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American expatriate baseball players in Japan have been a feature of the Japanese professional leagues since 1934. American expatriate players began to steadily find spots on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) rosters in the 1960s. More than 600 Americans have played NPB, although very few last more than a single season in Japan. Many of the most celebrated American expatriate players came to Japan after not finding success in the Major Leagues. Major League Baseball (MLB) players, scouts, and sabermetricians describe play in the NPB as "AAAA"; less competitive than in the MLB, but more competitive than in AAA minor league baseball,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=For Players and Agents RE: Playing Baseball in Japan )〕 which may explain the American expatriate players' success overseas. (see: "Big in Japan") American players hold several NPB records, including highest career batting average (Leron Lee, .334), highest single season batting average (Randy Bass, .389), most hits in a single season (Matt Murton, 214), and the dubious record of most strikeouts in a season by a hitter (Ralph Bryant, 204). Americans rank #3 (Tuffy Rhodes, 55) and #5 (Randy Bass, 54) on the list of most home runs in a season, and #2 in single-season RBI (Bobby Rose, 153). Since the 1970s, Americans have also made an impact in Nippon Professional Baseball's managing and coaching ranks, with Bobby Valentine and Trey Hillman managing their respective teams to Japan Series championships. == Gaijin waku and cultural differences == For most of its history, NPB regulations imposed "gaijin waku," a limit on the number of non-Japanese people per team to two or three — including the manager and/or coaching staff.〔("Foreign Player Restrictions? )," JapaneseBaseball.com. Accessed March 12, 2015.〕 In addition to the foreign culture, the language barrier, and loneliness, differences in the way the game is played in Japan are often challenges for American players. Japanese teams practice much more often than American teams, the game relies more on off-speed pitching and not as many fastballs, and team harmony is stressed over individual achievements.〔 The American writer Robert Whiting wrote in his 1977 book ''The Chrysanthemum and the Bat'' that, While others have objected to characterizing the sport that way, many Japanese players and managers describe themselves in these terms. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American expatriate baseball players in Japan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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