Effectively Wild Episode 1621: Japan’s Field of Dreams (and Nightmares)
Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley
4.7 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2020
⏱️ 75 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the latest head-scratching Scott Boras quote, a disheartening Shohei Ohtani interview and Ohtani’s two-way future, Charlie Morton leaving the Rays to sign with the Braves, and the items from the 2020 season preserved by the Hall of Fame, then (28:06) talk to Ema Ryan Yamazaki, director of the documentary Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams, about the history and significance of Japan’s Koshien high school baseball tournament, the legends Koshien creates, the cultural conflict over coaching in high school baseball, the abuse of amateur players, how Ema chose her subjects, how Ichiro Suzuki influenced her career, the cancellation of Koshien in 2020, the contrast in the pandemic responses of Japan and the United States, and the future of Koshien.
Audio intro: Metronomy, "Reservoir"
Audio interstitial: The Strokes, "I Can’t Win"
Audio outro: PUP, "Reservoir"
Link to article with Boras quote
Link to Ohtani interview
Link to newsletter with Hall of Fame items
Link to Koshien screening info
Link to rent Koshien
Link to Koshien trailer
Link to Japan Times review of Koshien
Link to Ema’s website
Link to 2013 piece on pitch counts at Koshien
Link to 2018 piece on pitch counts at Koshien
Link to Kuroda story
Link to Human Rights Watch report
Link to story about canceling Koshien in 2020
Link to EW Secret Santa
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm not gonna have a taken care of you |
| 0:05.0 | Because we had so much to lose |
| 0:11.0 | But we should never say that we drifted far |
| 0:15.0 | You wish it take a trip to the reservoir |
| 0:19.0 | You wish it take a trip to the reservoir |
| 0:24.0 | Hello and welcome to episode 1621 of Effectively Wild |
| 0:28.0 | A fan graphs baseball podcast brought to you by our Patreon supporters |
| 0:31.0 | I'm Meg Rally, a fan graphs and I am joined as always by Ben Limberger, the ringer |
| 0:35.0 | Ben, how are you? |
| 0:36.0 | Doing okay |
| 0:37.0 | And you're joined as often by the wind skippers outside your home |
| 0:41.0 | Yeah |
| 0:42.0 | Can escape noise out in the world that turns out so |
| 0:44.0 | Apologies if at any point there is loud blowing sounds and or lawn being cut |
| 0:51.0 | I appreciate everyone's patience |
| 0:53.0 | Yes, so another day another Scott Bore is quote |
| 0:56.0 | People just tip us off to them now |
| 0:59.0 | I don't just happen to come across all of these Bore's quotes |
| 1:02.0 | But people know that we're looking for them |
| 1:05.0 | I guess or I don't know if we are looking for them but they come to us |
| 1:08.0 | We can't avoid them now they're like landscapers |
| 1:11.0 | This one is a doozy |
... |
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