<Begin Segment 40>

AH: John, do you have any more questions?

JE: Amy was going to ask your opinion of the current Japanese players playing in the major leagues, like Hideki Matsui or Ichiro?

WY: Nomo. Well, five years ago, Asahi newspaper, one of the writers interviewed me and they asked me that question, what I thought about the Japanese going to the States. So I told this writer, I said, "To me, I feel that my dream was one day, the Japanese league and the major leagues play a series, a World Series." This was my dream. And now that all these guys are going to the States, there's no World Series like that whatsoever, anymore, because all the good guys are going to the mainland. So when this writer asked me what I thought about it, I told him, "Look, the owners should really think right now" -- this was five years ago -- "think right now, to stop these players, not to go to the mainland because if they go, the Japanese baseball will start going down," which they, the brand of ball is down. Just like the major leagues now, they get thirty teams in the major leagues. So the brand of ball... they have some Triple A players in the major league today. See, this was twenty or thirty years ago, these guys are all down in Double A, Triple A. But same thing in Japan, now. So when I go to Japan, I don't go see the game because the fundamentals are bad and I'm kind of disappointed the way they do things. But that's the only sad thing about Japanese baseball. But I guess you can't help, but, you take Matsui from the Yankees, they offered him 21 million in three years, he went. But I heard that the Tokyo Giants owner offered him 60 million, and he didn't stay back, he went. But I guess they, they want to try, and Matsui did real well with the Yankees.

AH: Who's going to be the Wally Yonamine from Japan that gets into the American Hall of Fame first?

WY: Yeah... could be Ichiro. I think Ichiro, he's not a home run hitter but he's a all-around player. And I think Matsui, he really surprised me this year -- defensively, base running. He did some good plays, defensive, and, because when he was with the Giants, he wasn't that good a outfielder. But this year, when I watched him, couple times he made some good plays. Base running, he used to be on third base and he was on third, off second base and things like that. But I think Ichiro is the one that have a good chance because he is a good contact hitter. So if he continue hitting the way he does and his defense is good and he got a good arm, I think.

AH: What do you think about the rejuvenation of Nomo?

WY: Nomo. Nomo, as long as he gets control, I'm very sure he can win. At one time he wasn't winning because his control is bad. But these past two years, his control is coming back. The only way Nomo can win is his forkball got to sink real good. And these past two years, Nomo been doing real well with his forkball.

AH: Which of the ballplayers from Japan that are here now did you have a chance to see as young players, when they were just starting to develop? Or even scout out some of those ballplayers?

WY: The one in the States now? Matsui, when Matsui was with the Giants, I was a coach at that time, but I didn't help him out, a little bit in the outfield, but not with his hitting. Who else? Ichiro was in the Pacific League, so I didn't have anything to do with him. I guess, just Matsui, I think.

AH: Are there any questions that... we've asked a lot of questions, but are there any questions that we haven't asked that you would like to answer?

WY: [Laughs] Well, from my standpoint, like when I first went to Japan like that, I think that a lot of what I went through my early years in Japan, I don't think that any of the Americans there now could have stand what I went through -- the food that we ate, or the traveling we did, no heat, no air condition, go to the stadiums where guys would come in and throw rocks and you have to, when the gangsters would come in and things like that. And something like that, and I know that my wife took a lot of beating with something like that. She'd be in Tokyo all by herself, and she wouldn't grumble. If that was a American wife, they would pack up and go home. [Laughs]

AH: You've got a great wife. You've had a great life. You had a great career, and I'd like to thank you very much. It's been a privilege and an honor and you're a Hall of Famer for us.

WY: Thank you, thank you. Anytime, anytime you guys want to ask me a question, let me know.

<End Segment 40> - Copyright © 2003 Japanese American National Museum. All Rights Reserved.