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

In my previous column, I wrote about my visit to the house where Joe Jackson spent his final years, which is preserved in the city of Greenville, South Carolina. The couple who manage the house told me the following about the house: The house where Jackson spent his final years was originally located about five kilometers away, but it was moved to its current location in 2006, 55 years after Jackson’s death. The reason for this was that an impressive ballpark, Fluor Field at

Joe Jackson is one of the greatest hitters in Major League Baseball history. His career batting average of .356 is the third-best in history. However, he was permanently banned for his involvement in fixing games in the 1919 World Series. There are many different opinions and endless debate about whether Jackson actually participated in fixing games. If he wasn’t actually involved, then Jackson would be a tragic hero, and many fans think so. I’m one of them. Now, it was the

I was eight years old in 1955. That fall, the New York Yankees came to Japan to play against Japanese professional baseball teams. I watched one of those games live at the stadium and was captivated by the Yankees' play. I became an avid Major League Baseball fan, and the Yankees who visited Japan that time remain unforgettable to me. Among them was Yogi Berra, the legendary catcher whose name will forever be remembered in Major League Baseball history. In August 2017, I vis

At approximately 3:25 p.m. on January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport, carrying 155 passengers and crew. However, shortly after takeoff, while still flying at a low altitude of just 850 meters, a bird strike caused a complete loss of thrust in both engines. Naturally, the flight was impossible, and the altitude was insufficient to turn and return to LaGuardia. Attempting to return would have resulted in a crash into downtown New Yo

In June 2013, while on a road trip around the United States, I visited Demorest, Georgia, a small city with a population of less than 2,000. Johnny Mize (who died in 1993 at age 80), one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history, was born and raised in Demorest. He studied at Piedmont College in Demorest, where he devoted himself to baseball and became a major leaguer. Piedmont College houses the “Johnny Mize Athletic Center”, a memorial to him. Johnny Mize p

In the summer of 2010, while on a road trip around the United States, I stopped in Madison County, Iowa, to see Roseman Bridge, the covered bridge made famous by the novel "The Bridges of Madison County " by Robert James Waller. This is an internationally bestselling novel about the love story between a photographer who comes to Madison County to photograph covered bridges and a local married woman. The 1995 film of the same name based on this novel was also a huge hit, star

During the summer of 2010, I took a road trip across the United States. On that trip, I visited a place I had always wanted to see: the town of Commerce, located in northeastern Oklahoma. Baseball fans will immediately recognize this name. Yes, it's famous as the hometown of Mickey Mantle. Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees in the 1950s and 60s and is considered the greatest switch-hitter in Major League Baseball history. His 536 career home runs rank 18th all-tim

In the summer of 2011, I was driving around the US, mainly in Alabama and Mississippi, but I decided to take a quick trip to Texas as...

In my last column, I wrote about my visit to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. The purpose of my visit was to see the...

The American novelist I consider to be the most knowledgeable about Major League Baseball is Paul Auster, who passed away in 2024 at the...

July 20, 2016. I was so excited to leave Japan and head to the US. The time had finally come to realize my long-held dream. Being old, I...

Wisconsin is a state in the Midwestern United States. It is famous for its large German population and for its beer production. The...

On April 25, 2016, I flew from Japan to the US, arrived in Houston, Texas, and started my road trip in a rental car. Then, on May 3, I...

Fargo is located in the southeastern part of North Dakota, bordering Canada, in the northern part of the US mainland. It is the largest...