Book Report: 決めて断つ

A while ago The Lost Collector hosted a contest where contestants would all say what their favorite baseball book is. True to form I waited well after the deadline put in my entry.

The book is 決めて断つ (Kimete Tatsu) by former New York Yankee/Los Angeles Dodger/Hiroshima Carp, Hiroki Kuroda.

It was published back in 2012 and delves into Kuroda's experiences as a baseball lifer. From growing up as the son of a former professional baseball player (his father Kazuhiro Kuroda was an outfielder for the Nankai Hawks/Takahashi Unions/Daiei Stars, which are the past team names of the SoftBank Hawks and Chiba Lotte Marines) and a Olympic athlete (his mother Yasuko Kuroda went to the Olympics in the shot put competition), to his grueling time in high school baseball, his better time in college baseball, his entire NPB career (up until the 2007 season), his entire Dodgers tenure from 2008 to 2011, and the decision that led him to joining the Yankees in 2012 instead of going to back to Japan and what may lie for him in the future. This was written before Kuroda made his Yankees debut in a regular season game so that's as far as it could go.

It really delves into the mental games Kuroda has/had to play on top of the physical game of baseball. He approached every pitch as if he was going to be met with deadly consequences if he messed up. Mainly because during his high school days he wasn't allowed to drink water if he gave up too many runs. Different times. He approached every pitch absolutely determined to make sure he threw his pitches with immense precision. Which in turn ended up turning into a good way to churn out a very successful and lengthly career for himself. Though a lot of the credit for his development goes to his collegiate career where he was really allowed to grow and develop as a pitcher. As well as the Carp being able to let him blossom under their wing in the professional ranks too.

There's a ton of great insight inside these chapters and they're all subjects I've been wanting to tackle on this blog for years now. Such as how close Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw were since they were both rookies for the Dodgers in 2008 and learned a lot from each other.

And the amount of love, loyalty and respect Kuroda has for the Carp organization and Carp fanbase is nothing short of touching.

The backstory of how he'd end up on the Yankees is pretty interesting too. Right down to how he was pretty set on going back to Japan and retiring in a few years, but while eating dinner with his family at a restaurant he suddenly decided that there was still more he could do in America. The rest of history.

"Whatever confidence you gain after a win evaporates after a loss"

The whole book is written in Japanese (duh) and it's admittedly one of the few Japanese baseball books I've read, mainly due to lack of access. One of these days I want to read more Japanese books (even if they are about baseball) like the FOUR written by Shigeru Sugishita but for now this Big Hirok offering stands at the top of what I've read so far.

I would recommend it to people who like baseball and can read Japanese (which is probably like 11% of my readership). Well worth the $27+ I spent to buy it new. It's a fascinating book written from the perspective of Kuroda when he was just finished going through the motions of MLB free agency, and I think it's due for a sequel if/when Kuroda deems us worthy of getting to know his thoughts and feelings during his Yankees tenure, his triumphant return to the Carp (and singlehandedly forcing them into the finals in 2016) and his post-retirement life.