It has been called by many names - Baseball Diplomacy, Diamond Diplomacy, Home Run Diplomacy - but the concept is always the same. By exchanging ball-players instead of politicians, and competing on athletic fields instead of battlefields, two countries can bypass complex government relations and generate a sense of good will among the people. And it's not just baseball. Basketball, soccer, ping pong and pretty much any sport you can think of has served this purpose at one point or another over the past several decades.
By the turn of the 20th Century, the American pastime was already an established sport in Japan. Teams from the U.S. regularly traveled back and forth to test out their competition. When Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the Asian Exclusion Act), it killed much of the good will created by baseball and all but ended the frequent exchange of teams and players with Japan. Still seeing the benefit of engaging Asia, Major League Baseball signed off on two trips - 1931 and 1934 - that sent a team of future Hall of Famers throughout the Far East. The players were received as heroes despite the build-up of pre-war tensions. Both trips were hugely successful. The Tokyo Giants reciprocated with visits to the U.S. in '35 and '36, and for a while it seemed like baseball would save the world! That was the final pre-war exchange. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 was seen by many as baseball's first global failure, but baseball diplomacy was only just beginning.
Babe Ruth was the indisputable main attraction of the 1934 tour, yet it was two lesser-known players who would make a name for themselves as baseball diplomats. One was scholarly catcher, Moe Berg. An accomplished linguist, Berg developed a proficiency in Japanese over his multiple visits to the country. It was later discovered that the U.S. Office of Strategic Services actually employed Berg as a spy. Historians disagree as to the extent of Berg's involvement in espionage, but we do know that in 1942 the ex-ballplayer delivered a radio broadcast in Japanese, warning Japan "as a friend" that they "can not win this war".
The other player was Lefty O'Doul. In 1949, O'Doul and General Douglas MacArthur sent the San Francisco Seals on baseball's first post-war tour through Japan. The highly publicized tour provided Japan with a much needed morale boost and served as a key turning point in restoring relations between the two countries. O'Doul, who was already popular in Asia due to his previous trips, remained involved in the development of organized ball in Japan (he was the inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002).
The sport continued to be a core element of bilateral relations in subsequent decades. For example, in 1965 - amid escalating U.S. engagement in Vietnam - Japan invited the Los Angeles Dodgers to play an 18-game series against the Yomiuri Giants. President Lyndon Johnson, who was touring Asia at the time, received no such invitation. Meanwhile, the Dodger's president, Walter O'Malley, received a metal of honor from the Japanese government.
In 1964, the San Franciso Giants invited three Japanese players to attend their Spring Training, eventually signing them to a one-year minor league contract. It was billed as a cultural exchange that Japan hoped would accelerate the development of its players and the MLB viewed as an opportunity to increase overseas scouting. No one was expecting any of the players to make it to the majors, but that's exactly what happened on August 31 when Masanori Murakami was called up from Single A in the midst of a tight pennant race. He debuted at Shea Stadium to a standing ovation in his first of nine relief appearances. The following off-season, Murakami was the focus of tense negotiations between the Giants and his Japanese club, both wanting the young pitcher for the 1965 season. It was decided that he would remain in the U.S. for one more season, but return to Japan for the remainder of his career. Not only was Murakami the first from Japan to play in the MLB, but he was the only player to hold the distinction until 30 years later when Hideo Nomo was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995.
These days it's common for the MLB to hold exhibition games in Japan, and there are an increasing number of Japanese players who choose to test their metal in the U.S. On every fourth year (since 2000), two regular-season games (opening day plus the following game) have been played in Tokyo. With relations between the two countries stable through the second half of the 20th Century, the U.S. has been able to focus it's baseball diplomacy efforts elsewhere. For more on that, stay tuned for The History of Baseball Diplomacy Part II: Cuba.
Sources:
Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia, Joseph A. Reaves, Bison Books, 2004
"Baseball in Japan: Game May Yet Break Up Impassable Gulf...", The Washington Post, January 22, 1914
"Home Run Diplomacy", The Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 1934
"Moe Berg, Red Sox, Gets Job as Envoy", The New York Times, January 15, 1942
"Moe Berg... Tells Japanese Truth in Native Tongue...", February 5, 1942
"50,000 Japanese See O'Doul Pitch for Seals...", The New York Times, October 31, 1949
"In the Dugout: Japanese Want More Baseball...", The Christian Science Monitor, December 3, 1949
"Japan in the Big League: She Welcomes Los Angeles Dodgers...", Max Frankel, The New York Times, November 7, 1966
"Mysterious Moe is De-Classifed", Dave Anderson, The New York Times, January 28, 1975
Dozens of Wikipedia pages
By the turn of the 20th Century, the American pastime was already an established sport in Japan. Teams from the U.S. regularly traveled back and forth to test out their competition. When Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the Asian Exclusion Act), it killed much of the good will created by baseball and all but ended the frequent exchange of teams and players with Japan. Still seeing the benefit of engaging Asia, Major League Baseball signed off on two trips - 1931 and 1934 - that sent a team of future Hall of Famers throughout the Far East. The players were received as heroes despite the build-up of pre-war tensions. Both trips were hugely successful. The Tokyo Giants reciprocated with visits to the U.S. in '35 and '36, and for a while it seemed like baseball would save the world! That was the final pre-war exchange. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 was seen by many as baseball's first global failure, but baseball diplomacy was only just beginning.Babe Ruth was the indisputable main attraction of the 1934 tour, yet it was two lesser-known players who would make a name for themselves as baseball diplomats. One was scholarly catcher, Moe Berg. An accomplished linguist, Berg developed a proficiency in Japanese over his multiple visits to the country. It was later discovered that the U.S. Office of Strategic Services actually employed Berg as a spy. Historians disagree as to the extent of Berg's involvement in espionage, but we do know that in 1942 the ex-ballplayer delivered a radio broadcast in Japanese, warning Japan "as a friend" that they "can not win this war".
The other player was Lefty O'Doul. In 1949, O'Doul and General Douglas MacArthur sent the San Francisco Seals on baseball's first post-war tour through Japan. The highly publicized tour provided Japan with a much needed morale boost and served as a key turning point in restoring relations between the two countries. O'Doul, who was already popular in Asia due to his previous trips, remained involved in the development of organized ball in Japan (he was the inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002). 
The sport continued to be a core element of bilateral relations in subsequent decades. For example, in 1965 - amid escalating U.S. engagement in Vietnam - Japan invited the Los Angeles Dodgers to play an 18-game series against the Yomiuri Giants. President Lyndon Johnson, who was touring Asia at the time, received no such invitation. Meanwhile, the Dodger's president, Walter O'Malley, received a metal of honor from the Japanese government.These days it's common for the MLB to hold exhibition games in Japan, and there are an increasing number of Japanese players who choose to test their metal in the U.S. On every fourth year (since 2000), two regular-season games (opening day plus the following game) have been played in Tokyo. With relations between the two countries stable through the second half of the 20th Century, the U.S. has been able to focus it's baseball diplomacy efforts elsewhere. For more on that, stay tuned for The History of Baseball Diplomacy Part II: Cuba.
Sources:
Taking in a Game: A History of Baseball in Asia, Joseph A. Reaves, Bison Books, 2004
"Baseball in Japan: Game May Yet Break Up Impassable Gulf...", The Washington Post, January 22, 1914
"Home Run Diplomacy", The Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 1934
"Moe Berg, Red Sox, Gets Job as Envoy", The New York Times, January 15, 1942
"Moe Berg... Tells Japanese Truth in Native Tongue...", February 5, 1942
"50,000 Japanese See O'Doul Pitch for Seals...", The New York Times, October 31, 1949
"In the Dugout: Japanese Want More Baseball...", The Christian Science Monitor, December 3, 1949
"Japan in the Big League: She Welcomes Los Angeles Dodgers...", Max Frankel, The New York Times, November 7, 1966
"Mysterious Moe is De-Classifed", Dave Anderson, The New York Times, January 28, 1975
Dozens of Wikipedia pages
