“In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball” will be presented on Saturday, July 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Nisei Veterans Hall, Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, 1964 W. 162nd St., Gardena.
Award-winning author Robert K. Fitts will talk about his new book, “In the Japanese Ballpark” (University of Nebraska Press), which features interviews with Bobby Valentine, Trey Hillman, Matt Murton, Robert Whiting, Marty Kuehnert, Tomoko Namba, Ambassador Ryozo Kato, and many others.
The program will include an over-view designed to acquaint new fans with Japanese baseball; a behind-the-scenes look at what makes Japanese baseball unique — and so much fun; and a book-signing.
Fitts is a curatorial consultant for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a baseball historian. He is the author of 11 books on Japanese baseball, including “Issei Baseball: The Story of the First Japanese American Ballplayers” (2020); “Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan” (2013); and “Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer” (2015), and is co-editor of “Nichibei Yakyu: U.S. Tours of Japan,” Volumes I and II.
Admission is free but donations are appreciated. For more information, call (310) 324-6611 or visit www.jci-gardena.org.