An All-American Pastime
May 25, 2000
Asian and Asian Americans in Major League Baseball
By Anthony Hayes
This spring the New York Mets’ Benny Agbayani accomplished something that every young baseball player dreams of: He hit a grand slam home run to win the first game of the major league season before 60,000 screaming fans.
The twist is that Agbayani, 28, and a native of Hawaii, was in Tokyo, Japan when he hit the historic shot against the Chicago Cubs. It was the first major league game to ever be held outside of the Americas or Hawaii. It’s fitting that Agbayani, who is Filipino and Samoan American, is a true child of the Pacific Rim.
“It meant a lot to me because I was on the Pacific when I hit it,” the player says. “Japan and Hawaii have a great connection going on. Heck, they own half the Islands. When my career ends, I think they will remember me back there.”
The Agbayani home run in Japan was just the latest bulletin in a long series of news flashes in the past few years touting Asian and Asian American baseball players.
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