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Rules in Japanese Baseball?

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Rules in Japanese Baseball?
I've been watching a Japanese animated TV series from 1968-'70 entitled "Star of the Giants" (Japanese title: "Kyojin no Hoshi"). The episodes I have are in Japanese with no subtitles, so I can't understand the dialogue. (The images are quite powerful, however.) Certain startling questions arise about the nature of Japanese baseball that I need to find answers to.
  1. In one scene a batter has made it to first base and proceeds to loudly taunt the pitcher from his position. Since I've never seen an American player do that, I'm guessing it's illegal. Is that not the case in Japan, too?
  2. The pitcher in this series, Hoshi, has developed a powerful pitch called the "diving ball" (and it's referred to by that name in English in the series' Japanese dialogue). Apparently, the pitch is hurled right at the player who is forced to defend himself by pulling the bat up in front of him to ward off the pitch, thereby executing a rather ineffectual hit. Hoshi is haunted by flashbacks of past pitches of the "diving ball," which are seen inflicting serious damage on one player after another. Wouldn't such a dangerous pitch be illegal?
  3. There's a black American player on an opposing team named Armstrong who is, I'm guessing from the context, the only one who has beaten the "diving ball" and hit a home run off of it. Were there American players on Japanese teams in the late 1960s? If so, I'd like to know if there was a real-life model for the character of Armstrong. Who was the first black player to go to Japan to play?
Thank you.
Comments
Re: Rules in Japanese Baseball?
[ Author: Kiyoshi | Posted: May 8, 2010 10:54 AM | HAN Fan ]

American players have been in Japan prior to the formation of the Japanese Professional League in 1936. Jimmy Bonna was an African-American who played in late 1936.

Look at American cartoons such as "Bugs Bunny" and you will see many "fictious" plays!
Re: Rules in Japanese Baseball?
[ Author: SteveNovosel | Posted: May 9, 2010 11:47 AM | LOT Fan ]

I don't think I would try to learn the rules of Japanese baseball from a 40 year old cartoon.

But in real baseball pitchers throw at batters all the time. They either get out of the way or get hit and take their base. Pitchers do get ejected for throwing at players as well. This happens in every baseball league.
Re: Rules in Japanese Baseball?
[ Author: number9 | Posted: May 10, 2010 4:02 PM ]

Sports cartoons and movies usually play fast and loose with reality. Nothing to get overly concerned about.
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