools seems extremely unwise...
Japanese culture loves abusing and taking advantage of people. It's why suicide is so prevalent in Japan. It's why no one wants to have children. People in charge push anyone below them to their brink; anything less than that is seen as a betrayal.
The weak hate the strong because they are better then them.
Discipline or complete and ignorant blind loyalty that abuse is part of your daily life? Come on now.
I worked in Nishinomiya..where Koshien Stadium is... that place is to Japanese is as sacred as Arlington National Cemetary, Sistine Chapel, Italy and Mecca. For most Japanese players.. it is number one on the bucket list, more so the NBL or MBL.
I am from germany and don't even comprehend what is going on in baseball but still watched this 1hr video. Goes to show how good your vids are.
I know, right? What the hell are even the rules
@@kojboYou hit the ball with a bat and then you run in a circle. Easy to understand.
I got to be honest, an 1 hour long video is tough to watch, but not for this channel. Is entertaining, narrative and even funny the way you tell the stories, and situations in your videos. Great job!
my friend ron passed away last year and i wish he was still here to sit down and enjoy this absolutely monster of a video from you he would have loved that you made an hour long vid!
RIP, Ron.
I’m willing to bet he is watching it with you, man… you don’t have to believe in ghosts but I believe in you
*Please do more stories on the unique baseball cultures in different countries.* This is one of my top 5 favorite videos you’ve made. Thank you ⚾️ 👊🏻
Can we all take a minute to acknowledge the perfectly executed narration, background music, & editing? It's not often all three come together so flawlessly. We might as well appreciate the research required to make an hour long video, as well as the unbelievable amount of time spent just to go through and select all the individual clips. Great work my friend, truly impressive.
High school baseball is changing. There are restrictions on pitch counts, practice time, and freedom of hairstyle, so players are respected.
Your comment explains absolutely nothing.
@@Laremy then why the hell are you here?
Having attended the inaugural World Baseball Classic in Orlando, I was amazed how Domincan and Venezuelan fans celebrated in te stands. It was awesome to see and a lesson MLB can learn from.
Latin American baseball games look like a party.
The whole American Attitude sucks about baseball. The whole "unwritten rules" bullshit they believe in takes away from the fun. Players should strut and celebrate after a home run. They should talk shit and celebrate for striking out someone ending an inning and so on. Instead they feel slighted they would rather hit them with a pitch which is dumb and dangerous. The way the latin teams celebrated was way more fun and should be commended.
If you want more insight into Japanese baseball, I highly recommend the anime Major. You get to see the MC go through the grueling Japanese process from a kid to the major leagues
an excellent anime. Crazy how Ohtani is literally a real life Goro...
Thanks for the recommendation. Going to watch. I love baseball history and anthropology, so the anime is a mix of both along with this video.
あのアニメは誤解を招きかねない
特に高校時代の話は明らかに野球をしている人間からしてもあまりにハードかつ全く合理的で無いトレーニングをしている
@@Bozbaby103 If you like major, diamond no ace is also another series to watch out for that details a similar process
This was a masterpiece. Had my attention riveted to the screen for all 60 minutes and 33 seconds.
This is a monumental accomplishment because I find baseball generally intolerable unless it’s an exceptional highlight reel.
In real time, the Sport is a snooze fest for 90 percent of the game with the players spending half of it on their asses.
BUT MAN THE DRAMA THATS JAPAN BRINGS TO THE TABLE!! It’s just infectious.
I love how they appear to be yelling at each other and just a random kiss is given.
An hour long video talking about Japanese baseball is a blessing
Watching Ohtanis run as the GOAT culminating in him winning the JPN-USA against his American teammate who is also considered by some is one of the Greatest players is nothing short of poetic. How could you not love baseball?
To be fair ohtani doesn't even come close to Trout yet. His last few seasons have certainly been historic, and will certainly go down as some of the single greatest seasons ever along with Babe Ruth's dual seasons...
But he's got a lot of baseball to play and an awful lot of injuries stacking up. So let's revisit the who is better between ohtani and trout in about 8 to 10 years
Because as of right now Trout's body of work is still far more impressive
@RandallBalls I think Ohtani already out-pitches Trout. Do you think Trout would have his batting performance if he also pitches too? As for Babe, I wouldn't say "ALONG with Babe as a two-way player" Ohtani already surpassed Babe as a two-way player, before Babe decided to be a full time batter. PERIOD!!!!! Babe playing in a segregated league traveling only a few states to play other teams.
Goat is Messi and Ronaldo
Who is otani😂😂not goat Otani and not sports baseball
Old sports baseball
Japan is quietly awesome at sports. They started doing an American Football world championship years ago and Japan always finishes in the top 3. They seem to be all around good at sports.
They should start playing cricket. With that mindset and training, they would do really well in the World Cup.
their college football national championship started on 1947
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshien_Bowl
They are still lackluster in soccer, but yeah their culture of discipline really helps in sports
@@atomknight8361 Lackluster in Football?? Lol. Japanese National Team is the best in Asia.
@mr.dynamite2924 they've only made it out of group stage at world cup 4 times in their entire history. Making it to the world cup is decent, but like I said they've never ascended from okay to good
While I can appreciate the intensity and commitment it’s great to hear that the abusive culture has changed. There is no question that those kids are committed and dedicated, while discipline is great, there’s a fine line between abuse and discipline, that said they are doing a lot to address it these days. That said, it’s great for the MLB & Baseball in general that Japanese baseball is getting more recognition and exposure; plus it’s amazing to see more Japanese players in the MLB too.
Upon getting over halfway though the video I finally realized why I love the unity and discipline in Japanese baseball culture so much, it’s like hbcu show band culture, which I not only love quite a bit but am a proponent of. Only at the high school level thus far but still, the semi-militaristic nature, the hellish practice, the school/cultural spirit, the camaraderie, the determination, it’s insane. If show bands were as popular in America as baseball is in Japan I think I’d explode from joy.
The 2006 Koushien tournament was what got me into baseball. Handkerchief prince was a god in Japan that year. I wonder what would've happened had he become a pro after high school I stead of going to university but I imagine he must be satisfied with his life, I see him on Japanese TV all the time even now, 18 years later.
I believe that he did become a pro. If memory serves me, he was a rival of Tanaka at one time.
虚偽広めんな
誰だよハンカチ王子って
大半の日本人が知らねえわw
@@Fo44667 ある程度の年齢は知ってるよ。
@@Fo44667 いや知らない人居ないくらいハンカチ王子は有名でした。今の10代〜20代は知らないでしょう。
As someone who's lived in Japan for nearly 20 years, I can vouch for everything in this video. Amazing job 👍
I’m just a bloke from London that doesn’t watch baseball at all and you’re one of my favorite TH-cam channels and make me want to watch baseball proper content mate
These Koshien stories about guys throwing a million pitches are insane. If I saw a sports anime where the pitcher main character threw a 200 pitch complete game then threw another 200 pitch complete game the next day I would assume it was a laughable exaggeration, but not only does it happen but we have it on tape! That’s insane
1 hour long bde video is just what i needed
-- i have zero interest baseball until...Ohtani. Now I will glance at vids including this HOUR long vid.
I grew up playing my countries version of baseball but as a kid never really had an opportunity to get familiar with American or Japanese baseball so had no idea of any of this going on. However this was such an amazing video. So well put together and narrated that in my opinion it deserves to be on Netflix and other streaming platforms.
Baseball players in Japan are literally their modern version of Samurai. Thats how they train and thats how they play.
Baseball is a despicable sport and far from being Samurai.
lol@@Fo44667
excusing child abuse because bat go swing and ball go whoosh
Shut up@@drill_don684
@@Fo44667damn bro baseball ain that deep 💀
getting to watch Ichiro emerge into american baseball with my own eyes was genuinely something special. getting to watch Ken Griffey Jr. was amazing, and he will always be my hero, but Ichiro was one of a kind. the only other person i can think of that was close in terms of hitter profile was Tony Gwynn.
Pete Rose was better
Both Gwynn and Ichiro didn't have great OBPs and didn't score a ton of runs, even though they got a lot of hits. They were slap singles hitters.
@@jongordon7914 didn't score a lot of runs? Ichiro is 90th on the ALL TIME RUNS list. that's top 100. all time. literally one slot in front of David Ortiz. wtf were you smoking when you made this hot armchair analysis? lmfao. bro came in here and stated the obvious while being completely wrong at the same time.
@@LarrySalamander and Pete Rose is still unfortunately banned from baseball. Anything else you'd like to add?
This may sound very foreign to Americans, but alot of young Japanese boys thats into baseball somewhat looks up and are attracted to the militaristic style culture of Japanese baseball. The military style culture has been deeply ingrained into Japanese baseball so much to the point that its been heavily romanticized through various medias. The hierarchical system, camaraderie, harsh discipline, living among your teammates, the shaved heads, marching like soldiers during the Koshien opening ceremony, representing your prefecture, waving the school flag etc. All of these images is what attracts young Japanese boys in wanting to be part of this baseball culture. Although they may look up to Japanese players in the MLB such as Shohei Ohtani, they’re not particularly attracted to the individualistic and laid back culture of American baseball. Its making it to the Koshien tournament while in high school they all dream of. Koshien tournament is the pinnacle of Japanese baseball culture and the idea of going professional(or even going to the MLB) after graduating is secondary for most. Even some NPB players who have played professional for years would still express regret for not having a successful Koshien run.
@@puckered6036 Do you think the number of baseball participants among American youths would increase if they adopted this militaristic style culture(but in an American way) to the sport?
It's not because the boys want it that it is not child abuse and is ok. It's insane. How many baseball generational talent have been lost due to injuries and abuses ?
@@lucast2742 I don't know. how many? And how many have been born by the system?
Sounds pretty pathetic. Imagine aspiring to be a drone
@@melo7038 I dont know what being a drone is but different country=different cultural mindset=different aspiration. Trust me, the popularity of baseball would decrease by ALOT if Japanese baseball culture shifted towards becoming more American. The sport would be as dead as it is in America.
Watching baseball in Japan hits different. It might be difficult to get tickets for games with popular teams like the Hanshin Tigers or the Yomiuri Giants, but you will never forget the memories. The atmosphere is on another level.
The amount of work you put on these videos is totally unmatched. So fluid and entertaining. Incredible work!
That’s what I said !
He should have sold this 1-hour production to Fox Sports or ESPN or 30 for 30. He could’ve made a lot of money for this masterpiece.
The Japanese have a tradition of perfecting everything they do. So it doesn’t surprise me seeing so more & more Japanese athletes making a name for themselves in western sports. I myself am a skateboarder & they are literally taking over the sport. ✌🏾
True. The only reason Japan hasn't taken over soccer yet is because Japanese soccer has become professional in th mid 90s. And thus is still developing. Yet the sheer increse in quality that Japan is showing in their players is astounding. In a couple of decades they will be a power to be reckoned with.
@@CSLucasEpic
They also can't get away with being barbarians to their players and killing them in the modern era like they could with Baseball early on
I know one way Japan can improve soccer wise… Maybe… Make a real life blue lock?
I remember the moment we won WBC for the first time. A teacher at school stopped teaching and we all cheered for the final game together 😂
The story of the catcher playing with teeth knocked out is nutty. When I was in high school I got my front tooth nearly knocked out by a fastball and got a root canal from it, painful.
An hour of sweet, sweet Baseball Doesn't Exist content is exactly what I needed right now!
I played baseball in japan as a transfer student for 2 months and the coach was really nice and I thought it was fun
You're just trying to sound tough on the internet bro lmao
I watch Japanese baseball more than the MLB I started after Trevor started playing overseas and I’ve never stopped they have world class talent from the crowds to the staff to the production quality just awesome love for the game the MLB need to learn how to love the game again
Are NPB games televised here in the States? I'd love to watch some Japanese baseball.
@@jonnyt16 no sadly i don’t think so I stream it on pirate sites
@@jonnyt16They used to during the pandemic
I love em. They know what baseball is. Fun. Entertainment. An extremely technical sport. This is where the game belongs. Mariners till I die.
The same type of person throughout Japanese history that would’ve become Samurai are now in Japanese Baseball. This makes it quite easy to understand.
You didn't "become" a samurai in most cases. It was a class thing so you either were born a noble or you weren't. Wasn't much choice
I lived in Japan for 2 years in my early 20s as a Mormon Missionary. One night in the spring we were going through a park (Japanese parks are INSANE btw) and we saw a little league team practicing. It was nearly 9 o clock at night and these kids were grinding it out. They were throwing a ball around the bases and yelling "SPEED! SPEED! SPEED!" with every throw.
It was insane.
モルモン教の教義に反してるの?
@@uA-gy8wk いや、モルモンも野球をする。現フィリイズ選手ブライス・ハーパーがモルモンだよ。
It’s wild, I lived next to a high school there. They are out there playing baseball before and after school for hours
“So called child abuse” is an insane line followed up by a story of a kid dying during practice
"So called child abuse"
-goes into 11 year olds running 10 miles after playing a full game of baseball.
育成ノウハウのない時代の指導です
退役軍人が教育界にいたので蔓延していました
@LC--22did you get outraged? You was completely appalled and dumbfounded?
@LC--22so called can mean the same as "also known as" - maybe just a lil slip-up. Ppl get so mad for the smallest things lmao. He just reports this stuff. It does way more towards helping the japanese athletes in future than anything you do lol
@VerdeDrums its up to interpretation too. Dont get stuck on that wording...
we used to watch the autumn and summer tournament and summer koushien in 2022-2023. we often screamed our heads of the overpitching that kept going on. and yet sometimes, even teams with a lot of star pitchers didn't always win.. one of the other problem is the 20-man count for highschool teams for the prefectural tournaments and the 18-man count for summer koushien. iirc professional baseball teams have 40 man count.
Ryuhei Ueda, the famous Japanese comedian who entertained the audience with a kiss at the beginning of this video, died by suicide the year before last.
May he rest in peace
His name was Ryūhei Ueshima, but yeah. A tragic loss for everyone who knew of him, all the Baystar fans, and anyone who had seen Dachō Club.
😢😢😢
He was suffering from physical problems and during the pandemic, he's lost his mentor who was also a big comedian in Japan.
彼はイーロン・マスクが日本に来日したときも イーロンを笑わせた男です！日本が誇る上島竜兵は日本のお笑い界のレジェンドです👏
The Japan Baseball discord is incredible and helped me enjoy the 2023 NPB season. Folks in there helped me watch games during the season, explained things and made it feel like a perfect fit to watch baseball in the mornings.
24:40 My theory why Japanese players got injured so much less is that: they started training from a young age so their bodies have time to adapt, the year long training kept them in peak physical condition so injuries were less severe and they recovered much faster, and Japanese culture (plus the additional practice hours) focuses much more on good form (such as the traditional leg swing, while not as good for hitting fast pitches it is utilizing more of your body so it's less wear on your shoulder/arm).
It's one of those things where they would get horribly injured because of how much and how how hard they play, if they ever got out of shape or out of practice, so the only solution is to keep playing and training to stay at the top of the game.
except that's complete bullshit, the younger you start the more injury prone you are. Sure being in peak physical condition is beneficial for preventing injuries but starting young increases wear and tear specifically on the joints and tendons, causing tears ruptures and just overall worsening of joint function because of decreased cartilage. focusing on correct and safe form is the best way to prevent injuries and not overworking yourself in both the short and long term.
I often dismissed baseball but after seeing this vid it opened my eyes to how interesting and exciting it can be
Proud ro be a Hanshin Tiger this year was amazing. I grew up half San Francisco half Osaka my baseball life has been nuts!
Hallelujah ! The depth of your research and subsequent analysis to make the video is second to NONE ! And I grew up playing baseball in the infamous Japanese military baseball league !
I played very competitive little league baseball. Went to the Little League World Series twice and i can say my coach for those teams definitely took the Japanese training methods to heart. Puking as 10 year olds because of running for miles and miles. It was absuive but something amazing at the same time. I dont even know how to describe it accurately. We had many "death paractices" that were over 4 to 5 hrs long. I was so engrained in baseball that after those practices i would come home and play wall ball with myself and my glove until i went to bed. Thankfully my house had a this massive brick fireplace in my living room with vaulted ceilings. So i was able to throw the tennis balls high like a pop up and practice jumping over walls with the furniture. By age 15 i was a well oiled machine but was completely burnt out.
One thing I would have loved carry over to the US is no forefeits. I would love to rock pitcher after pitcher until we were up 82-0 lol. But many of our games ended after 3 innings because we were up by twenty so I only got to bat twice if I was lucky. However whenever we played a competitive tournament I could catch 18 innings a day. You should see a picture of my knee cap lol. I'm 35 and my body is that of a 50 year old. Have had multiple concussions as well.
I remember playing over 100 games during the spring and summer and then starting "fall ball" the next week.
With all said, it definitely helped me become the man I am today. I deal with the trauma yes, but I also know anything is possible and I will never quit on something until I achieve it.
You were abused as a child. We got it.