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Rating: 
Summary: A great primer on japanese baseball and its superstars
Review: Baseball fans with an interest in the new breed of Japanese baseball player making an impact in the U.S. Major Leagues will find Robert Whiting's book a welcome and timely introduction to the likes of Ichiro, the Matsuis, Nomo, etc. While the title may be somewhat misleading, as one would think the bulk of the book would be a biography of sorts on Ichiro, what readers are given instead is a highly readable, in-depth look at the origins of baseball in Japan and comparisons of the major differences between the US and Japanese game (practice, coaching, tactics, game philosophy, business models) that would ultimately lead to the production of players able to thrive under the brighter lights of the MLB. Ultimately though the most entertaining portions of the book are the beginning and ending chapters that serve as mini biographies and a study of remarkable contrasts on the Mariner's Ichiro Suzuki and the Yankee's Hideki Matsui.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Look Behind You
Review: By far, the best part of The Meaning of Ichiro is the first two chapters, which follow Ichiro Suzuki's childhood and career. His father devoted his whole life to molding Ichiro into a model baseball player. Ichiro, though an excellent student, passed up college for baseball. He had a good career in Japan, then went on to a tremendous start in American baseball as a member of the Seattle Mariners. The story of a father and son so devoted to baseball and so successful is a compelling one.So what is the Meaning of Ichiro? As Whiting settles into a broader look at Japanese baseball and its relationship with American baseball, it emerges that while the two baseballs have much in common, a big difference is in the cultural attitudes of Japan and America. In Japan, the individual works for the good of the larger group -- the family, the school, the company, the country, the baseball team. In America, the individual is self-reliant and takes himself as far as he can go, breaking records and setting new standards. Of course, both of these attributes make baseball what it is. Whiting goes into the history of baseball in Japan and the participation of Americans in Japanese baseball. American players, managers, even a few umpires, have had limited success in Japan, mostly because of cultural differences, but also because of racism in Japan. Whiting's explanation of the meaning of the word "gaijin" and how it is used is very revealing. The relatively recent entrance of Japanese players to America has been more successful. Whiting looks at the Japanese and American careers of several Japanese players. So far, there are no coaches or managers who have made the transition from Japan to America. The Meaning of Ichiro is mostly about baseball, but it's also about Japanese culture and attitudes. Japan, like many countries, is adopting a lot of American ways. Soon, they may be beating us at our own game.
Rating: 
Summary: A Cross-Cultural Study
Review: Following the out-of-print The Chrysanthemum and the Bat (1977) and You Gotta Have Wa (1990), The Meaning of Ichiro can be looked at as the third in a trilogy of Robert Whiting books on Japanese baseball. (He also did an as told to book with Warren Cromartie). In it, Whiting pursues the next logical step, looking at the impact Japanese players have had on the American game, and how this has changed the relationship between the two countries in terms of society in general as well as in the baseball world. Whiting examines the make-up of various Japanese players and how it affected their success in the American big leagues. Besides Ichiro, he discusses Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Hideki Irabu, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and Hideki Matsui, among others. He also looks at how foreign managers have fared in Japan, paying particular attention to Bobby Valentine's tenure as skipper of the Chiba Lotte Marines. Whiting points out that for many years, Americans played in Japan, but no Japanese played in the U.S and he supports a conclusion that the emergence of Japanese stars in the major leagues has been a good thing for the relationship between the two countries. This is good reading for those who are interested in international baseball and how foreign relations are effected outside of strictly diplomatic circles.
Rating:
Summary: A timely sequel to a classic
Review: In this book, Whiting revisits the experience of Japanese baseball, only this time through the eyes of Japanese players playing in the US. The biographies are well-written and focused as Whiting chooses to elaborate only on the most interesting or most pivotal points of each player's experience. But perhaps most impressive is Whiting's balanced understanding of race, racism, and nationalism on both the Japanese and American sides of the Pacific. Whiting doesn't pull any punches when addressing these issues but then again he doesn't hit harder than is warranted.
I particularly liked this book because it covers the period of time during which I've been a resident of Japan (96 to present). While the earlier title "You Gotta Have Wa" was an excellent read, it felt a bit dated to me as it descibes an earlier period I never experienced firsthand. Japan has changed a bit since the bubble days and in this book Whiting manages to concisely convey many of those changes through several viewpoints. I highly recommend it even if you've already read "Wa."
Rating: 
Summary: The Japanese effect on Major League Baseball
Review: Robert Whiting has written several books about Japanese baseball, including "You Gotta Have Wa" and "The Chrysanthemum and the Bat." His latest effort, "The Meaning of Ichiro..." is a good bookend for the other two, in that here he details Japanese players finding their way to the U.S. Major Leagues. The title is a bit misleading, because the book is not strictly about Ichiro, but also deals with success stories such as Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, Kazuo Matsui and the challenges to a player like Hideki Irabu.
Whiting includes a lot of interesting history, some of it rehashed from earlier volumes, but necessary here if one is to read this as a stand alone piece. He details the birth of baseball in Japan, how it became Japanized with the intense training, and some early experiences in cross-cultural play with teams from the United States. There is also some philosophy, for it is important to understand the Japanese culture and mindset, as well as the almost martial training that players endure in Japan. All very fascinating stuff.
The bulk of the book focuses on those players since 1995 who have made their way across the Pacific to play for teams in North America. The stories about Ichiro, Nomo and Hideki Matsui are near-mythical, and one has to wonder how much truth was embellished by their families and coaches. But aren't the stories of players of this caliber always near-mythical?
While the prose reads well, and Whiting is very knowledgeable about the Japanese game, I found numerous factual errors. Ichiro was born in 1973, but the book had him entering junior high school in 1975! Now that's precocious. Probably a typo, but in a baseball book, errors with dates and stats are killers. Another error had the Yankees winning the 1995 World Series, when they were ousted in the Division Series by the Seattle Mariners. Yeah, it's nit-picky, but it does make one wonder about the other stats and whether the fact-checkers and editors did their jobs well or not.
The other knock that I have is that Whiting made some references about Seattle that sounded like he has never even been to the city, or that his information is terribly dated. Watch those adjectives. He referred to "rain-soaked Safeco Field" possibly without knowing that it has a retractable roof, and that during the summer, Seattle is one of the drier places to be in the U.S. and way more so than in rainy, muggy Japan. Check out Art Thiel's "Out of Left Field" for the story of baseball in Seattle.
Still, it's a great read and provides many insights in how the Japanese players perceive the North American game. The biggest thing to take away is that players in MLB should bone up on their fundamentals, kind of like the NBA players need to brush up against their international competition. The world is catching up...
Rating: 
Summary: a poor imitation of "You've Got To Have Wa"
Review: The Meaning of Ichiro is Robert Whiting's third book about America's game and its Japanese counterpart. Superficially based around an examination of the impact of Ichiro Suzuki and other Japanese baseball players on baseball in America and Japan, Whiting provides some insights into the games themselves and the men who play them. But while You've Got To Have Wa, Whiting's first book, provided the first real look into baseball as it is played in Japan, The Meaning of Ichiro brings very little new to the table. Whiting's points about the differences between baseball in the two countries are basically a rehash of things he's said in previous books. The only new material he provides is in the way of biographies, but these are mostly just quickly sketched vignettes (with the exception of his discussion of manager Bobby Valentine) that offer almost no interesting material beyond the occasional player scandal that received attention in Japan but not in the U.S. His analysis is shallow at best, often times providing little more then the stat lines for a particular player. The biggest weakenss of The Meaning of Ichiro though is its lack of coherence. You've Got To Have Wa, an excellent book, neatly tied its combination of analysis and annecdotes together. The Meaning of Ichiro does not fit nearly so well. Chapters have very little connection between them. In fact, the constant repition of certain pieces of information makes it feel as if the chapters were all written independently then cobbled together at the last minute. In general, the book sorely lacks an editor, a failing that is additionally evidenced in the relatively large number of typos and grammar mistakes that made it through to the final printing. I can recommend The Meaning of Ichiro if someone is looking for quick and dirty biographies of a few of the Japanese players who have come to America, or as a general overview of Japanese baseball. But for a serious book that presents cogent and well reasoned analysis of Japanese and American baseball, invest in You've Got To Have Wa and give this one a free pass.
Rating:
Summary: a poor imitation of "You've Got To Have Wa"
Review: The Meaning of Ichiro is Robert Whiting's third book about America's game and its Japanese counterpart. Superficially based around an examination of the impact of Ichiro Suzuki and other Japanese baseball players on baseball in America and Japan, Whiting provides some insights into the games themselves and the men who play them. But while You've Got To Have Wa, Whiting's first book, provided the first real look into baseball as it is played in Japan, The Meaning of Ichiro brings very little new to the table. Whiting's points about the differences between baseball in the two countries are basically a rehash of things he's said in previous books. The only new material he provides is in the way of biographies, but these are mostly just quickly sketched vignettes (with the exception of his discussion of manager Bobby Valentine) that offer almost no interesting material beyond the occasional player scandal that received attention in Japan but not in the U.S. His analysis is shallow at best, often times providing little more then the stat lines for a particular player. The biggest weakenss of The Meaning of Ichiro though is its lack of coherence. You've Got To Have Wa, an excellent book, neatly tied its combination of analysis and annecdotes together. The Meaning of Ichiro does not fit nearly so well. Chapters have very little connection between them. In fact, the constant repition of certain pieces of information makes it feel as if the chapters were all written independently then cobbled together at the last minute. In general, the book sorely lacks an editor, a failing that is additionally evidenced in the relatively large number of typos and grammar mistakes that made it through to the final printing. I can recommend The Meaning of Ichiro if someone is looking for quick and dirty biographies of a few of the Japanese players who have come to America, or as a general overview of Japanese baseball. But for a serious book that presents cogent and well reasoned analysis of Japanese and American baseball, invest in You've Got To Have Wa and give this one a free pass.
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