In 1939, Billie Holiday recorded the first great protest song of the Civil Rights Movement, 'Strange Fruit’ The Chilling Story of Strange Fruit and Billie Holiday. A THREAD!

Good. More, please.

The fact that he doesn’t even bother going into the dugout to change gear somehow makes it cooler

Good. More, please.

Still can’t believe this Babe Ruth/Shohei Ohtani comp is real.

We love to see it!!

New York Mets PBO David Stearns at Meiji Jingu tonight to see Munetaka Murakami

A full set of three-game weekend series in Japan will often average as many fans if the two teams whose parks hold over 40,000 are both at home.

Not “silly” as much as interesting but seriously lacking in context. For example, when Ruth hit 29 home runs in 1919, 9 were at home and 20 were on the road. In 1920. When Ruth hit 54, he hit 29 at home and 25 on the road…

#6 for Munetaka Murakami

100 percent accurate. Sometimes the ball would run onto a left-handed hitters barrel but until 2024. The contact was rarely solid. Last year, Lotte’s superb outfield defense spared him an ugly ERA.

Fixed? Ichiro Suzuki never failed to hit at any level in his life. As an 18-and 19-year-old, he tore through the pitcher-friendly Western League like opposing pitchers were little leaguers. His EL coaches, however, DID contribute to refining his unorthodox style.

He objectively failed to hit at the NPB level in his first 2 seasons. His NPB wRC+ in 1992 and 93 was 42 While Doi arbitrarily yanking him around the lineup didn't help, his swing was still clunky and not up to snuff Kawamura tweaked his swing to get it to work at the NPB level

166 plate appearances over 2 seasons does not count as a first-team opportunity. He did make adjustments, but every minor leaguer in Japan who gets within spitting distance of what Ichiro accomplished has succeeded on the first team given regular playing time…

Find me a player in Japan who came remotely close to what Ichiro did in the minors adjusting for context and failed in a meaningful first-team trial. People think it’s true because they don’t adjust for minor league context or the guy doesn’t get a meaningful trial.

Something I forgot to post last night: In the 5th inning, Trevor Bauer got Kaito Kozono to ground out and then kicked his bat walking into the dugout. Kozono tripled off Bauer in his next at bat, then yelled at him as he was walking back to the mound.

Until the 2000s, NPB had 2 to 3 outstanding import hitters in each decade who "failed" in the States, but this channel has all but dried up. I believe this is due to MLB teams no longer being as ignorant of the quality of Triple-A hitting talent that they used to give up on.

I think this is true. Most of the impact imports are now pitchers who needed more adjustment time than they got in MLB. In NPB, they get security, better fielding practice, new pitches and a different mix of hitters. They also get comfortable challenging hitters in the zone.

My Shero, Althea Gibson, was born on this day, 98 years ago. As we honor the 75th anniversary of Althea breaking the color barrier in tennis at this year's U.S. Open, may we always remember her unmatched courage and strength, and how she blazed a trail for so many to follow.

In my few interactions with him. Shohei Ohtani has come off as being genuine and humble.