Asians in baseball are cruising in May!

First up, Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK throws out the first pitch at a Mariners game, and the Baseball Hall of Fame's YAKYU exhibit opens in July.

Then, pitching news?! Before position players?! We're crazy for that one! Sugano, Kikuchi, and Senga get the Ohtani treatment with solid outings not resulting in wins, Brennan Bernadino's May ERA remains a pristine 0.00, and Woo and Yamamoto remain atop the charts.

In position player news, Rob and Stuart also shine despite team losses, Travis d'Arnaud's first homer of the year puts the Angels ahead (cries in Dodger fan), Hyeseong and Seiya lead all MLB in quad strength (unofficial), and IKF celebrates his Hall of Fame lineage.

And Ohtani is on one of his famous hot streaks, though he stays humble by getting struck out swinging by the A's backup catcher, gets intent balked by a former Dodger, and keeps improving his arm.

It's May, and you know what that means...AANHPI Heritage Month!

First, we chat on-the-ground reporter Naomi's visit to Target Field to see Trevor Larnach and Lee Jung Hoo in the flesh, Stephen Nelson's dedication to pronouncing Asian names correctly, and MLB's AAPI Heritage Month posts.

Then, our guys were making moves...on and off the roster. Connor Wong and IKF return from the IL, but a buuuunch of guys go on it, and Matt Bowman and Kenta Maeda are DFAed by their clubs. In AAPI Heritage Month?! Is that even legal?!

Player news is positive this week, with Steven Kwan having a stellar May (not to mention a sweet article about his mom), Kim Hyeseong is finally called up to the majors, and pitchers stay strong despite an L here and there.

And somewhere in there, the Kpop and Kbaseball worlds collide as Naomi declares which Korean MLB player corresponds with which member of BTS.

Article about Stephen Kwan's mom: https://www.mlb.com/news/steven-kwan-s-mom-key-to-his-success-with-guardians

Asians in baseball are in the swing of things!

First, the LA Kings have the Koreatown Senior Center for a harmonica half time performance, and on Dave Roberts' Bobblehead night, he gives back to the LA community impacted by the fires.

Our position players are blazing through April with Rob Refsnyder smashing the hardest hit homer of his career, Anthony Volpe shutting up the haters, Trevor Larnach mashing three homers since our last recording, and Steven Kwan on a 10-game hit streak.

In pitching news, Tomoyuki Sugano has found his groove, Joey Cantillo possibly prepares to join the Guardians' starting rotation, and who is on top in the battle of Shohei vs. Shota?

Asians in Hockey: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EmXiaE847jr4LuBj2D3Rx

Steven Kwan article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6303184/2025/04/24/steven-kwan-four-tenets-success-peak/

Around the league, it was a week of firsts!

First, Kim Ng (the first female GM in MLB history) has a new gig, and Kim's first Dodger game of the season at Korean Heritage Night is chaos.

Then, onto player news! Position players were in Home Run Derby mode with multiple guys getting their first long ball of the season (including some Asian-on-Asian crime), Steven Kwan hits a 2-run homer within a minute of Corbin Carroll's grand slam, and Tommy Edman thrives in the leadoff spot.

In pitching, Kumar Rocker notches his first career W, Joey Cantillo gets his first career save in a big spot, Yoshinobu Yamamoto matches his career-high SO in a pitchers duel against one of the best arms in the game, and Yusei Kikuchi continues to get the Angels' treatment that plagued Ohtani.

Speaking of, congratulations to the Ohtani family on the birth of their first child! Now can everyone chill out on this baby's future until she's been on earth a little longer?!

Asians were making (positive and less positive) waves from the Bay Area to Washington D.C. these past couple of weeks...

Of course, we have to talk about our disappointment with the Dodgers going to visit the White House, Jazz Chisolm Jr. makes his love of anime the star of the show, and NPB bans fans from posting to social media at games?!

In position player news, Tsung-Che Cheng debuts, Tommy keeps Tanking, and our on the ground reporter Naomi Ko describes the Lee Jung Hoo mania in San Francisco.

Pitching is strong! Tomoyuki Sugano gets his first Major League win, Bryan Woo bests Kumar Rocker in the Asians in Baseball head-to-head matchup, and Asians in the Bullpens are pristine.

Finally, Ohtani goes yard on his bobblehead night and a new celly is born.

Check out Nate Nakao's podcast Asians in Hockey here! https://linktr.ee/asiansinhockey

It's Opening Day 2025, and we've got the scoop on everything Asians in Baseball around the league!

First, Naomi did an Asians in Basketball side quest, Kim issues a warning about the dangers of your family members posting things on the internet that she will then use to verify her hunch that you're Asian, and we get into which Asians have accepted the invitation to the White House.

Pitching news brings the good and the bad! The good: Yamamoto has a career high 10 SO, Imanaga has a strong home open, and Bryan Woo continues to be unstoppable. The bad: Kikuchi gets the Ohtani treatment in Anaheim, Sasaki has a tough Dodger Stadium start, Tomoyuki Sugano exits his debut early, and Kim accidentally roots against Kenta Maeda.

In position player news, we've all heard about these new "torpedo bats," but did you know that they were created because of Anthony Volpe?? And lots of our guys are off to strong starts in the season, especially our favorite two way player IKF and offensive and defensive machine Tommy Edman.

Lastly, Ohtani news is back! But when is he back on the mound???

It's tiiiiiiiiime for TOKYOOOOO BASEBALLLLL!!! Kim and Scott discuss the Tokyo Series! The Dodgers explore Japanese culture, both MLB clubs are blanked by the Hanshin Tigers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga make history, Roki Sasaki debuts, and who is already in hot water with Kim for intent walking Ohtani in Japan?!

We are BACK, baby! Just in time to discuss the highlights from the off-season and the buzz around the Tokyo Series. And of course it's a beefy episode to kick off the season, what else would you expect from your favorite podcast about Asians in baseball where we just yap about Asians in baseball?!