Behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame's new Yakyu/Baseball exhibit

Japan Times

7 days ago

The 'Yakyu / Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game' exhibit, now open at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, tells a sweeping, richly visual story about the deep and evolving connection between Japan and America's shared national pastime.
From the moment visitors enter, they are confronted with a suit of samurai armor presenting Japanese players as fiercely disciplined warriors across 1,800 square feet in the museum's third‑floor Guggenheim Gallery. The first exhibit in Cooperstown to focus on trans-Pacific baseball history, it spans more than 150 years, beginning in Japan's Meiji era and continuing to the present day.
The exhibition is organized around four main narratives.
Japanese teams touring America, with highlights including Waseda University's 1905 tour and later college and club teams' barnstorming trips across the United States.
American teams touring Japan, with vivid emphasis on the legendary 1934 tour featuring Babe Ruth, and other All-Stars, which helped catapult the rise of Japanese professional baseball.
American-born players in Japan, including stories of pioneers like Larry Doby, Warren Cromartie, Randy Bass and most notably the Lee brothers and Matt Murton, all of whom embraced Nippon Professional Baseball and left lasting legacies.
Japanese-born players in Major League Baseball, starting with the pioneering Masanori Murakami — the first Japanese-born MLB player, who made his debut in 1964 for the San Francisco Giants and actually greeted fans at the exhibit during Hall of Fame weekend.
The exhibition tracks the path of Japanese major leaguers from Murakami and evolves through Hideo Nomo, with artifacts from his no-hitter; Hideki Matsui, including a game-worn jersey from 'Godzilla,' and a central focus on Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani.
A single mannequin of Ichiro, featured in celebration of his 2025 induction as the first Japanese‑born player enshrined in Cooperstown, wears several pieces of memorabilia from his glittering career. |
Joshua Mellin
A single mannequin of Ichiro, featured in celebration of his 2025 induction as the first Japanese‑born player enshrined in Cooperstown, wears his 2006 World Baseball Classic Helmet, 2000 NPB season bat, 262nd hit batting gloves, elbow guard and wristbands, 2009 record-breaking jersey, 3,000th MLB hit pants and belt, and 500th MLB stolen base cleats, highlighting the variety of skills that made his game so imposing.
For Ohtani, the exhibit focuses on the two-way icon's unique abilities, with an image-changing lenticular poster showing him batting and hitting during his tenure with both the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers.
The Shohei Ohtani display case is flanked by a cutout of his dog, Dekopin. |
Joshua Mellin
A display case features the cap he wore during his first pitching experience with the Angels on April 1, 2019, and the helmet he wore two dates later when he crushed his first major league home run, along with the Dodgers jersey he wore with his debut with the team during 2024's Korea Series. Ohtani is, of course, accompanied by a life-size cutout of his loyal dog, Dekopin.
There are also lots of artifacts from other players who have recently made the jump from NPB to MLB, including a ball from Roki Sasaki's perfect game when he was with the Chiba Lotte Marines, former Yokohama BayStar and current Chicago Cub Shota Imanaga's 2024 MLB All-Star hat and a glove donated by former Orix Buffalo and current Los Angeles Dodger Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
A ball from Roki Sasaki's perfect game when he was with the Chiba Lotte Marines. |
Joshua Mellin
The two-way influence between America and Japan's shared pastime is covered extensively, tracing back to when Americans introduced the sport to Japan in the 1870s — highlighting the significant impact not only through athletes and ambassadors, but the passionate fan cultures in both countries.
A pop culture section includes a deep dive into trading cards and baseball manga, and even the Hanshin Tigers' 'Curse of the Colonel' and subsequent 2023 Japan Series run are covered extensively alongside an infamous Winnie the Pooh baseball video game that visitors of all ages have been having difficulty resisting. There's even a passport stamp-style circuit in the exhibit that reveals an image after three different presses.
And what would baseball be without the food? From hot dogs to takoyaki, a playful concession stand display lets visitors imagine concocting their own stadium snacks as if in Mad Libs, like Japanese 'Crunchy Wizard Ramen' or American 'Flaming Bambino Nachos.'
Another highlight of the exhibit is a 7th-inning stretch simulator room inviting fans to join in on traditions from around the world, including the Hanshin Tigers' 'Lucky 7' song and the Rakuten Eagles' jet balloon release to the Chicago Cubs' sing-a-long at Wrigley Field and Red Sox fans' Fenway Park rendition of Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline."
The exhibit even goes as far as to explain the Hanshin Tigers' "Curse of the Colonel" that recently ended with their 2023 Japan Series run. |
Joshua Mellin
The interactive elements offer a deeper experience new to the traditional Hall, marking a new era in its own evolution. Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch described 'Yakyu / Baseball' as 'unlike anything we've ever done in Cooperstown,' highlighting the role of design firm Solid Light in making the experience interactive and immersive.
For fans wishing to visit to make the journey to Cooperstown to experience the exhibit themselves, 'Yakyu / Baseball' is set to remain on display for at least five to ten years and possibly indefinitely, especially given its enduring cultural and educational relevance.
In a town built on American legends, this exhibit reminds us that some of the game's greatest stories have always been international.