Asians In Baseball

It's tiiiiiiiiime for TOKYOOOOO BASEBALLLLL!!! Kim and Scott discuss the Tokyo Series! The Dodgers explore Japanese culture, both MLB clubs are blanked by the Hanshin Tigers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga make history, Roki Sasaki debuts, and who is already in hot water with Kim for intent walking Ohtani in Japan?!

We are BACK, baby! Just in time to discuss the highlights from the off-season and the buzz around the Tokyo Series. And of course it's a beefy episode to kick off the season, what else would you expect from your favorite podcast about Asians in baseball where we just yap about Asians in baseball?!

Asians in Baseball were RAKING this week! Let’s discuss: 1:06 - Our position players went HAM this week! Three guys hit elusive triples, IKF executes a true steal of home, Tommy Edman smacks a 2-out grand slam, Travis d’Arnaud’s 100th homer is a moonshot, and Corbin Carroll stays elite. 24:56 - We offer the Asians in Baseball bump to some of our pitchers, Dane Dunning gets another W, Bryan Woo is looking solid for the Mariners, Robert Stephenson is doing great on his new team, and Brennan Bernadino had an awesome profile come out this week. 31:36 - Ohtani Talk! No wonder the man is tired: he’s on a 15-game hitting streak, leads MLB in homers and RBI, leads the AL in exit velo…as a hitter AND pitcher, and leads the Angels in…well, everything. 51:50 - We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. We discuss the protest of their appearance at the Dodgers and how all LGBTQIA+ people and people of marginalized and underrepresented groups should feel safe and welcomed everywhere, including baseball. (CW: sexual abuse) IKF steals home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN9bjjDX-zI Tommy Edman’s grand slam: https://www.mlb.com/video/tommy-edman-hits-a-grand-slam-7-to-right-field-nolan-arenado-scores-dylan Corbin Carroll’s elite stats: https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/06/19/corbin-carroll-diamondbacks-100-games-mvp-race Brennan Bernadino’s MLB profile: https://www.mlb.com/news/brennan-bernardino-mlb-journey-around-the-world Straight White American Jesus episode about the Sisters: https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/the-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-and-trans-antaganism/ 

Another day, another impressive showing of Asians in Baseball!  1:10 - Keep voting to send our guys to the All-Star Game!  6:14 - McCormick Spices sends Lars Nootbaar a special get well soon gift 7:31 - Corbin Carroll is helping launch the Dbacks to a huge season, Rob Refsnyder signs an extension with the Red Sox, Tommy Pham has found his stride, multiple players flash the leather to get their teams the win, and Anthony Volpe gets hits with a little help from his friends 28:30 - Yu Darvish gets his 100th win! Mitch White makes his 2023 debut in relief after a long stint on the IL, Brennan Bernadino is holding it down for the Red Sox, a trade breaks the tie on which team has the most Asians in Baseball, and Robert Stephenson proudly reps his Filipino heritage in a gift to his mom 40:24 - Ohtani Talk: Shohei is tired, which makes sense considering he’s been busy hitting bombs and hanging out atop the leaderboards Tommy Edman robs XBH on the warning track: https://www.mlb.com/news/tommy-edman-stabilizing-cardinals-outfield Kim Ha Seong’s cannon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61nwWIaerno Steven Kwan’s diving catch: https://www.mlb.com/video/jose-altuve-singles-on-a-sharp-line-drive-to-left-fielder-steven-kwan-mar-x3759 Robert Stephenson and his mom at AAPI Heritage Night: https://www.mlb.com/news/robert-stephenson-pays-tribute-to-philippines-with-cleats

AAPI Heritage Month isn’t over yet! This week gave us lots of opportunities to talk about representation in MLB - both positive and negative. 0:48 - Corbin Carroll and Mark Mathias join the Asians in Baseball roster, Steven Kwan continues to proudly rep the AAPI community, and we were pleasantly surprised by the Guardians’ thoughtful AAPI Heritage celebrations. 15:52 - Tommy Edman and Blake Sabol have hot hot bats, and Masataka Yoshida is on his WBC reunion tour with a hitting streak to go along with it. 22:56 - Pitchers have another solid week...though they could use a little more support both on and off the field. Sean Manaea gets the W out of the bullpen, Dane Dunning has another great start, and a positive article about Yusei Kikuchi’s talents despite his first loss leaves an extremely bad taste in our mouths.  41:10 - We couldn’t let AAPI Heritage Month end without a profile on our idol Kim Ng, GM of the Marlins and the first woman and first person of East Asian descent to be the GM of an MLB team. Are we Marlins fans now?!? Cleveland’s AAPI Heritage Celebration logo: https://www.mlb.com/guardians/ballpark/events/aapi-heritage-month#logo Corbin Carroll’s speedy base running: https://www.mlb.com/news/corbin-carroll-nearly-passes-teammate-racing-for-home-plate Kim Ng in Time: https://time.com/5943601/kim-ng-first-female-gm-miami-marlins/

We’re a quarter of the way through the season, and Asians in Baseball cannot be stopped!  0:51 - Lars Nootbaar and his mom Kumi are besties  6:13 - Three Asians made Brian Kenny’s all-MLB team! 8:13 - How are position players doing this week? Amazing, as usual. Steven Kwan receives his Gold Glove from last season and then makes a case for a Silver Slugger, Seiya Suzuki beats Ohtani to a home run record, and Christian Yelich finds his groove, including some absolutely wild base running 32:37 - Pitching is HOT y’all! Kodai Senga sets the Mets record for most Ks by a Japanese-born pitcher, Shintaro Fujinami gets the W at long last, and Dane Dunning makes his case for a 6-man rotation  52:09 - Ohtani Talk: an off-night pitching is no problem when you can just put up your own run support 1:08:10 - Live from Twins at Dodgers, it’s Asians in Baseball!  Volpe’s great grab: https://tinyurl.com/29nesfrj Kwan’s acrobatic catch: https://tinyurl.com/bdzh73dm Yeli’s wild base chase: https://tinyurl.com/3vb9ka6p Kenta’s compilation: https://tinyurl.com/3tzvdjuk

Days are getting longer and bats are getting hotter for Asians in Baseball! 1:21 - The Pirates actually have another Asian on their roster, none other than PIKACHU 6:36 - 2024 Korea series?!?! Dodgers Padres?! Will the Dodgers finally get another Asian player?! 19:03 - In position player news, things are looking up! Kolten Wong and Christian Yelich got the Asians in Baseball bump, and though Macho Man’s hitting streak ended at 16 games he finally got to meet his idol, Bryce Harper. But let’s not compare rookies to franchise leaders too much, let these guys shine on their own! (Looking at you, Yankees fans.)  53:05 - Pitchers! Dane Dunning crushes his first start of the year, Yusei Kikuchi is in elite company in the 5 wins club, Sean Manaea finally gets his first W, and shout out to relievers Robert Stephenson and Brennan Bernadino who are holding it down for their teams  1:04:41 - Ohtani Talk: Shohei takes his first loss of the season…and also surpasses another of Babe Ruth’s records. All in a week’s work! 

It’s AAPI Heritage Month, and Asians in Baseball are kicking May off with a bang! 1:16 - Last week we forgot one of our favorite Choi Ji Man flexes: having Gerrit Cole’s number 5:47 - Happy AAPI Heritage Month, but do not read the comments!  10:17 - Position players are on a tear: Masataka Yoshida has a 13-game hitting streak, Connor Wong goes 4-for-4 with two HR, Anthony Volpe is 10-for-10 in SB, the list goes on  23:49 - Ohtani talk! What records has he broken this week?? 34:48 - Lots going on with pitchers: Kikuchi has found his stride, Sean Manaea and Yu Darvish pitch in the Mexico City series, and it looks like Dane Dunning might make a return to the Rangers’ rotation

The full crew is back, and it was a wild week for Asians in Baseball, with ups and downs and injuries and celebrations: 2:18 - Masataka Yoshida quiets hyper-critical Red Sox fans with a TWO HOME RUN INNING, and Anthony Volpe had a rough weekend and Yankees fans…actually understood and supported him?!  11:28 - Connor Joe’s bat stays hot, Blake Sabol is down to his last strike and WALKS IT OFF, and Lars Nootbaar meets Ichiro! 24:29 - Pitchers are getting roughed up, physically and in their stats, though some get more run support through the struggles than others  40:06 - Ohtani Talk: Is there anything he CAN’T do??? Well, he’s only ranked 48th at base stealing… 54:41 - And a profile on TWO guys: Choi Ji Man and Ji Man Choi. New to baseball and have a question about what something is? Send us a message! Masa’s big inning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1C05bj1vTk Blake Sabol’s walk off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl9T41S2Mgg IKF’s diving catch: https://www.mlb.com/video/hunter-renfroe-lines-out-to-center-fielder-isiah-kiner-falefa Choi Ji Man highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KpSItDyFjE

There were only four days of baseball between last week’s recording and this week’s, but boy were they a big four days! 1:27 - Sean Manaea and Blake Sabol make history as the first Samoan battery in MLB! 3:40 - Choi Ji Man and Bae Ji Hwan make history as the first Korean-born teammates to both homer in an MLB game! 8:00 - In position player news: Kim Ha Seong is on fire, Connor Wong comes through for the Red Sox, and the new guys are settling in  26:43 - Pitchers were getting a bit roughed up this week, except Senga and his forkball  35:00 - Ohtani Talk...and what do we think of the Angels' new home run celebration hat?? 48:45 - Player profiles are back! First up in season 2…legendary hitter Hideki Matsui

Opening week has come and gone, and the Asians in MLB CAME IN HOT! 2:11 - First up, debuts! Masataka Yoshida rides his success from the WBC right into his first week of major league play 8:11 - Anthony Volpe’s highly anticipated debut does not disappoint 12:00 - How much are MLB and the clubs talking about race? 17:38 - Bae Ji Hwan is flashing leather and hitting bombs already 24:10 - Blake Sabol aspires to make history with fellow Samoan teammate Sean Manaea  28:13 - Kodai Senga and the ghost forkball make their mark 30:50 - Shintaro Fujinami starts strong, but the Angels get hot at the exact wrong time  38:20 - We chat returning position players, including Kim Ha Seong’s walk off as he continues to show the Padres how much he belongs in the crowded infield 47:15 - Moving on to pitchers, our guys are BACK, including Kenta Maeda in a huge return in his first start post-Tommy John surgery. 101:42 - Ohtani talk! Blake Sabol and Sean Manaea bond over being Samoan: https://theathletic.com/4297540/2023/03/11/giants-sean-manaea-blake-sabol-samoa/ Kim Ha Seong’s walk off post game interview: https://twitter.com/ballysportssd/status/1643106296630001666?s=46&t=MqT3PkvkVV1lUoQWSYxrPg

BASEBALL IS BACK, BABY!! Our first episode of the 2023 season has to be about none other than the jaw-dropping World Baseball Classic, where Asians in Baseball represented at every single stage, right down to the final strike.  A little breakdown of what we talk about in this beefy episode: 2:02 - Four Asian teams in the WBC! 7:51 - Asian players represented on Team USA (Kyle Higashioka) and Team Britain (Vance Worley)! 16:50 - Asian players represented on Asian teams! Including new Red Sox teammates Yu Chang and Masataka Yoshida and breakout star Lars Nootbaar. 38:58 - Team Korea set a WBC record!!! ...a little too late. 48:16 - Japan WALKS IT OFF in an epic game against Mexico to advance to the finals!!! 53:46 - And finally, in a Hollywood ending no studio would ever buy because it would feel too unrealistic, Shohei Ohtani faces off against his teammate and fellow baseball legend Mike Trout in a showdown that will go down as one of the greatest moments in sports history. Link to the Team Japan celebration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqFCHRKDSIp/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

After some recaps of trades tracking our Asians in Baseball players, we decided to have our own Awards Episode for the 2022 season. We have our MVP (The Shohei Ohtani Award), Cy Young (Hideo Nomo Award), Best Ass, Gotcha Moment, and several others. Sure, the MLB has some awards, but our Asians in Baseball Awards will overpower those soon enough. Let Asians in Baseball excellence shine! 

We have some thoughts about this year's awards. And we preview some of the matchups in Group B of the World Baseball Classic coming up. Trade rumors? Got any? Need any? Let us know. 

There may not be any Asians left in the Postseason, but there's still plenty to talk about!  The Shohei stove is already getting hot with rumors  MLB cancels the Korea Series Steven Kwan wins his first Gold Glove!  And we have a new "Pull An Asian" segment, where we try to pull an Asian player out of a new deck of baseball cards!  This episode sponsored by Audible Theater presents: GOOD ENEMY. Use code AIB25 for $25 tickets through 11/5 and code POTLUCK for 25% off tickets from 11/5-11/27 at goodenemyplay.com! Additional music by Jenyi Connect with us on IG @asiansinbaseball, Twitter @aznsinbaseball, email us at asiansinbaseball@gmail.com, or send us an audio message on Anchor!

After a fabulous year of Asians in Baseball, we’ve reached the end of the line this season. But the legacies live on! *Naomi is back and reports on Kim Ha Seong’s continued presence in South Korea. *How many Asian Americans even know there are Asian/Asian American superstars in MLB? *And we offer some free marketing ideas for teams that are simply not tapping into their Asian fan potential! Edit: Justin Verlander WAS part of the 2017 Astros. He was traded at the deadline from Detroit and went onto be the ALCS MVP. This episode sponsored by Audible Theater presents: GOOD ENEMY. Use code AIB25 for $25 tickets through 11/5 and code POTLUCK for 25% off tickets from 11/5-11/27 at goodenemyplay.com! Additional music by Jenyi Connect with us on IG @asiansinbaseball, Twitter @aznsinbaseball, email us at asiansinbaseball@gmail.com, or send us an audio message on Anchor!

WHAT A DIVISION SERIES. *Steven Kwan holds his own against the Yankees until the bitter end *Yu Darvish and Kim Ha Seong have strong contributions to the Padres advancing to the NLCS *Dave Roberts and the Dodgers fall yet again in the early Postseason *And speaking of the Yankees, special guest Nate joins us this week to discuss his Yankees fandom and Asians in Athletics on the whole! Connect with us on IG @asiansinbaseball, Twitter @aznsinbaseball, email us at asiansinbaseball@gmail.com, or send us an audio message on Anchor!

It’s tiiime for Asians in POSTSEASON Baseball! The regular season and the wild card have come and gone, but we’ll be here weekly with a recap of our boys who are holding it down in October 🤩 In this week's episode, the Division Series: Travis d'Arnaud leads it off for Asians in Postseason Baseball with a 3 RBI game vs the Phils, we bid adieu to the Asians whose teams were eliminated in the WC, the Padres lead the playoffs with 3 Asian players (and, Kim insists, one staff member), AND Kim predicts Steven Kwan's homer against the Yankees 😦😎 Drop your postseason predictions below and listen wherever you get podcasts! 🎧

While we're on a little break in preparation for all the October madness, we are airing this conversation from Scott's kitchen that took place back in May. The Angels were hot (haha!), and we were reflecting on some of the pioneers of Asians in Baseball, Mike Lum and Len Sakata. A lot of this conversation holds up today, but our hopes for any success with the Angels...let's just say oops. We'll be back next week with Kim and Scott rounding out the season. Naomi is in the motherland for the month, so we'll have some special segments and a lot less Ohtani lust. 

Congratulations are in order this week! Dave Roberts’ Dodgers become the first MLB team to clinch 2022 playoff berth AND their division (not to mention, they are the winningest team in baseball). The Dodgers have made it to the postseason every season Dave has managed - no small feat, and on top of that, he’s the first Asian and second Black manager to ever win a World Series title. Speaking of great managers, Naomi sacrifices her beloved Twins for the culture as Steven Kwan and Isiah Kiner-Falefa take down Minnesota with their clubs. IKF not only hits the game tying single in the first game of the double header, he smashes his first career grand slam in game 2. HOW YA LIKE THAT YANKEES FANS???? And in NPB, 22-year-old Munetaka Murakami is on a home run record mission of his own. The Yakult Swallows 3B has tied Sadaharu Oh’s (basically the Michael Jordan of Japanese sports) record for single-season HR by a Japanese-born player. He's now pressing on to match - maybe even pass - the overall single-season record of 60 HR. Lars and the Real Big Pepper Grinder: https://clutchpoints.com/cardinals-news-lars-nootbaar-gets-extra-spicy-for-albert-pujols-696th-home-run/ Yankees Legend CC Sabathia backs Ohtani for MVP: https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1569465522005184513 Connect with us on IG @asiansinbaseball, Twitter @aznsinbaseball, email us at asiansinbaseball@gmail.com, or send us an audio message on Anchor!