Book Log 2006 #42: You Gotta Have Wa by Robert Whiting

Probably the best English-language book about Japanese baseball, written at a time when Americans were just beginning to learn more about the Japanese game than team names. The book's main focus is the clash between American players and Japanese baseball culture, but there's also quite a bit about the Japanese approach to the game, the history of baseball in Japan, and the "new breed" of players who may not be all that new of a breed.

It's a bit of a time capsule at this point, what with the influx of Japanese players into the majors and the (somewhat forced) growth of international competition. But it's still a good read and a great introduction to baseball in Japan. Which you could then follow with The Meaning of Ichiro, Whiting's book about the influx of Japanese players to the US.

(Whiting also wrote a book called The Chrysanthemum and the Bat which preceds You Gotta Have Wa, which I've not read, but is apparently also a historical look at baseball in Japan.)