Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour-and the two nations’ shared love of the game-could help heal their growing political differences.
Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of “ Banzai! Banzai, Babe Ruth!” The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun.
