A new book tells the story of a former Texas Rangers pitcher’s journey from Japan to the MLB
Former Texas Rangers pitcher Tony Barnette, who played in the Major Leagues from 2016 to 2019 after leaving the country for six years to pitch in Nippon Professional Baseball, is featured in a book released earlier this year.
Author Aaron Fischman wrote about Barnette’s experience from starting in the minor leagues as an unheralded draft pick to leaving the United States for better opportunities in Japan and how the Alaska native fought through adversity at home and abroad to get back to the United States to live out his MLB dreams.
The book, “A Baseball Gaijin,” was released on June 18 and can be purchased on Amazon. Gaijin is a term for foreigners in Japan and non-native NPB players are referred to as such.
Fischman’s book was announced as a finalist for the 2024 Casey Award, given to the year’s best baseball book annually since 1983.
As an undergraduate at UC Davis, Fischman initially reached out to Barnette when the pitcher was in the minor leagues and stayed in contact with him as his career took him to Japan and back.
“I think, as much of a baseball fan as I am, and how cool I think the behind-the-scenes glimpse into all those baseball aspects, I think the bigger than baseball, universal themes and stories, discussing that in the book, gives me the most pride,” said Fischman, “I thought it was really important to give weight to those stories that are bigger than baseball, but also show how baseball and soccer, which I do for a little bit with the Women’s World Cup discussion and other things, could bring humans together.”
One of those stories involved the 2011 tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan while Barnette was playing for the Swallows and how sports helped the nation overcome tragedy.
Barnette’s professional journey started when he was drafted in the 10th round of the 2006 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent five years in the minors and after struggling to advance through the organization famed agent Don Nomura would reach out about a playing opportunity in Japan.
Barnette signed with the Yakult Swallows where he spent a little over half a decade and despite initial struggles with cultural differences, loneliness and the transition to relief pitching, he excelled becoming one of the NPB’s best pitchers.
Fischman explained that Barnette’s then-wife, Hillary, sportswriters and his fellow gaijin teammates, helped Barnette feel at home while acclimating to a new culture in Japan.
“This was all a completely new experience for Tony, and I think the support was definitely invaluable from these fellow gaijin but it started with Aaron Guiel. He shared an agent with Tony, and he got on the phone with Tony before Tony even made the decision,” said Fischman, “He was struggling at first, and [playing in Japan] was completely new to him. So when [Hillary] rushed over there so quickly that she didn’t even go to her Arizona State graduation. That just meant so much to him.”
Barnette and Hillary met in college and would later marry and have children and he cites her support as integral to his success.
Barnette returned to the majors and had a standout rookie season for the Texas Rangers going 7-3 with a 2.09 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 60.1 innings of work. He would pitch two more seasons for the Rangers before playing one more season with the Chicago Cubs.
Fischman said the success Barnette was able to have with the Rangers validated his decision to leave for Japan.
“I think, just from an emotional, mental perspective, when you can do that when you can go halfway across the world, struggle mightily that first year, be demoted to the farm club, where it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere. There are no fans, there’s no media, really. It’s kind of like the lowest of lows. And find a way to crawl out of that and not only prolong your Japanese career but become a dominant pitcher,” said Fischman, “That just gave him more confidence to where, if he had a setback like in his MLB debut, he gave up a run or two to the Mariners, he was not shaken.”
Fischman said he hopes readers will take inspiration from Barnette’s confidence in fighting for and achieving his dreams of pitching in MLB and while there are no current plans to adapt the story the UC Davis grad said he would love to see it on the big screen someday.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 3:10 PM.
