The Tin Gate: An Interview with Narahiko Imada

[DrewV]

(Please see the preformatted version here.)

THE TIN GATE: AN INTERVIEW WITH NARAHIKO IMADA

Written by Emerson Clay, Hartford Harpoon Chief Historian

Narahiko Imada, 49, reclines in the oak chair and gazes out across Kagoshima Bay, toward the slumbering volcano that produced this “Naples of the East” some 29,000 years ago. The mountain looms large against the morning sky and sets the entire subtropical anchorage in a stirring, indigo shadow.

Imada stands out against the well-groomed, youthful businessmen who buzz around our table, garbed in a simple Amsterdam Lions jacket His cap, however, is marked with the Red ‘C’ of the Omaha Cyclones.

We’re sitting in the premiere corner of Sengan-En’s luxurious bayside restaurant, and I can tell that the five-time PEBA All-Star is far more accustomed to lumbering westerners than his translator, despite my studies on the flight over. Folk music buzzes over the intercoms; a determined, confident thrumming of the shamisen and a woman’s voice budding sharply over the drums. Imada catches me trying to make out the words and tells me this song is the Ohara Bushi, specifically the Kagoshima version—a dance to inspire confidence for Samurai as they depart their homes for battle.

Not unlike the Samurai of the Kagoshima Ohara Bushi, the Manager of the Amsterdam Lions awaits a historic Divisional Championship against either Kentucky or Havana in just one week. He’s on a very brief holiday, visiting family for just a day, which his translator firmly reminds me. Imada smiles politely at my unfinished plate of Satsuma-dori, despite his translator’s lament, and sets his napkin aside, leaning back in the chair. He tells me that he always has time for Omaha—which he corrects to ‘Hartford’ moments later.

He tells me that the entire hotel and estate was the home of the powerful Shimadzu Family, who ruled this part of Japan for half a millennium. He recommends the gardens, and especially the “tin gate,” made from local Kagoshima Tin, through which, traditionally, only the royal members of House Shimadzu could pass. Locals will often pass through the gate during important moments, such as weddings or graduations.

EC: Can anyone pass through the gate now?

NI: Yes, but I do not.

EC: Can you elaborate? Why not?

NI: I believe, when I am ready, that I will.

EC: You grew up here in the city. Did you visit the gardens, as a child?

NI: No. I worked in my father’s motorcycle shop, far from the bay, and spent my free time playing baseball in the fields along the roads.

EC: Japan spent a great deal of capital in the eighties and nineties developing baseball programs. Were you a product of the junior leagues?

NI: Yes, I played in several leagues as they developed within the city. When the floods came in 1993, my family moved to the country for some time—which I was very unhappy with. To compensate for the lack of competition, my father would stay up late to throw bottlecaps at me, which I would hit with a broomstick. We would not sleep until I hit at least one hundred, which became more difficult in the winter months as it became darker in the fields.

EC: Did your father ever watch you play in PEBA?

NI: Yes, several of the All-Star Games, and for my last appearance in 2021.

EC: You spent fifteen seasons with Omaha. Who were your favorite teammates in those days?

NI: I always enjoyed playing with Arthur Collins, who spend a substantial portion of his career in the Minor Leagues. A Well-rounded power hitter.

EC: How would Collins, at his height, have fared in today’s PEBA?

NI: I believe he would have struggled more against pitchers of today, as he was never a contact hitter. He would have struggled, I think, to stay above .200. People just do not hit the ball like they used to. It’s a pitcher’s game.

EC: You were the first pla. to reach one hundred Home Runs in PEBA. How would you say the game has changed for power hitters since 2007?

NI: A Great deal has changed. Pitching was not as perfected in the league back then—and you will recall that ERAs were much higher. If anything, I think producing power hitters has become more challenging.

In the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance, the rise of a new “Deadball Era” is a fascinating study, as batters have observed a proverbial “tumble from off the cliff” of Slugging and On-Base Percentages. Trending downward since 2020, PEBA seems to be on an exaggerated “third cycle” of elite pitching and the growing inability to get on-base. Slugging (SLG), a weighted average of a batter’s hitting power, is following the same “third era” of rise and fall, with the third era sharper in decline than the previous two.

Much of this entry into deadball play is due to a new generation of elite pitchers, including Kalamazoo’s Cheong Sang Yun and Shin Seiki’s Roberto Rivera. Neither are “traditional” PEBA callups, but Free Agents who appeared on the PEBA scene later in development. This accounts for some, but not all PEBA’s sharp OBP and Run Production decline; an insertion of developed stars around the same time who went on to dominate in their field. Comparable stories with Aurora’s Brian Clark, Fargo’s Owen Barse, and Florida’s George Moss; a young and unusually robust cadre of of high-stuff, dominant pitching.

Imada, who began his managerial career as a Hitting Coach, enjoys a unique perspective as a prime witness to the rise of PEBA’s Deadball Era.

EC: You got your management start in the Hartford program in 2026, and on record claiming you “couldn’t imagine coaching for any other organization.” Yet you took a Toyama deal in 2028. Can you provide any insight into that change?
NI: I was honored to join Hartford, as the franchise will always be my home as a player in PEBA. It was GM Dylan Krupilis who hired me to the Hartford system, and when he moved to Toyama, it was a natural transition. I was much closer to home, as Toyama is only a three-hour flight from here. Not to mention, it was a significant salary increase.

EC: You spent four years with Toyama as the Head Coach. The team didn’t see the success you’d hope for.

NI: No, but there is more to coaching a baseball team than wins and losses. The team batting average improved significantly, and we brought the slugging percentage over .400. Much of the groundwork for Toyama’s current success was determined in those transitional years.

EC: Were there any hard feelings when your contact was not renewed for 2031?

NI: No. It was time for me to proceed with my management career, and I wish the Wind Dancers well. I am proud of what we accomplished.

EC: Since joining Management with Amsterdam, you’ve won Manager of the year in 2033 and now you’ve claimed the Division title.

NI: We have a great deal to be proud of.

Imada departs tomorrow to face the winner of the Imperial League Wildcard. It’s been a long, distinguished career for the former power hitting First Baseman; an original PEBA player and successful coach and Manager who gives witness to the rise of modern baseball. A fascinating study—and a wise old ballplayer. He tells me that he’s very happy to be in Holland, despite how different it is from the shimmering vistas of Kagoshima.

NI: I’ve learned a great deal in my four years in Amsterdam. Did you know the city has more canals than Venice?

EC: No, I can’t say that I did.

NI: You see? There is always more to learn about places and people. Like the canals of Amsterdam—there is more than one route to your destination in life.

EC: And what is that destination?

NI: (smiles) I am well on my way. This is the most successful season in Amsterdam’s history, and the best pitching we’ve ever seen in Amsterdam was this year. I believe it is our time.

Like that Tin Gate of Kagoshima, and the departing Samurai of the Kagoshima Ohara Bushi, Narahiko Imada departs home tomorrow to do battle in the Imperial League.

EC: Is that the destination? Your own “tin gate?” The Rodriguez Cup that eluded you all those years in Omaha?

NI: No. Victory, like any gate, is not the destination—it is the beginning. One passes through.

Emerson Clay is the Chief Historian for the newly formed Hartford Harpoon Historical Foundation.

[Borealis]

Excellent interview! I love how you weaved our 'hitting slump' into the story - bravo!

[DrewV]

Excellent interview! I love how you weaved our 'hitting slump' into the story - bravo!

Thanks Mike. I appreciated conversations with Frank that aided in development of the Deadball analysis.

[Lions]

[Apollos]

Very nice. I remember admiring Imada from across the GL when I was managing CL way back when. Always cool to see stories that harken back to the early-mid 2010’s… 20+ years ago!