Tsyoshi Shinjo became the first Japanese player to participate in the Fall Classic in 2002 with San Francisco. While he team came up short, it was an interesting first.
The Giants took on the Anaheim Angels (Now, the Los Angeles Angels) in the World Series of 2002, and Tsyoshi was batting ninth, in the role of DH. So his time would have to wait. But not long.
A home run by Barry Bonds and another by Reggie Sanders put the Giants up two runs in the top of the second. Troy Glaus got one back for Anaheim with a dinger of his own in the bottom of the frame.
So Shingo's moment came in the top of the third. Leading off the inning, he fanned. But it must have meant so much for him. But when he batted next in the top of the fifth, Singo came through with a leadoff single. Kenny Lofton sacrificed him to second. But the next two batters were retired, leaving him stranded.
Shingo batted again in the top of the seventh, again leading off. This time, he could only ground out. Tom Goodwin batted for him in the top of the ninth and grounded out. The Giants ended up winning the game, 4-3.
Tsyoshi did not play again until game five, where he came on as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth. He fanned. But the next inning, with the Giants up 8-4 and runners on first and second, he hit a sac bunt to get 'em over. Kenny Lofton drove them both home. In the bottom of the eighth, Shingo reached on an error and scored a run.
The Giants ultimately lost this Fall Classic in seven, with Tsyoshi making an appearance in the finale. He never returned to the Fall Classic, and by 2004 he was back playing in the Japanese Pacific League, where it all started for him back in 1991.
Still, it's always great to see baseball be expanded internationally. 1969 brought the Montreal Expos in as Canada's first baseball team. Toronto joined in 1977 and won the Fall Classic twice in the early 90s. Japan has baseball all over the place. In 1992, there was a Tom Selleck movie, Mr. Baseball, about a washed-up big leaguer going to Japan to regain his swing. But long before that, Japan's Masanori Murakami pitched two seasons in the majors in 1964 and 1965, becoming the first to do so. Further back, George Gibson was the first Canadian to play in the Fall Classic in 1909. Joe Quinn, from Australia, played in the bigs from the 1880s into the twentieth century. Graham Lloyd was the first Australian to play in the World Series in 1998. The World Series is slowly involving more and more players from all over the world!
References
Baseball Almanac, Inc. “Baseball Almanac: Baseball History, Baseball Records and Baseball Research. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Web. 7 May 2015, <http://www.baseball-almanac.com/>.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Retrosheet. Web. 7 May. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 8 May. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 7 May 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/>.
Youtube. Web. 7 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
The Giants took on the Anaheim Angels (Now, the Los Angeles Angels) in the World Series of 2002, and Tsyoshi was batting ninth, in the role of DH. So his time would have to wait. But not long.
A home run by Barry Bonds and another by Reggie Sanders put the Giants up two runs in the top of the second. Troy Glaus got one back for Anaheim with a dinger of his own in the bottom of the frame.
So Shingo's moment came in the top of the third. Leading off the inning, he fanned. But it must have meant so much for him. But when he batted next in the top of the fifth, Singo came through with a leadoff single. Kenny Lofton sacrificed him to second. But the next two batters were retired, leaving him stranded.
Shingo batted again in the top of the seventh, again leading off. This time, he could only ground out. Tom Goodwin batted for him in the top of the ninth and grounded out. The Giants ended up winning the game, 4-3.
Tsyoshi did not play again until game five, where he came on as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth. He fanned. But the next inning, with the Giants up 8-4 and runners on first and second, he hit a sac bunt to get 'em over. Kenny Lofton drove them both home. In the bottom of the eighth, Shingo reached on an error and scored a run.
The Giants ultimately lost this Fall Classic in seven, with Tsyoshi making an appearance in the finale. He never returned to the Fall Classic, and by 2004 he was back playing in the Japanese Pacific League, where it all started for him back in 1991.
Still, it's always great to see baseball be expanded internationally. 1969 brought the Montreal Expos in as Canada's first baseball team. Toronto joined in 1977 and won the Fall Classic twice in the early 90s. Japan has baseball all over the place. In 1992, there was a Tom Selleck movie, Mr. Baseball, about a washed-up big leaguer going to Japan to regain his swing. But long before that, Japan's Masanori Murakami pitched two seasons in the majors in 1964 and 1965, becoming the first to do so. Further back, George Gibson was the first Canadian to play in the Fall Classic in 1909. Joe Quinn, from Australia, played in the bigs from the 1880s into the twentieth century. Graham Lloyd was the first Australian to play in the World Series in 1998. The World Series is slowly involving more and more players from all over the world!
References
Baseball Almanac, Inc. “Baseball Almanac: Baseball History, Baseball Records and Baseball Research. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Web. 7 May 2015, <http://www.baseball-almanac.com/>.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Retrosheet. Web. 7 May. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 8 May. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 7 May 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/>.
Youtube. Web. 7 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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