'Samurai Umpires' a major undertaking
Nomo's 1995 arrival started a trend, as over three dozen players of Japanese descent have since appeared on Major League rosters. Many, such as Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, have become stars. Thus far, however, Japan's formidable contribution to the big-league talent pool has been limited to those who suit up as players.
This could soon change, for the Minor Leagues are currently home to six Japanese umpires, ranging from Rookie-ball neophytes to a Double-A crew chief. These half-dozen hardy souls are the subjects of "Samurai Umpires in the USA," a forthcoming documentary that will provide insight into their unique and often challenging existence.
Shot on location at Minor League ballparks throughout the month of July and scheduled for completion by the end of the calendar year, "Samurai Umpires in the USA" is the debut full-length feature of director Takayuki Tanaka. The young filmmaker worked in Japan's television industry before moving to the United States to attend the New York City Film Academy. Through mutual friends he met Chris Northrop, a New York City-based actor who served as the film's producer.
"In Japan I worked for Fuji Television, and even though I was a director, I had to ask my boss to do anything," said Tanaka. "I left Japan because I wanted to make documentaries, and I couldn't do that there."
For Tanaka, a lifelong baseball fan, the topic of Japanese umpires in the Minor Leagues had a special appeal.
"I wanted to make a documentary that focused on Japanese people in America, because that's my experience now as well," he said.
After collaborating with Northrop on a series of smaller student projects, Tanaka suggested that the two work together on what would become "Samurai Umpires in the USA." It didn't take much convincing to get Northrop involved.
"What I immediately found interesting was the difference between the Japanese and American professional baseball systems, because we could tie that into the cultural differences between the two countries," said Northrop. "It was also very important for us to highlight the umpires' personalities as well, because ultimately that's what we're exploring -- the face behind the mask."
A Truly International Game
Of course, filming a Minor League Baseball documentary entails far more than showing up at the stadium with a camera and hoping for the best. In order to shoot footage of all six Japanese umpires in action, Northrop had to jump through bureaucratic hoops that would deter all but the most determined individuals.
An important first step was securing the approval of Justin Klemm, who serves as executive director of the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC). This organization is responsible for hiring and evaluating all Minor League umpires, and as such had the power to veto any project involving its personnel.
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"I felt that the film would be done in a classy way, and that it would get the point across that our staff continues to diversify as baseball increases its reputation as an international game," said Klemm, who points out that the Minor Leagues are also home to umpires from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Australia and Canada. "These umpires sometimes face communication challenges, but we feel they are doing an exceptional job when it comes to calling balls, strikes, safe, out, fair and foul. Baseball is baseball."
PBUC's approval was crucial to the project, but Northrop's work had just begun.
"Once we got the blessing from those within Minor League Baseball, we had to get signed agreements from all the league presidents and then figure out which stadiums we wanted to visit," he said. "Then, we needed to contact each team's GM and media relations director, as well as that state's film commission so we would have access to shoot around town. A big logistical problem was that umpires travel every three to five days, so it was tough to coordinate their schedules with our primary crew of four people."
The end result was an on-the-fly travelogue seemingly lifted out of an alternate-reality Johnny Cash song, as the four filmmakers hurriedly traveled to exotic locales such as Pearl, Miss., Modesto, Calif., and Mesa, Ariz., in their quest to document the lives of aspiring rule arbiters from the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Land of Dreams
The life of a Minor League umpire is hardly a glamorous one, seeing as how it is characterized by low pay, constant travel and a profound lack of respect from fans, managers and players. And, just as with the players, the odds of advancing through the ranks and making it to "The Show" are slim. After all, there are only so many jobs to go around.
In the case of the six Japanese umpires, the daily indignities and frustrations of their chosen profession are magnified by the fact that they are thousands of miles from their native land. Family and friends must be left behind for six months each year as these seemingly masochistic individuals pursue long-shot dreams of Major League glory.
These umpires aren't crazy, however. As anachronistic as it may sound in this age of globalization, America is still "the land of opportunity" for those wishing to pursue an umpiring career. The path to the pros is relatively straightforward, in fact. All one needs to do is attend one of two professional umpire training schools, and the top graduates from each class are then selected to move on to a PBUC evaluation course. Those who do well there move on to employment in the Minor Leagues, with a select few advancing all the way to the Majors. In essence, it is a fair system in which individuals succeed and fail on their own merit. The same cannot be said for Japan, however.
"There is no umpire school in Japan. You need to have connections, and there are a lot of politics," said California League umpire Masaki Nonaka, one of the "Samurai Umpires" profiled in the film. "And there are much fewer jobs, because there are just 12 Major League teams and 12 Minor League teams in Japan. Attending school in the U.S. is the only way I would get a fair chance to be an umpire."
After beginning his career in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2005, Nonaka has slowly but steadily worked his way up the Minor League ladder. His command of the English language has greatly improved during this time, although he admits it is sometimes not good enough to quickly get his point across to an aggravated manager. A far greater hardship is the fact that, during the season, he is separated from his wife and young daughter.
"It's very tough, and it is a part of this job that I really don't like," he said. "Maybe in the future they can come visit me during the season, but right now I cannot afford it. And even if they did visit, I would be traveling too much to be able to see them."
Nonetheless, Nonaka said he loves being an umpire and will continue to do so for as long as he is able. He was delighted to appear in Tanaka's documentary and hopes it inspires others to follow their dreams of becoming a professional umpire.
"I felt like a movie star. I had never had that experience before," he said. "And, in the future, I can show it to my daughter and to my friends, and show them what I did. That will be cool."
"This Isn't a Scripted Narrative"
It was Nonaka, in fact, who was at the center of what Tanaka and Northrop believe will be one of the film's most striking moments. The Japanese umpire was working the basepaths during a game in Modesto between the Nuts and the San Jose Giants, and a close call at first base went against the hometown team. Nuts manager Jerry Weinstein was livid, and he and Nonaka took part in a demonstrative argument that resulted in the skipper being booted from the game.
"Sure, we were hoping for ejections and excitement, so that was really exciting to see," said Northrop. "But we only had so much budget and so much time, so how it unfolded was how it unfolded."
And, ultimately, the filmmakers believe the most memorable aspect of the film will be the scenes that focus on the umpires' lives off the field.
"The relationship between Nonaka and his umpire partner, Brent Rice, was really interesting, and they talked a lot about how they split travel time, where they eat and how they teach each other about their cultures," said Northrop. "Brent will help Nonaka with his English, but then they'll go get sushi and it will be Nonaka helping Brent with his order.
"But some of the umpire relationships were the opposite, where you could see a barrier, and it might not all be due to culture. For example, [Northwest League umpire] Taro Hamano is 36 years old and has a child on the way, and here he is paired with a 19-year-old kid from Oregon. These guys are not only on the field and in the locker room together, but they travel in the same car and have to share the same hotel room. They can't escape from one another. Here's one guy who's stressing every day because he's making minimal wage and is a 13-hour plane ride from his family, and another guy who's never made more money and he's loving life, and probably appalled that he's living with a 36-year-old man who can barely speak English."
While all the umpires have a unique story to tell, Northrop and Tanaka both single out Southern League crew chief Takeshi Hirabayashi as the individual most likely to make history by becoming the first Japanese umpire in the Major Leagues.
"Takeshi has a fighting spirit," said Tanaka. "Just by watching him through the camera, I could tell that he's a very driven umpire."
"He had this attitude, like 'I'm really close to making it, so I have to give it everything I've got every day,'" elaborated Northrop. "He's polished in all aspects and deserves respect. I know the other guys look up to him and what he has accomplished. Maybe to the average American being a Double-A umpire isn't very impressive, but he's the crew chief and this is the first time someone from Japan has gotten this far."
Finding an Audience
For Tanaka and Northrop, the immediate task at hand is to whittle their 90 hours of footage into a coherent, briskly paced film. Upon the completion of this mammoth undertaking, the duo will submit "Samurai Umpires in the USA" to festivals across the country in order to generate buzz. From there, the plan is to pitch the project to both Japanese television and U.S. cable networks.
Despite the fact that "Samurai Umpires in the USA" focuses on an admittedly obscure topic, Northrop believes it will appeal to a wide cross-section of people.
"I think people will be able to relate to the personal aspects of the film, because no matter what culture you're from or what language you speak, we all have passions that drive us to make a huge sacrifice."
In fact, the film itself is a result of one such sacrifice.
"Just take a look at Tanaka," said Northrop. "He's a native of Japan, went to college there and then got a job at a highly respected company. But he gave it all up to come to the U.S. to hone his skills. Sometimes, you have to take a step down to achieve success on a greater scale."
Benjamin Hill is a contributor to MLB.com.