The Los Angeles Dodgers will host Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, June 15 when they take on the Angels at 7:10 p.m. To commemorate the night, a special exhibit about Japanese American Baseball history will be on display in the Left Field Pavilion. Fans can take in the moving exhibition titled “Baseball’s Bridge to the Pacific: Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese American Baseball” which pays tribute to the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 and the 150th anniversary of US-Japan Baseball diplomacy (1872-2022).
The exhibition consists of historical panels and prewar artifacts that chronicle the introduction of baseball to Japan in the early 1870’s to the first Japanese American teams in 1903, the early tours by these Nikkei teams to Asia starting in 1914 helped usher in the start of professional baseball in Japan in 1936.
The exhibit is a collaborative effort between the Nisei Baseball Research Project and the Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience, with financial support from the Arizona Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Exhibit Fact Sheet:
Schedule:
- Opening: June 15, 2022, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
- Showcase Event: July 19, 2022 – MLB All-Star Game, Dodger Stadium
- Roadshow: Angel Stadium of Anaheim (TBD)
Objectives:
- Educate the public about the important and overlooked legacy of Japanese American baseball (internationalized the game, baseball’s bridge to Asia)
- Celebrate the accomplishments of Nikkei in the modern game
- Advocate for a future permanent exhibit to honor ALL Asian American baseball pioneers in the national pastime (Cooperstown and/or JANM)
Summary:
“Baseball’s Bridge to the Pacific: Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese American Baseball” pays tribute to the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 and the 150th anniversary of US-Japan Baseball diplomacy (1872-2022).
The exhibition consists of historical panels and prewar artifacts that chronicle the introduction of baseball to Japan in the early 1870’s to the first Japanese American teams in 1903, the early tours by these Nikkei teams to Asia starting in 1914 helped usher in the start of professional baseball in Japan in 1936.
These marginalized, invisible and forgotten American ballplayers could not play and raise the bar in MLB due to the racial prejudice of their times, so they played in leagues of their own against Negro Leagues and Latin American teams.
During WWII, the U.S. government imprisoned their own citizens, yet still Japanese Americans kept the all-American Pastime alive, even from behind barbed wire in the ten major incarceration camps.
Post-war resettlement brought the healing agent of baseball back to the communities and third-generation Nikkei players were finally welcomed to professional baseball.
Ballplayers from Asia in MLB today are standing on the shoulders of these Nikkei baseball pioneers who had the tools and ability in the early era of the game, but never got an opportunity. The pioneers celebrated in this exhibit are the “Godfathers” to the many Asians that have crossed “Baseball Bridge to the Pacific” to compete on the highest stage in MLB today.
Exhibit Sponsored by:
- Nisei Baseball Research Project
- Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience
- JACL-AZ Chapter
Project leads:
- Kerry Yo Nakagawa, NBPR Founder, [email protected]
- Charlie Vascellaro, Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience, www.ABLEAZ.org
- Bill Staples, Jr., NBRP Board member, JACL-AZ President, www.jaclaz.org
Support the exhibit with a donation!
- Contact Kerry Yo Nakagawa, [email protected], 559-824-3210
Suggested levels of support:
- Student $25
- All-Star $100
- HR Club $250
- Corporate $500
- Grand Slam Club $1,000
- MVP $2,500
- Hall of Fame $5,000 or above
- Other (any amount is greatly appreciated)