When I went to Japan, the Japanese, they weren't aggressive and I would say, they hit a ground ball to the shortstop and would just jog to first base. And I changed all that. So even when I was in Japan, I made a speech at a place there and the old-timers came up to me and said, 'You changed Japanese baseball.' Because, when I went there, I did real American style. You know double plays, I'd break double plays. And I used to run out from the dugout all the way to center field and run back, and everybody used to see that. The Japanese were so slow, you know?
Date: December 16, 2003
Location: Hawai'i, US
Interviewer: Art Hansen, John Esaki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum.