Jim Allen
@tokyojimallen.bsky.social
Writing about Japanese baseball since 1993, lover of history and language. Kindness and forgiveness are super powers available to all of us.
Altman honored and improved Japanese baseball with his presence.
Man, what a loss. George Altman played for Buck O'Neil and Casey Stengel, and shared an outfield with Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson — in one game! #RIP
A former Mets, Cardinals and Cubs All-Star outfielder died
An outfielder who made three National League All-Star teams in his career with the Cubs, Mets and Cardinals died.
www.newsweek.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Altman honored and improved Japanese baseball with his presence.
My Japanese teacher, upon learning I’d been advised to get a graduate degree in a field “where the money is,” said, “Stick with what interests you.”
That advice led to a dream career where I’ve spent my life studying Japan and explaining it through the medium of baseball writing.
Thank you Chieko!
That advice led to a dream career where I’ve spent my life studying Japan and explaining it through the medium of baseball writing.
Thank you Chieko!
My PhD advisor fought my chosen dissertation topic, thinking it would blow up in my face. A member of my PhD Committee told him: “If she wants to hang herself, at least give her enough rope to try.” Best advice ever. Trust your students to handle mistakes. Always give them enough rope.
What’s the most significant advice you received from a teacher?
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
November 21, 2025 at 4:36 AM
My Japanese teacher, upon learning I’d been advised to get a graduate degree in a field “where the money is,” said, “Stick with what interests you.”
That advice led to a dream career where I’ve spent my life studying Japan and explaining it through the medium of baseball writing.
Thank you Chieko!
That advice led to a dream career where I’ve spent my life studying Japan and explaining it through the medium of baseball writing.
Thank you Chieko!
The story behind records in Japan that aren't records.
It's as much about racism as it is about the media's eagerness to publish sensational headlines in place of the truth.
jballallen.com/weird-japane...
It's as much about racism as it is about the media's eagerness to publish sensational headlines in place of the truth.
jballallen.com/weird-japane...
Weird Japanese records
On Monday, in Craig Calcaterra’s wonderful irreverent newsletter, “Cup of Coffee,” I found notice of Munetaka Murakami’s posting, and Craig’s bewilderment that the lef…
jballallen.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The story behind records in Japan that aren't records.
It's as much about racism as it is about the media's eagerness to publish sensational headlines in place of the truth.
jballallen.com/weird-japane...
It's as much about racism as it is about the media's eagerness to publish sensational headlines in place of the truth.
jballallen.com/weird-japane...
Guides being real.
Underrated Madrid thing: how the tour guides at museums throw shade on the Louvre in general and the Mona Lisa in particular. And not just that it’s small and overrated. They’re slagging the wood of its frame, where they choose to show it, and other stuff. Fantastic hater energy. You love to see it.
November 9, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Guides being real.
Movement conservatives predicted America would go communist when: JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton, Obama, or Biden was put in the White House. Same for when Eisenhower was re-elected. They are 0-for-9.
This is 100% true. I’m in Manhattan today for work and they made me convert to Islam before I was allowed to purchase my BEC and coffee this morning. Inshallah I’m able to get a slice of pizza tonight because the ration lines are so long.
Tuberville: “We just saw what happened in NY. We lost NY. It will be completely Muslim in 3-4 years. That’s what they want. And it’s going to spread throughout the country.”
November 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Movement conservatives predicted America would go communist when: JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton, Obama, or Biden was put in the White House. Same for when Eisenhower was re-elected. They are 0-for-9.
Reposted by Jim Allen
Fans love extra innings, so why do the world's best baseball establishments, MLB and NPB, happily treat us to lame extra-inning time savers?
jballallen.com/world-series...
jballallen.com/world-series...
world series’ extra innings
Someone commented this afternoon on Blue Sky that NHK had to scramble to show innings past the 12th on its broadcast of North America’s baseball “World Series.” Watching from the …
jballallen.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Fans love extra innings, so why do the world's best baseball establishments, MLB and NPB, happily treat us to lame extra-inning time savers?
jballallen.com/world-series...
jballallen.com/world-series...
NPB manager expresses surprise that no Blue Jays player took extra BP on the field after so many scoreless innings
We're all doing base running drills after this one. I don't care how tired you are.
October 28, 2025 at 9:10 AM
NPB manager expresses surprise that no Blue Jays player took extra BP on the field after so many scoreless innings
Reposted by Jim Allen
imagine being Rob Manfred, watching this intense world series game and saying “this would be so much better if a fake runner had ended the game five innings ago”
October 28, 2025 at 5:47 AM
imagine being Rob Manfred, watching this intense world series game and saying “this would be so much better if a fake runner had ended the game five innings ago”
Reposted by Jim Allen
Calling Black and Brown women "low IQ" while you brag about passing a cognitive test is peak white man
Trump: "They have Jasmine Crockett -- a low IQ person. AOC is low IQ. Have her pass the exams I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed. They're cognitive tests. Let AOC go against Trump. Let Jasmine go against Trump. The first couple questions are easy -- a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe ... "
October 28, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Calling Black and Brown women "low IQ" while you brag about passing a cognitive test is peak white man
The only games in Japan now allowed to go past 12 innings are those coming after Game 7 of the Japan Series, which conceivably could require 14 games to complete if the first seven result in ties...
NHK graphics department forced to improvise in order to keep up with this marathon World Series game
October 28, 2025 at 6:49 AM
The only games in Japan now allowed to go past 12 innings are those coming after Game 7 of the Japan Series, which conceivably could require 14 games to complete if the first seven result in ties...
Reposted by Jim Allen
Teruyo and I stanning at the stage door with Amanda Reid, who is making her broadway debut starring in the musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”
October 26, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Teruyo and I stanning at the stage door with Amanda Reid, who is making her broadway debut starring in the musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”
I have three tickets tomorrow for the Swallows and Dragons at Jingu Stadium.
September 8, 2025 at 6:46 AM
I have three tickets tomorrow for the Swallows and Dragons at Jingu Stadium.
NPB's all-star game and Sunday's election both highlight a huge problem: How should Japan best accommodate the imported talent it so badly needs?
jballallen.com/japan-and-np...
jballallen.com/japan-and-np...
Japan and NPB share a dilemma
With Japan’s All-Star games coming up on Wednesday and Thursday, it is worth mentioning that the Central League will field four non-domestic signings on its roster, one short of the five play…
jballallen.com
July 21, 2025 at 2:46 PM
NPB's all-star game and Sunday's election both highlight a huge problem: How should Japan best accommodate the imported talent it so badly needs?
jballallen.com/japan-and-np...
jballallen.com/japan-and-np...
Trevor Bauer's struggles continued Wednesday, but at least he didn't murder anyone, unlike two NPB pitchers I've known...
jballallen.com/tough-times-...
jballallen.com/tough-times-...
Tough times for Bauer
The Japan Series champion DeNA BayStars lost 4-3 in Hiroshima to the Carp Wednesday. Trevor Bauer (4-8) allowed all four Hiroshima runs on six hits including a pair of doubles and his Central Leagu…
jballallen.com
July 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Trevor Bauer's struggles continued Wednesday, but at least he didn't murder anyone, unlike two NPB pitchers I've known...
jballallen.com/tough-times-...
jballallen.com/tough-times-...
A story Kyodo News did not want published: how NPB teams have used their COVID 19 emergency powers to drastically reduce and control press access to this day.
jballallen.com/japans-white...
jballallen.com/japans-white...
July 16, 2025 at 12:12 AM
A story Kyodo News did not want published: how NPB teams have used their COVID 19 emergency powers to drastically reduce and control press access to this day.
jballallen.com/japans-white...
jballallen.com/japans-white...
A story Kyodo News did not want published: how NPB teams have used their COVID 19 emergency powers to drastically reduce press access to this day.
jballallen.com/japans-white...
jballallen.com/japans-white...
Japan’s white lies
In Japan, one becomes accustomed to people saying things that are patently false. The hero interviewee who jacked a fat pitch into the third deck at Osaka Dome for a decisive home run will typicall…
jballallen.com
July 15, 2025 at 5:04 PM
A story Kyodo News did not want published: how NPB teams have used their COVID 19 emergency powers to drastically reduce press access to this day.
jballallen.com/japans-white...
jballallen.com/japans-white...
After 26 years inside the world of Japanese baseball, I am finally finally free — and it feels good.
In a country where most fight to stay on the inside, I’m now on the outside, where truth is permitted and sometimes even welcomed.
jballallen.com/inside-out/
In a country where most fight to stay on the inside, I’m now on the outside, where truth is permitted and sometimes even welcomed.
jballallen.com/inside-out/
Inside out
On Sunday, I wrote about how my sudden shift from Japanese baseball insider to outsider taught me about Japan’s group dynamics and its media in “Japan’s Sound of Silence.” B…
jballallen.com
July 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
After 26 years inside the world of Japanese baseball, I am finally finally free — and it feels good.
In a country where most fight to stay on the inside, I’m now on the outside, where truth is permitted and sometimes even welcomed.
jballallen.com/inside-out/
In a country where most fight to stay on the inside, I’m now on the outside, where truth is permitted and sometimes even welcomed.
jballallen.com/inside-out/
There are powerful forces behind the Japanese media's spineless reporting -- as I learned the hard way this spring when trying to continue reporting on baseball as an independent after being mandatorily retired.
jballallen.com/japans-sound...
jballallen.com/japans-sound...
Japan’s sound of silence
In 26 years as a credentialed member of Japan’s baseball media, I never quite came to grips with how companies, political parties and public figures have generally managed to prevent or delay…
jballallen.com
July 6, 2025 at 2:41 PM
There are powerful forces behind the Japanese media's spineless reporting -- as I learned the hard way this spring when trying to continue reporting on baseball as an independent after being mandatorily retired.
jballallen.com/japans-sound...
jballallen.com/japans-sound...
How would you go about identifying the most dominant pitching seasons in NPB history? I gave it a shot as I try to identify Japan's most dominant seasons and stretches?
The best three-year stretch in history might be a surprise...
jballallen.com/japans-most-...
The best three-year stretch in history might be a surprise...
jballallen.com/japans-most-...
Japan’s most dominant
Who has been the most dominant pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history, and how would one go about answering this question? It’s not an easy answer, since baseball careers represent m…
jballallen.com
July 1, 2025 at 11:10 AM
How would you go about identifying the most dominant pitching seasons in NPB history? I gave it a shot as I try to identify Japan's most dominant seasons and stretches?
The best three-year stretch in history might be a surprise...
jballallen.com/japans-most-...
The best three-year stretch in history might be a surprise...
jballallen.com/japans-most-...
Have 2 tickets to the July 1 Hawks-Fighters game at Tokyo Dome if anyone Is interested.
June 27, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Have 2 tickets to the July 1 Hawks-Fighters game at Tokyo Dome if anyone Is interested.
Ike was hated by Republicans who wanted a president who believed that some people were born to rule and others were born to be exploited.
I miss when we had a real President who knew at least how to spell PARADE!
June 15, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Ike was hated by Republicans who wanted a president who believed that some people were born to rule and others were born to be exploited.
Baseball has difficulty dealing with people who think differently, and Japan shares this handicap.
My experience as a neurodivergent member of Japan's baseball media.
jballallen.com/baseball-thi...
My experience as a neurodivergent member of Japan's baseball media.
jballallen.com/baseball-thi...
Baseball thinking, neurodiversity and Japan
It’s often said one can learn a lot about societies by observing how it treats its most vulnerable members. Are they exploited, shunned, persecuted, or neglected? Or are they welcomed and all…
jballallen.com
June 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Baseball has difficulty dealing with people who think differently, and Japan shares this handicap.
My experience as a neurodivergent member of Japan's baseball media.
jballallen.com/baseball-thi...
My experience as a neurodivergent member of Japan's baseball media.
jballallen.com/baseball-thi...
I've thought long and hard about the late Shigeo Nagashima and his place in the baseball cosmos, not as the ultimate player or manager, but as the ultimate showman in a nation that badly needed him.
jballallen.com/nagashima-a-...
jballallen.com/nagashima-a-...
Nagashima: A giant among Giants
Japanese baseball’s most popular player ever, Shigeo Nagashima, passed away last week at the age of 89, and across Japan, ballparks began flying their flags and observing moments of silence f…
jballallen.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I've thought long and hard about the late Shigeo Nagashima and his place in the baseball cosmos, not as the ultimate player or manager, but as the ultimate showman in a nation that badly needed him.
jballallen.com/nagashima-a-...
jballallen.com/nagashima-a-...