How a Disappointing Baseball Player Inspired a Japanese Art Movement - The Story of Gary Thomasson

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Every offseason, like clockwork, something happens. A player of some standing in MLB signs in Japan, and people say they’re going to dunk.
Without fail. The player could be a AAA stud, the player could be a guy with a few MLB seasons under his belt. 8 times out of 10, these people are wrong. Especially in recent years.
Most of the time, players like that are forgotten. Consinged to the history books and remembered only by those who watched them, or found them while digging through a database.
But some, some gain a legacy in Japanese slang. One such player is Gary Thomasson
Outro Song:
• 超芸術トマソン/モルグモルマルモ Hype...
Morg Molmalmo's Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/5zCq3...
Patreon: / gaijinbaseball
Twitter: x.com/GaijinBaseball

Пікірлер: 97

  • @GaijinBaseball
    @GaijinBaseball20 күн бұрын

    I KNOW I PRONOUNCED VIDA BLUE'S NAME WRONG. Don't make me set up an auto-delete filter. The point has been made and acknowledged multiple times. You aren't contributing to the conversation, you're just dogpiling. Chogeijutsu Thomasson - Morg Molmalmo kzread.info/dash/bejne/pYx9lMyPqbydmdo.htmlsi=lFhV9EW6ToPEm2pw MISTAKES: 1. I know I pronounced Vida Blue's name wrong, you can stop commenting it now. I know who he is, I had just never heard his name spoken before. It's a 2 second bit it doesn't "ruin the whole video". If it bothers you that much I suggest you rethink your priorities in life. Longtime watchers of the channel know I made the same mistake with Bill Veeck. 2. Reggie Smith's slugging was .573

  • @ancestralFromWesnoth

    @ancestralFromWesnoth

    16 күн бұрын

    All good, my dude! The video is still awesome!

  • @umbraemilitos

    @umbraemilitos

    4 сағат бұрын

    Comments increase engagement. As annoying as it is to be dogpiled, it might help if you think of it as a booster.

  • @daegueric
    @daegueric6 күн бұрын

    Very nice storytelling. One of the players you mention in this is David McKinnon, who landed in Korea after playing in Japan. My apartment is about 3 miles from Samsung Lions ballpark. He's at 1b. Lions are contending in KBO, and that hasn't been the case for some time. Cheers from Daegu

  • @unclesox
    @unclesox20 күн бұрын

    Found this video through your twitter account which I follow. What drew me to watch this was that I have a co-worker who says Gary Thomasson is his cousin, although he has never met him. My co-worker friend, who doesn't follow much baseball, only knew that Thomasson played for the SF Giants. He was unaware that he had won a World Series with the Yankees until I told him. So he was quite surprised when I added that his cousin also played in Japan. He'll probably get a kick when I tell him about this video. Interesting stuff. Keep up the great work. I've been following NPB for about 4-5 years now. I know very little about its history and am eager to learn.

  • @SIGuy7480
    @SIGuy748020 күн бұрын

    love learning about obscure players

  • @bobbyclemente21
    @bobbyclemente215 күн бұрын

    1) I've never heard anyone pronounce Vida as vee-duh. 2) I used to pronounce Yomiuri like you did, but no Japanese ever did, i.e. with the mi sound when they drop it and it's just yo-mu-ree. 3) That telephone pole cut off wasn't, that pole is there to protect what's behind it, heh heh. But thanks for the history lesson! That's cold that Thomasson's name was used like that.

  • @martinzaehringer1697
    @martinzaehringer1697Күн бұрын

    Here is my Gary Thomasson story: Back in either '79 or '80, me and three or four of my friends - all in our young 20s - would go to the Dodger games every evening and sit in the left field bleachers. The bleacher seats cost about $2.50 and at that time the left field bleachers didn't serve alcohol. So the ushers didn't have to deal with drunk jerks. We were there so much we got to know a few of the usherettes, one of whom was a beautiful blonde named Mary. She was a student at Orange Coast Community College and we all had a crush on her, and probably annoyed her too much, but she was gracious about it (also, back then, the outfits for the usherettes were short, blue miniskirts. Sigh . . . ). When Thomasson played, it was generally centerfield and if the outfield was shifting he was close enough to the edge of the bleachers that we could call out to him. Sometimes he talked back to us; other times he talked to the usherettes. But as a player, he struck out a lot. One night we were giving him some crap about whiffing so much and Mary walked up to us and said, "Hey, knock it off. He's my boyfriend." Oops. At that point we realized none of us would ever have a chance with her. I wonder if they ever got married.

  • @adammunro4202
    @adammunro42025 күн бұрын

    Love the Eastern Ave spot, always was curious about that bridge, thanks man!

  • @foxyfoxington2651
    @foxyfoxington265119 күн бұрын

    He may have been average... But name another baseball player that has an art movement named after him.

  • @kochan1147
    @kochan114719 күн бұрын

    Japanese Baseball culture has a huge influence of Japanese culture/net culture like Mike Greenwells "神のお告げ" or the "Revelation from God", a slang like "ンゴ" which you use when someone/something makes a grave mistake coming from Domingo Guzman, or "クレメンス" and "マダックス" coming from Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux which i dont even think people who use it know that it originates from 2chan baseball threads, its fascinating.

  • @stevemeters3090

    @stevemeters3090

    8 күн бұрын

    I'm sorry, could you explain that again. I think I didn't quite grasp it.

  • @josebourdeth8919

    @josebourdeth8919

    7 күн бұрын

    @@stevemeters3090 yeah what did they said about Roger Clemens or Gregg Maddux?

  • @davidfife1547

    @davidfife1547

    6 күн бұрын

    Yeah now I wanna know more

  • @moderateatberkeley

    @moderateatberkeley

    5 күн бұрын

    @@josebourdeth8919Clemens in Japanified transliteration starts with “kure” which means “do” as in “do this for me.” This caught on with Japanese baseball netizens on 2chan. A “Maddux” in 2chan baseball lingo is to throw a complete game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches.

  • @kochan1147

    @kochan1147

    5 күн бұрын

    @@josebourdeth8919 there's 2 times to use it and one is the already widely used pitching under 100 pitches and the other is when you ask if something is ready coming from the word "まだ(pronounced Mada)" which basically means "ready yet?" and the name Maddux is pronounced "Madakkusu", basically using the pronunciations of players and changing them into slang.

  • @ChrisD123
    @ChrisD1234 күн бұрын

    Fascinating video, keep up the outstanding work you do on this channel. I love the shorter videos highlighting some of the more unusual stories from Japanese baseball history.

  • @Cletus_the_Elder
    @Cletus_the_Elder16 күн бұрын

    This is a deep, deeeep cut. Wonderful storytelling.

  • @buzzawuzza3743
    @buzzawuzza37435 күн бұрын

    excellent video, well done

  • @paulkang6842
    @paulkang68425 күн бұрын

    Unexpectedly interesting given that I don't follow baseball. For others in the same boat, the video gets to the point at around 8:00

  • @Bongo_Fury
    @Bongo_Fury8 күн бұрын

    Thomasson-san

  • @nickselk6250
    @nickselk625010 күн бұрын

    The fact you have less than 10k subs is mind boggling. You deserve many, many more. I wish I had found this channel sooner, but better late than never.

  • @liammcooper
    @liammcooper13 күн бұрын

    I knew about the counterfeit money, but I had no idea Akasegawa's connection with baseball. Fascinating.

  • @tnteves
    @tnteves19 күн бұрын

    Hey man I love your work, keep it up

  • @juanjo19438686
    @juanjo1943868619 күн бұрын

    Wow you are very clever! Kudos

  • @NextLevelNugz
    @NextLevelNugz14 күн бұрын

    Vyda not veeda . You must be young.good job.

  • @Sirin2099
    @Sirin209910 күн бұрын

    Fascinating how sports and culture intercede.

  • @paulmcmillen5925
    @paulmcmillen592516 күн бұрын

    I'm very audio and I couldn't help notice the background music. As you were giving the chronological events during Thomasson baseball career I was distracted by the incongruent rock music (particularly the vocals) and I almost exited. However, as I was listening to the part about the photo artist Genpei, I didn't immediately notice that the background music had changed. I was caught up in this discussion of these photos that were oddly humourous and at the same time "sentimental". For a minute or so I hadn''t realized that the background music had turned into a spacey instrumental and I thought, "Oh, this is cool". Altogether, the entire art segment was very engaging. Well done, sir!

  • @fredbobberts5753
    @fredbobberts57538 күн бұрын

    Warren Cromartie- was a player and learned the language Randy Bass (Bass-O). Threatened Oh’s season record and helped Hanshin win in 1985. Robert Rose- second baseman for last great Yokohama team. Felix Milan - good player for 70s whales. And there are many modern good players.

  • @bobbyclemente21

    @bobbyclemente21

    5 күн бұрын

    Basu-sama, never heard him called that.

  • @canadaclaret
    @canadaclaret18 күн бұрын

    Vida Blue rhymes with side a glue.

  • @ancestralFromWesnoth

    @ancestralFromWesnoth

    17 күн бұрын

    Yep. VYE-da Blue. And, I would assume “Thomasson” is just like “Thomas-son” (TOM-as-son) as opposed to what you’re saying, “TOME-ahs-sun”. (But I do get it, as that’s how the Japanese would pronounce his name.)

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    16 күн бұрын

    I know. I acknowledged it in the pinned comment. Of course I know who he is, I'd never heard his name spoken before. I wish people would actually read it.

  • @canadaclaret

    @canadaclaret

    16 күн бұрын

    @@GaijinBaseball your video is very well done. That little mistake is not really important. I know a woman called Vida who spells her name the same as Blue but pronounces it the way you did. I am not really a baseball fan, more interested in art, but as a kid I liked Blue and some other guys like Roberto Clemente and Joe Morgan... Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter...

  • @echos-myron
    @echos-myron17 күн бұрын

    The channel name alone gets a sub; 100% in my wheelhouse. ❤

  • @zttz
    @zttz6 күн бұрын

    Veeda Blue

  • @snellbeast_jasonsnell
    @snellbeast_jasonsnell9 күн бұрын

    Amazing!!! Thank you!

  • @tommayrant2279
    @tommayrant227919 күн бұрын

    Amazingly sublime video!

  • @JurassicParker13
    @JurassicParker1320 күн бұрын

    Really great video

  • @MrGuano11
    @MrGuano1110 күн бұрын

    Brutal

  • @wesleykelly7226
    @wesleykelly722617 күн бұрын

    Heyy I didn’t know you’re Canadian! Love for your channel from Ottawa! 🇨🇦

  • @Vntagonist
    @Vntagonist9 күн бұрын

    so glad i got recommended this video. ive been wanting to learn more about japanese baseball after becoming a fan of shunsuke watanabe, but found it difficult to learn much about how the npb culture is and how it compares to mlb. im very surprised that your channel hasnt blown up yet, as your videos are very engaging in how they are structured, and your commentary is very well spoken and easy to follow. thank you for these high quality in depth videos, i cannot wait to binge the rest of your vids 🙏 go marines 😛

  • @bobbyclemente21

    @bobbyclemente21

    5 күн бұрын

    Read any Robert Whiting book about yakyuu and you'll learn a lot about Japanese culture and mindset.

  • @derekli6469
    @derekli646919 күн бұрын

    Hey I'm from Toronto too! Keep up the good work!

  • @weirddingus4620
    @weirddingus462014 күн бұрын

    That is fucking brutal lmao

  • @chesthoIe
    @chesthoIe6 күн бұрын

    Thanks, now if a Japanese person ever shows me a photo of a broken telephone pole, I can be all, "That's a Shinzo Abe Tomlinson!" and be wrong, but close enough hopefully.

  • @45scienceproject
    @45scienceproject7 күн бұрын

    I met David MacKinnon playing minor league ball in the Angels system 2 or three years ago or so. The guy mashes and is an awesome dude. Too bad that he keeps getting fucked around by ballclubs on both sides of the pond. Anyway, I fucking love David MacKinnon.

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    7 күн бұрын

    Mac's a great dude, interacted with him a lot on Twitter last year. Sucks that he got let go, but I'm enjoying watching the reckoning that's coming for Lions GM Hisanobu Watanabe. The Lions are literally having the worst season in franchise history atm

  • @softballhumanoid
    @softballhumanoid19 күн бұрын

    This. Is. Fantastic. ❤❤❤

  • @iammovingtokorea
    @iammovingtokorea11 күн бұрын

    Great story. Great channel. ⚾️

  • @jeffreysams3348
    @jeffreysams334816 күн бұрын

    This is awesome!

  • @donturner-rz5ox
    @donturner-rz5ox5 күн бұрын

    Hitting a curve ball is a lot harder than taking photos of crappy architecture.

  • @HKim0072
    @HKim007215 күн бұрын

    Kinda wish Thomasson would embrace it and hook up with the photographer.

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    14 күн бұрын

    Sadly Genpei passed away back in 2014

  • @DKC_Returns
    @DKC_Returns7 күн бұрын

    You and @WrestlingColin would get along

  • @TheKazzerscout
    @TheKazzerscout11 күн бұрын

    Yakuza music, good choice.

  • @viva_la_mort
    @viva_la_mort6 күн бұрын

    *Disappointing / Disappointment 👍

  • @tedharrington5432
    @tedharrington543220 күн бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/mn-u3JpxqbWscdY.html Is that a song dedicated to Gary Thomasson

  • @tradcath2976
    @tradcath297611 күн бұрын

    Lol! It's not pronounced "VEE-da" Blue. It's "VYE-da" (like "eye") Blue.

  • @Whomever209
    @Whomever20919 күн бұрын

    Neat video. Why do Brazilian players often end up with the Yakult Swallows?

  • @Vyc74

    @Vyc74

    13 күн бұрын

    It's a neat story acually, the Swallows had a partnership with the CBBS (Brazilian Baseball and Softball Confederation) in the 80's. The Swallows wanted a warm place to practice during the offseason and the brazilian national squad needed a training center, so they got together and made it happen. Just google "Ibiúna CT Yakult", Ibiúna being the city where it was built, about a couple hours drive from São Paulo and CT short for Training Center in portuguese

  • @jritechnology
    @jritechnology14 күн бұрын

    New York City and small town America has TONS of Thomasson style art just ripe for the plucking....especially in the 1980's with tech movement going faster and faster.

  • @1977TA
    @1977TA13 күн бұрын

    The average person simply does not grasp how enormously difficult it is to not only become an MLB player but become one who rises above obscurity. Thousands of promising players have come and gone, their names likely lost to history. You could make an entire video series about forgotten prospects going as far back as the 1960s. There are young guys playing right now who will never step foot on an MLB field. There are others who get called up but linger on the 40-man roster seeing little if any action before they get sent back down to the minors. Speaking of the 40-man roster, most people think a minor league player getting called up to a big-league parent team means that player has made it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The call up lands the player on the 40-man roster. If there are no available spots a current player on the 40-man roster must be designated for assignment to make room for the new player. Designated for assignment players are basically on their way back to the minors. Once a player makes the 40-man roster her will have 3 years to prove he is good enough for a starting job. A fourth year may be granted under certain circumstances.

  • @redroninx289
    @redroninx28916 күн бұрын

    Is that music from Yakuza 0 I hear?

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    16 күн бұрын

    Yep, I use it a lot whenever I'm covering the 70s and 80s

  • @anarken1598
    @anarken159816 күн бұрын

    8:46 nah wait hold up that sounds interesting

  • @soccch
    @soccch13 күн бұрын

    7:05 Reggie Smith's stats don't look quite right to me. How does he have an OBP of .379 and a SLG of .409, but his OPS is .952?

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    13 күн бұрын

    His slugging was .573, my bad

  • @ldr4690
    @ldr469013 күн бұрын

    Good video, but is there an explanation for why the DAMN PICTURE KEEPS FLOATING AROUND?

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    13 күн бұрын

    My ADHD. If anything's standing still I don't like the way it looks, it feels too stilted. I find It also keeps the viewer focused on the image because our eyes are naturally drawn to movement. I've been doing it for years and I think you might be the first to complain about it. Then again this video has blown up by my standards.

  • @heathmcrigsby
    @heathmcrigsby11 күн бұрын

    Jack Elliot was my all time favorite gaijin ball player

  • @stevemeters3090
    @stevemeters30908 күн бұрын

    Is this channel related to Foolish Baseball?

  • @derkaiserzen

    @derkaiserzen

    6 күн бұрын

    no

  • @TheBrainSpecialist

    @TheBrainSpecialist

    6 күн бұрын

    Nah, but last I checked Bailey follows him on Twitter

  • @bookaufman9643
    @bookaufman96438 күн бұрын

    That's not how you say Vida Blue. The " I" is pronounced like the word eye.😊

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    7 күн бұрын

    I know. I acknowleged the fact that I got it wrong in the pinned comment.

  • @bookaufman9643

    @bookaufman9643

    7 күн бұрын

    @@GaijinBaseball sorry but I didn't see it. Light a blue was an amazing picture. For a while in the early seventies he was considered almost unhittable. He was also a pretty weird dude.

  • @bibbytenbillion
    @bibbytenbillion3 күн бұрын

    hey man you accidentally spelled "disappointing" with only one 'p' in your title

  • @josephbcarter
    @josephbcarter6 күн бұрын

    You mispronounced Vida. Clean it up bro!

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    6 күн бұрын

    It's funny how this 2 second part that is irrelevant to the video at large is the thing everyone is complaining about. I know who Vide Blue is, I know I got it wrong. I wish people would read the pinned comment before commenting the same thing ad nauseum.

  • @Preeeemo
    @Preeeemo11 күн бұрын

    kzread.info/dash/bejne/f4mlldSbgJPWfZc.htmlsi=xw8iBJqpqNyEHN20&t=529 The large block of text at the timestamp really broke the flow of the video (imo). Nice video otherwise!

  • @ThatC1official
    @ThatC1official20 күн бұрын

    I want to learn about Japanese minor league system but can't find a good video

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    20 күн бұрын

    NPB Minor League (aka "ni-gun" lit. "Second Army") teams use the same uniforms as the Major League teams. Instead of the Central League and Pacfic League, they are split into the Eastern and Western League. They play 80 games a year instead of 143. Some teams have a "san-gun" (third army) team that usually plays against indyball clubs.

  • @ThatC1official

    @ThatC1official

    20 күн бұрын

    @GaijinBaseball thank you, I only known about teams wearing their parent club jerseys but didn't know anything else and didn't know about indy teams outside of shikoku Island plus league

  • @nightguardian812
    @nightguardian81216 күн бұрын

    Wow 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @88mphs
    @88mphs20 күн бұрын

    Trevor Bauer did well last year

  • @GaijinBaseball

    @GaijinBaseball

    20 күн бұрын

    The first segment was about foreign hitters, not pitchers. That's a whole other thing altogether.

  • @reggiebanks7627
    @reggiebanks76278 күн бұрын

    All these people complaining about Vida name. His name is the Spanish word for life. Because he said his name was pronounced in some hi key way doesn’t mean it’s right. VeeDa is the right way. Just like Matt Diaz. My man said pronounce Diaz as Die Az. GTFO here bro. diaz is Spanish for days. SMH

  • @texasPITBULL54

    @texasPITBULL54

    7 күн бұрын

    Getting mad about people telling you how to say their name is sad a name can transcend language kinda like we don’t call people George who are named Jorge just because we are speaking English and vis versa the other way. Get over it.

  • @TheBrainSpecialist

    @TheBrainSpecialist

    7 күн бұрын

    ​@@texasPITBULL54We used to. Google George Bell. Roberto Clemente was always labelled as "Bob Clemente" during his playing days

  • @bobbyclemente21

    @bobbyclemente21

    5 күн бұрын

    Did HE pronounce that way? Did his family? #FAIL

  • @texasPITBULL54

    @texasPITBULL54

    5 күн бұрын

    @@bobbyclemente21 just sad I really hope you get the help you need before you hurt yourself or someone else.

  • @reggiebanks7627

    @reggiebanks7627

    5 күн бұрын

    So just because he felt he didn’t need to pronounce it the proper way doesn’t make it right. In the grand scheme of things no it doesn’t matter. But it is a Spanish name with Latin roots. There is no debating where the name comes from. You can jazz it up make it up tell people “this and that” but the truth is the truth.

  • @scoremat
    @scoremat13 күн бұрын

    Jung Who Lee is a major disappointment. KBA superstar but a 4th OFer with no impact and can't steal bases in MLB. Talk about disappointment

  • @bobbyclemente21

    @bobbyclemente21

    5 күн бұрын

    Still young, but yeah, they overpaid for him IMO.

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