You are undoubtedly familiar with the name Tsuyoshi Shinjo (or at least BigBoss). The flamboyant manager of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters has been in the spotlight for much of 2022, but obviously, this 50-year-old’s story begins much earlier than that. Those of you who have known him since his MLB days (with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants) probably have heard that he once played for the Hanshin Tigers (1992-2000). You might also know that he has released several books, including one at the start of this year.
I decided to look back at his first piece of writing first, because of when it was written and what it might focus on. The date of publication is April 30, 2001 – roughly a month after he made his MLB debut with the New York Mets. Some of it was actually written while he was at spring training and had gotten a little taste of American life. However, I am assuming a lot of it was written while he was still in Japan, dreaming of what his life was going to be like in the majors. So here’s what I got out of this book…
First, Shinjo was every bit as adventurous when he was a kid as he is as an adult. He got into all sorts of trouble but had a very mentally strong father to help him become tougher, too. He did not like studying but was a class leader. He did not have a lot of girlfriends growing up. He got hurt a ton but always escaped serious injury or death, though according to his stories, there were several times when he was really close to meeting his maker.
Second, Shinjo really loved (loves?) the Hanshin Tigers. Despite the huge offer he got to stay with them (5 years, ¥1.2 billion = $12 million), he took a $200,000 deal to try to make the Mets’ roster. But he talked a LOT about how much he loved his time with the Tigers, how much he could never play for the Giants, and he even speculated that he would come back to the Tigers if his stint in MLB did not go well. He said he wanted nothing more than to be part of a strong Hanshin Tigers team that would win pennants. Obviously, that did not happen until after he left, but his love for the team meant a lot to me as I read this.
Third, Shinjo really cares a lot about money and is quite frank about his usage of it. He always liked using cash and always started the day with a full wallet. So full, he says, that when he folded it and put it in his pocket, it would spring back open (thus ensuring it would never accidentally fall out as both edges of the wallet were pushing hard against his clothing or his rear end). He spent money frivolously, often dropping over a hundred bucks every time he went to the convenience store. If he went with teammates, he would buy all their stuff too, and if they got smokes, he would make them get an extra pack. He also talked a LOT about how he rejected the offer of the Tigers and would struggle mightily in his first year with the Mets on such a small salary. In fact, most of that salary would have to go towards paying his income taxes from the previous year in Japan. He would also have to find his own apartment in New York (not a cheap place to live), and even find his own place in their minor league city if he got demoted. He also talked a lot about how he would stay away from shopping centers in his first year with the Mets because, on such a small salary, he could not afford new clothing, but if he went into shops, he would inevitably buy what he saw and liked.
Finally, I learned that Tsuyoshi Shinjo really, truly loved his wife, Shiho (Okouchi). He talked about her quite a bit (makes sense since they only got married the offseason that he wrote this book) and how she was perfect for him, and how he could not imagine being with anyone else. She was very accepting of him but also balanced well with his personality. As things would turn out, the couple divorced in 2007 and never had kids together. He also said he really, really wanted to have kids one day, and he talked about how he would treat his son and daughter so well. Sounds like a man who really had his head on straight.
That’s not to say he does not have his head on straight now. He is even more flamboyant now than he was then, but he definitely showed signs of eccentricity during this stage of his life, too. As we all know, he returned from MLB after three mediocre seasons, joined the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, played three more years as a superstar, retired, lived in Bali, and has now returned to NPB as manager (nay, BigBoss) of the Fighters.
So, how was this book? As far as how interesting it was, it’s outstanding. If you want to know Shinjo the about-to-become major leaguer, it is the best source out there. However, as a piece of writing, it is quite bad. It jumps from topic to topic without proper closure or transitions. It is hard to know when it is safe to put the book down because you just never know from sentence to sentence if he’s done talking about a topic, or just about to bring it to the next level. I suppose in that sense, it is reflective of who Shinjo is: laser-focused and completely frank, but also unpredictable. I will definitely purchase one of his newer books and see how it compares, and also find out more about this completely fascinating man. And perhaps someday, I will muster the courage to write his story in English, something I have dreamt about (who’s the dreaming baby now?) for a couple of years now.