Sayonara Home Run

[Methead]

Stumbled across this book while I had some time to kill the other day. Very cool.



"With talented young Japanese players signing to the American Majors, interest in Japanese baseball is at an all-time high. Sayonara Home Run! introduces curious fans to Japan's national pastime through the lens of the country's playfully beautiful baseball cards."

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Does it say when baseball cards started in Japan?

My parents went there in the spring of 1986 and I asked them to bring me home some Japanese baseball cards. They didn't find any; the nearest thing was a deck of cards with player portraits.

[Methead]

A lot of the cards in the book are from the '40s and '50s. They go into a little detail about the later cards but it's mostly full of the older stuff.

I love the old cards with rock / paper / scissors symbols on the backs.

[seawolf17]

Topps entered the Japanese market a few years back with a small set, based on their regular US set, but with kanji on the back:



All the Japanese players (Ichiro, Ishii, Taguchi, etc.) made the cut, plus most of the other major stars.