The Central League champs were also able to test their skills against the New York Giants

[chichi]

At first most of the Giants enjoyed their trip to California, but after fifa 15 coins a while they became bored. Not speaking English, the Japanese could not even enjoy a movie. They had nothing to do there in the small town and after practice just went back to the hotel. After a month, most were ready to go home.

With the help of O’Doul, acting General Manager Cappy Harada had set up a challenging schedule. The Giants warmed up with two games against the Valley All-Stars, a strong semipro team managed by Kenichi Zenimura, the elder statesman of Nisei baseball in Cali- fornia. A fine player in his youth, Zenimura had faced Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during their 1927 barnstorming tour and had brought his Fresno All-Stars to Japan in 1924, 1927, and 1937. He maintained close ties to Japan and would help a number of Nisei players sign with pro teams there. After Zenimura’s All-Stars, the Giants faced the Holly- wood Stars, Sacramento Solons, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. The Central League champs were also able to test their skills against the New York Giants, St. Louis Browns, and a group of the younger Chicago White Sox.

Wally knew that the Giants faced stiff competition. In a feature article in the Call-Bulletin, Yonamine explained, “Japan’s baseball championship team is not ready to engage the New York Yankees in any world series. As a matter of fact the [Pacific] Coast League plays faster baseball than we do. Our pitching is not as good, our hitting is not as long or as sharp and we haven’t mastered the technique of base running like the Americans. But we are learning. For one thing, we have given up trying to whack the ball out of the park. It has im- proved our hitting.”

Wally was right. The Yomiuri Giants did not fare well against the American professional teams. They lost 12 of 15 games against Pacific Coast League teams, and a couple of their wins were not meaningful victories. For example, in the Giants’ 2–0 March 8 victory over the Hollywood Stars, the Giants did not get a hit for the first eight and two-thirds innings before scoring two runs in the top of the ninth on a walk and two hits. At that point, the Stars had pulled their regulars and were fielding a rookie team. Yomiuri also lost three of the four games against their Major League opponents, and their 9–7 win over the New York Giants was not truly legitimate as Leo Durocher, New York’s manager, sat in the Yomiuri dugout analyzing every play and giving the Japanese pointers.