It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for…postseason baseball has arrived!!

First up, we talk Asians in the Wild Card, our friend Atsuko threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game, and Farhan Zaidi is fired by the Giants, leaving ZERO (0) Asian GMs in baseball.

Position players bring much administrative news this week: Rob Refsnyder does not want to retire after this season (bless!), Masataka Yoshida and Kim Ha Seong struggle with shoulder surgery woes, and Isiah Kiner Falefa sacrifices his bonus for his younger teammates to get playing time.

Over in pitching, Yusei Kikuchi reaches 200 Ks and has a red ass (?!?!?!), Yu Darvish is announced as a relief pitcher in the Wild Card, Kumar Rocker shows potential in his final game of the season, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto prepares for his first MLB playoff run.

In Ohtani news, can this man give us a break?!?! We run through his list of records of the week and chat a little Decoy, of course.

And finally, the Asians in Baseball postseason predictions! Will the Dodgers flame out yet again? Will Yu Darvish get the respect he deserves? Will any Asians make it to the World Series?!?!

All-MLB voting is LIVE: https://www.mlb.com/all-mlb/ballot

WTF is “red ass”???: https://tinyurl.com/vxk7dptr

Back from our week off, did we miss anything??

As you might have expected, we have a BEEFY episode this week, so let’s get into it!

It was Team Ichiro vs the High School Girls All Stars in the annual exhibition at the Tokyo Dome to promote high school girls baseball, and the former pros pulled NO punches!! Then, we must discuss the epic Cubs and Dodgers matchup that saw Imanaga face Yamamoto fresh off the IL, where all of our guys came ready to play (except Ohtani…)!

In position player news, Rob Refsnyder and Bo Bichette sadly close the season on the IL, Steven Kwan is activated just in time for the playoffs (and keep voting for him for the Roberto Clemente Award through Sunday 9/29!), and Seiya Suzuki is locked into his new role as the everyday DH.

And our pitchers continue to impress! Kumar Rocker has an incredible major league debut, Yu Darvish reaches yet another milestone with 2k SO, Yusei Kikuchi is undefeated as an Astro, Sean Manaea gets another W but Orion Kerkering takes the L, and will these journalists ever learn how to not disrespect our guys when trying to write positive articles about them?!

Lastly, what more could possibly be said about Ohtani? Uh, A LOT! Buckle up because we go through his historic game where he establishes the 50/50 club, the dizzying and strange ways he continues to be pitted against Aaron Judge for an award they can both win, and, as usual, people’s racism is showing!

First, a moment for James Earl Jones and his contributions to the on-screen world of baseball. Thank you, James.

To kick off this week, we give our predictions in the return of Yoshinobu Yamamoto after his stint on the IL…facing off against Shota Imanaga no less!

In position player news, Tommy Pham smacks his first homer and brings experience to the young Royals clubhouse, Rob Refsnyder follows in Travis d’Arnaud’s footsteps, Bo Bichette shares his priority for free agency, and Steven Kwan is the Guardians Roberto Clemente Award nominee.

In pitcher news, Kumar Rocker is set to make his major league debut on Thursday, Shota Imanaga leads Cubs pitching to a combined no-no, Joey Cantillo takes a perfecto into the 7th, Shintaro Fujinami is lights out in triple A, and Sean Manaea is just a regular guy…who happens to be really really really good at pitching.

And Ohtani continues to make history, barreling toward 50/50! We discuss the ever-heated MVP race - can’t we just celebrate everyone’s wins?!

Vote here for Steven Kwan to win the Roberto Clemente Award: https://www.mlb.com/community/roberto-clemente-award#vote

Article about Bryan Woo: https://www.mlb.com/news/mariners-split-series-with-a-s?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share

Article about Sean Manaea: https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-sean-manaea-stj8n1l9

The crew is back in full force, and not a moment too soon!

To kick us off this week, we’re excited to share that we were featured on Spectrum News! Thank you to reporter Taylor Schaub for spotlighting us!

In position player updates, Tommy Pham is picked up by the Royals, Connor Joe and Lars Nootbaar are jamming, and Corbin Carroll has turned his season all the way around just in time to dunk on the Dodgers.

Pitchers are crushing it this week: our guy Kumar Rocker makes a huge splash in his Triple A debut, Kenta Maeda finally gets a W, Kikuchi / Woo / Manaea continue to deal, and Yu Darvish is back!!

And Ohtani Talk finally gets the attention it deserves with the return of Naomi! His bobble head night has fans lined up 8 hours before Decoy’s first pitch, he makes history yet again in his quest for 50/50, and we prepare for his grand return to Angel Stadium.

What are our guys up to in these last few days of summer? Let’s get into it!

In position player news, Christian Yelich’s season sadly ends, Anthony Volpe fights through the Kim Curse, Masataka Yoshida and Seiya Suzuki are hot, Corbin Carroll is officially back, and Shay Whitcomb enters the Asians in Baseball Cinematic Universe.

Our pitchers look to cruise into the fall going strong: Brennan Bernadino commands a 0.00 ERA over his last 7 games, Yusei Kikuchi / Bryan Woo / Sean Manaea continue to post strong outings, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto participates in the Dodgers Foundation’s first ever dual language story time.

In Ohtani news, did anything even happen these last two weeks?? We kid! He manages to get out of a pickle - but MLB misses with the caption, reaches 40/40 in true Hollywood fashion, and what the heck is going on with the Shohei and Decoy bobblehead giveaway?!

Volpe’s elite baserunning: https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/8/24/24226155/yankees-analysis-anthony-volpe-baserunning-aaron-boone-winning-player-shortstop

Corbin Carroll turns it around: https://www.mlb.com/news/corbin-carroll-hitting-home-runs-for-d-backs

Kikuchi’s translator Yusuke Oshima: https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/astros-yusei-kikuchi-translator-19665575.php

“Sneaky Sho”: https://x.com/MLB/status/1825720740928237601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1825720740928237601%7Ctwgr%5Ecdba0bf02340def224f09e26e6dd87da9ef2f65f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fmlb%2Fdodgers-shohei-ohtani-cool-rundown-mistake

Before we get started, a moment for the passing of Billy Bean, MLB’s Senior VP for DEI who spent the last 10 years promoting inclusivity and education in baseball and sports. Thank you, Billy.

This week in position player news, we are alllllll over the place. Rob Refsnyder is subbed in after Jarren Duran’s suspension and comes up big with a walk off and a pep talk, Kim issues a public apology to Anthony Volpe who she accidentally cursed, Corbin Carroll’s stats suggest an upward trend, and we puzzle over the Kim Ha Seong homer-turned-ground rule double.

On the bump, Joey Cantillo takes the L but still has a decent line, Kikuchi continues to deal for his new club, Sean Manaea played a very memorable game of catch with some fans back during the All Star Break, and Shota is still solid and in the running for ROY.

Ohtani’s BA dips below 300 (but still has 3 homers, 6 RBI, and 2 stolen bases in his last 7 games), Scott explains the unspoken rule of not swinging on a 3-0 count, and Shohei’s 176th home run ball will allegedly hit the auction block on 8/23 - if you have a cool $200k to spare, that is.

Rob's walk off: https://www.mlb.com/video/rob-refsnyder-s-walk-off-rbi-single

Corbin's double play: https://www.mlb.com/video/brandon-pfaadt-in-play-out-s-to-bo-naylor-x8697

Kenta's interpreter Daichi Sekizaki: https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2024/08/11/japanese-interpreter-daichi-sekizaki-essential-detroit-tigers-kenta-maeda/74666328007/

We are fully in the second half, and Asians in Baseball are HOT!

First off, congrats to Kelsie Whitmore and the US Women’s Baseball Team for winning Silver at the Women’s Baseball World Cup! Gold went to Japan, of course, in their 7th consecutive win.

In position player news, Connor Wong and Rob Refsnyder hold it down for the Red Sox, Volpe is mashing even from the bottom of the lineup, Travis d’Arnaud has a 10-game hit streak, and it’s that time of year for Seiya Suzuki to turn up the heat.

Pitching is blessedly having a much better week! Kikuchi crushes in his first start as an Astro, Bryan Woo tosses a career-high 7 innings against the Phillies slugging machine, and Sean Manaea still got that Grimace Bump.

Slow Ohtani news week as he is still slumping, but of course that still includes being first to 30HR/30SB on the year and 3rd fastest player in history to achieve the feat. YAWN! (For legal purposes, this is a joke.)

Athletic article about Yusei’s pitches: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5677686/2024/08/03/yusei-kikuchi-astros-debut/

So much to discuss after the trade deadline! Let’s get into it.

Scott and Kim will be doing an event in LA with the LA County Dept of Public Health Peer Resource Center on Thursday, August 15th - sign up at the link in our bio! Then, we welcome JJ Wetherholt to the AIB Cinematic Universe (thank you to listener Paul Kuo for the tip!) and chat exciting Asians in 2025 news.

The trade deadline was chaotic as always! The high: Tommy Edman to the Dodgers. The low: Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros. The shock: a lot of DFAs over the past few months. But a tie at the top of the Asians in Baseball team leaderboards!

Quick injury report, but not without a big L. Christian Yelich avoids back surgery but will miss time to rehab, Bo Bichette returns to the IL, and Kodai Senga exits his season debut with a high grade calf strain that will take him out for the rest of the year.

In position player news, we get into the Cardinals new HR celebration, Masataka Yoshida’s strong showing, Seiya Suzuki’s interpreter is fired, and Kyle Higashioka receives a replica Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of his grandfather, and we discuss the history behind it.

In pitching news, Joey Cantillo makes his long-awaited debut (though against the Phillies), Bryan Woo leaves his last start but isn’t expected to miss time, and Sean Manaea is dealing with a season high 11SO.

And finally, Ohtani Talk. Don’t worry about this man. He’s still securely in MVP talks despite only being an DH, is predicted to make over $100 million in endorsement deals this year, and hits a homer at Minute Maid Park that leaves even Astros fans speechless.

Upcoming LA event: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=SHJZBzjqG0WKvqY47dusgfaHvggm-jpCryAOtkYWBH9UMDdNV05ZNlYwMVROTU1EM0NUQlU0V0lJQy4u

Scott’s Substack: https://rscottokamoto.substack.com/p/shohei-ohtanis-legacy-for-me-begins

Cubs’ Tokyo series video: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9kmZlZRXb3/

Press release about Kyle Higashioka: https://tinyurl.com/u8cs5t3f