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Natchitoches, Louisiana : The man who created a new tradition
In the summer of 2016, I was driving east on I-10 (Interstate 10) near the Gulf of Mexico (now the Gulf of America) across the vast state of Texas. As I finally left Texas and entered the neighboring state of Louisiana, I suddenly had a thought. “That’s a good opportunity to visit the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. I’m sure there will be an exhibit about the man who created a new tradition. It’s strange that I haven’t tried to visit it before.” So, in the middle of I-10, I g
11 hours ago
Royston, Georgia : The man with the highest career batting average
In June 2013, I was on a road trip through 12 states in the Southern and Midwestern United States, and during that trip I visited Royston, Georgia, a city of about 2,500 people. As I was driving down a road through the center of Royston, I noticed a large painting on the wall of a building facing the road, and I thought to myself with a grin, "As I thought, this man is very famous in this city." I parked my car to take photos of the painting. Ty Cobb painted on the wall of a
Apr 17
Minneapolis, Minnesota : Monuments in the shopping mall
In 2008, while driving around the United States, I stopped off in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because there was a place I really wanted to see. Since 1982, the home stadium of the Minnesota Twins, a major league baseball team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, had been the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly known as the Metrodome), but since 2010 it has been the newly constructed Target Field. So, what was the home stadium before the Metrodome? And what is it like now? Until 1981,
Mar 27
Alvin, Texas : The hometown of a great pitcher
In the summer of 2009, I finally got to visit Alvin, Texas, a place I had always wanted to visit. It's the hometown of Nolan Ryan. A legendary pitcher with seven no-hitters and a career total of 5,714 strikeouts, Nolan Ryan is a hero to me, and I continue to feel a strong affinity for him, as he was born in 1947, the same year as me. I'd also like to mention something else: I have a friend (a Japanese woman younger than me) who saw Nolan Ryan when he was still playing and fe
Mar 6
The Impact of Eight Years of Silence
I think “Every Pitcher Tells a Story” by Seth Swirsky is a wonderful book. It’s rare to find such an entertaining and thought-provoking book about Major League Baseball. “EVERY PITCHER TELLS A STORY” by Seth Swirsky (1999, Times Books, Random House) This book primarily features answers from Major League pitchers to the author’s questions. Each pitcher’s case is without exception fascinating and thought-provoking, but here I’d like to focus on Steve Carlton’s case. Steve Car
Apr 24
President Roosevelt’s Letter
In Japan, there is a famous saying that has been passed down in relation to baseball. It is known by all baseball fans, and it is not uncommon to hear it uttered by announcers and commentators during live broadcasts of baseball games on radio and television, even during live broadcasts of Major League Baseball games. The saying goes, “The most entertaining score in baseball is 8 to 7.” Is this also said in the United States? I have never heard of it being said in United State
Apr 10
A New York Times policy that surprised me
"Baseball: A History of America’ s Favorite Game" by George Vecsey is a fantastic book, and I think it’ s a must—read for anyone interested in Major League Baseball or who is thinking about becoming interested in it. “Baseball: A History of America’ s Favorite Game” by George Vecsey (2008, Random House Publishing Group) Japanese translation version of “Baseball: A History of America’ s Favorite Game” (translated by Yasuo Suzuki, Random House Kodansha Co., Ltd., 2007) There
Apr 3
Dial 8
This time, I’d like to talk about baseball slang. As a Japanese person living in Japan, I’m not sure how often what’s known as English baseball slang is actually used in the United States. Let me give you some examples of such slang. 1) The protagonist of the American film “Meet John Doe” (1941) starring Gary Cooper is a baseball player. As for what level of baseball player he is, the protagonist himself refers to himself as a “bush league” baseball player. In this old 1941
Mar 20
Munetaka Murakami : A big rookie for the Chicago White Sox
Munetaka Murakami, a talented hitter who played in Japanese Professional baseball, will be playing for the Chicago White Sox starting this year. I imagine that baseball fans in the United States don't know much about what kind of baseball player Munetaka Murakami is. So, I'd like to talk about him from my own personal perspective. A magazine featuring all 56 home runs hit by Munetaka Murakami in 2022 (in Japanese, 2022, TAKARAJIMASHA, INC., Tokyo, Japan) When talking about
Feb 27
The best hitters in MLB based on my personal analysis: Part II
This is a sequel to my last column. In my last column, I wrote about my personal analysis of the “rankings in eight batting categories.” Every year, I research each player’s league ranking in eight batting categories: hits, walks, home runs, runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. I believe that players who achieve the top five in the league in all eight categories can be considered the best hitters in MLB. This is merely one example of wha
Feb 6
The best hitters in MLB based on my personal analysis: Part1
I’ ve been steadily conducting various analyses of Major League Baseball records for a long time, but they’ re all based on my own personal preferences. One of these analyses is the “rankings in eight batting categories.” Each year, I examine each player’ s league ranking in eight categories: hits, walks, home runs, runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. It’ s difficult to achieve high rankings in all eight categories. For example, a player
Jan 30
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Cy Young Award
Last year, in 2025, Paul Skenes was selected as the National League Cy Young Award winner. I think that was a predictable and natural selection. However, in Japan, many people were very disappointed that Yoshinobu Yamamoto did not win the award. These people seemed to assume that Yamamoto's postseason performance would be considered for the Cy Young Award, even though that is not the case. A Japanese sports magazine features Yoshinobu Yamamoto on its cover at the moment of t
Jan 2
Author
Makio Mukai, MD, PhD
I'm MLB enthusiast.
From 2007 to 2019, I wrote weekly column about MLB for the Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun.
I have published three books about MLB in Japanese.
Natchitoches, Louisiana : The man who created a new tradition
In the summer of 2016, I was driving east on I-10 (Interstate 10) near the Gulf of Mexico (now the Gulf of America) across the vast state of Texas. As I finally left Texas and entered the neighboring state of Louisiana, I suddenly had a thought. “That’s a good opportunity to visit the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. I’m sure there will be an exhibit about the man who created a new tradition. It’s strange that I haven’t tried to visit it before.” So, in the middle of I-10, I g
11 hours ago
The Impact of Eight Years of Silence
I think “Every Pitcher Tells a Story” by Seth Swirsky is a wonderful book. It’s rare to find such an entertaining and thought-provoking book about Major League Baseball. “EVERY PITCHER TELLS A STORY” by Seth Swirsky (1999, Times Books, Random House) This book primarily features answers from Major League pitchers to the author’s questions. Each pitcher’s case is without exception fascinating and thought-provoking, but here I’d like to focus on Steve Carlton’s case. Steve Car
Apr 24
Royston, Georgia : The man with the highest career batting average
In June 2013, I was on a road trip through 12 states in the Southern and Midwestern United States, and during that trip I visited Royston, Georgia, a city of about 2,500 people. As I was driving down a road through the center of Royston, I noticed a large painting on the wall of a building facing the road, and I thought to myself with a grin, "As I thought, this man is very famous in this city." I parked my car to take photos of the painting. Ty Cobb painted on the wall of a
Apr 17
President Roosevelt’s Letter
In Japan, there is a famous saying that has been passed down in relation to baseball. It is known by all baseball fans, and it is not uncommon to hear it uttered by announcers and commentators during live broadcasts of baseball games on radio and television, even during live broadcasts of Major League Baseball games. The saying goes, “The most entertaining score in baseball is 8 to 7.” Is this also said in the United States? I have never heard of it being said in United State
Apr 10
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