In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball

Robert K. Fitts interviews twenty-six people who work in and around Nippon Professional Baseball, examining how the Japanese game differs from Major League Baseball on the field and in the stands. Players, managers, and a league commissioner appear alongside cheerleaders, a mascot, a beer vendor, an usher, sportswriters, a player agent, and a baseball card dealer.

The author of the Seymour Medal-winning Banzai Babe Ruth, Fitts brings his research on Japanese baseball to conversations with figures including Bobby Valentine, Matt Murton, and Robert Whiting. The book includes thirty-six photographs and accounts of the sport from both team personnel and the people who work in its ballparks.