Tribute by NBRP founder, Kerry Yo Nakagawa: “On May 11, 2001, I got to meet “Tom Terrific” Seaver in person behind the San Francisco Giants batting cage. He had agreed months before to write the foreword to our book, ‘Through a Diamond, 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball.’ Tom played with some of the Nisei ballplayers and was mentored by MLB scout George Omachi when he was pitching for Fresno City College. He knew I was a country boy from Fowler and asked if I knew John Goode also from Fowler (his former all-star baseball teammate). I told him that John was my swim team coach when I was eight years young on the Fowler Flippers. Tom gave me John Goode’s phone number, and we finally reconnected after many decades. Long story short, if it wasn’t for Tom Seaver introducing me to John Goode, our book, “Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball,” would have never been published. John and Davis Skaggs Investment Management made it happen and Tom Seaver was our ‘Lighting Rod’ of Epiphany. Our prayers and appreciation go out to Tom and family in their time of reflection. His love of family, baseball, and grapes will always be remembered.
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Related links:
- Book: Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball
- Book: Japanese American Baseball in California: A History