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Hello! After a brief vacation/some technical issues with our recording software, we are regrettably back on our bullshohei—[John forcibly rips away the keyboard] okay I promise that’s the last one. While the podcast monster ate some of our questions section, we are relieved to be able to bring you our interview podcast this week. This time we are joined by Kazuto Yamazaki, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) expert and author at Beyond the Box Score, Deltagraphs, and elsewhere. Kazuto offers his insight on baseball in Japan, from both a technical and cultural point of view: how does posting work? And what is up with the older gentleman wearing a poop emoji hat? Kazuto profiles a few interesting players before digging into the subject which most piques our curiosity: Shohei Ohtani. Where will he choose to sign? What role will he play for his new team? Will he even come stateside for the 2018 season? We have none of these answers! But listen to us speculate wildly, say what we do know, and overall dream on what acquiring a player of Ohtani’s caliber would mean for a team. We also pepper Kazuto with questions on his unseemly Rangers fandom and what he would choose to adapt from the NPB and bring the the MLB. The answer? A neat roster quirk!
Note: if you are interested in learning more about Japanese baseball (if you happen to be a baseball fan who works nights/has a newborn/is up at 2 AM on the regular, it’s a real gift to Club Insomnia), Kazuto is an excellent follow on Twitter. You can also check out Deltagraphs, which is like the NPB version of Fangraphs, and maybe consider becoming a member there to help grow the site.
Music: Nippon Ham Fighters Fight Song,
Note: If you’re searching for the podcast to subscribe (and we would love it if you did) please be aware that it is listed as simply “Lookout Landing” and not “Lookout Landing 2.0” which is understandably confusing. We’re sorry.
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Enjoy! Leave feedback! And go Mariners.