Jim Bouton Reveals the “Beautiful Story”

By Jim Bouton, author of “Ball Four”

5/8/2012: Shizouka, Japan – As I wrote in my previous article, “Cover-Up in Shizouka?”, my wife Paula and I became bound and determined to find out why nobody in the Naha Shisa organization is willing to tell us anything about top prospect Kimi “Nails” Fujita.  To facilitate our investigation, we stopped by to pick up our secret weapon – none other than Shin Suitougakari.

Shin has come a long way since she first appeared as the narrator of “Shisa Toons”.  She now hosts her own popular children’s TV show called Shin!, but is anything but childish in her demeanor.  Tall and slender now, her 14-year-old eyes radiated wisdom far beyond her years.  We assured her parents that we would take good care of her as we journeyed from the islands of Okinawa to the mainland of Japan.

“I’ve always been very curious about Kimi myself,” Shin told us on the plane.  “You can read all kinds of articles about the other Naha Shisa prospects, but Kimi seems to be some carefully guarded secret.  I can only wonder if it has anything to do with his name…”

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Well, Kimi is a girl’s name.  I looked it up and it means ‘beautiful story’.  I just can’t wait to find out what is going on with him!” she said wistfully

We knew that Naha management would probably not allow us into the AAA Shizouka Anguirus ballpark, so Shin used her considerable skill at makeup technique to make us look for all the world like a Japanese couple taking their granddaughter to a ballgame.  The disguise worked like a charm and we took our seats a few rows behind the third base dugout.  Oddly, when the Anguirus took the field, River Nichols was the starting third baseman, while Kimi Fujita was announced as the DH.

“Well that makes no sense whatsoever,” Shin fumed.  “The Bright Blade Group has no DH, so why wouldn’t the Shisa want to get Kimi as much time at third as possible?”

When Kimi came up to bat in the bottom of the first, the crowd reaction was rather odd.  Some fans were cheering wildly for the young player, but others were holding up signs and jeering at him.  “What do those signs say, Shin?” Paula asked her.

Shin looked troubled.  “Um… one says ‘Go Home Freak!’.  Another one is weird.  It says ‘Deuteronomy 22:5 Repent Your Abomination!”

My wife Paula is ever prepared.  She whipped out her little Bible from her voluminous purse and looked up the passage.  “It’s an injunction against women wearing men’s clothing!” she said.

We looked up to gaze at Kimi in the batter’s box.  He was all of six feet tall, his arms sinuously muscled.  His sweet and powerful batting swing looked anything but effeminate.  Kimi struck out in his first at bat and as he walked back to the dugout, one mystery was solved.  We couldn’t see them clearly, but it was very apparent that Kimi’s fingernails were exquisitely decorated.  “Well, that explains the nickname, at least,” Paula said.

Converted reliever Naomichi Nakagawa was making his first AAA start and was on top of his game, giving up no runs.  “Nails” gave him all the run support he needed in the bottom of the fifth by roping a two run single into right field with two outs.  His teammates cheered him on enthusiastically.  So much for Kimi being some sort of clubhouse cancer.

After the 7-0 victory, we made our way to the clubhouse.  We expected to be stopped by security.  Instead, we were shocked to be greeted by Naha Shisa GM Tom Fees.

“Greetings weary travelers.  I’ve been expecting you!” he greeted us cheerily.  This was far from what I expected from him.

“How did you recognize us?” I asked him.  “Shin has disguised us masterfully!”

Fees laughed merrily.  “Oh, I’ve been a huge fan of yours for 40 years,” he said.  “I’d know those eyes anywhere.  Follow me.  Kimi is looking forward to meeting all of you.”

He led us into a comfortable office and Kimi stood up to greet us.  His handshake was firm, but Paula and I noticed something right away; he had womanly hands.

“Your hands are beautiful,” Paula gushed.  “Those nails are a work of art!  It must be difficult to care for them as a ballplayer!”

“Not so much these days,” Kimi said in very well spoken English.  “They are easing me into AAA slowly.  I’m only 20 and that is considered pretty young for this level.  For right now, I’m only the DH.  That limits the wear and tear on the hands.”

Kimi virtually glowed with intelligence and charisma.  He smiled warmly and knowingly at us.

“Of course you want to know what all the fuss is about concerning me,” he said frankly and without embarrassment.  “To sum it all up in one word, I am intersex.”

“Ooh, I know what that means!” Shin bubbled.  “You were genetically born with both male and female traits!”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it refers to,” said Kimi.  “My parents were very progressive and did not allow any butchers to surgically alter me.  At first, they raised me as a girl.  However, when they saw how athletically gifted I was, they changed their minds and, by the time I was five, I was wearing boy’s clothes.  I still kept my feminine name, though, because I really liked it”

“You must have had a rough time in school,” I offered.

“Well, sure,” he said without any sense of resentment.  “That was to be expected.  Mostly, I made a lot of friends and really had very few difficulties, all things considered.  I really didn’t get much flak until I grew out my nails in senior year of high school.  As you can see, my hands are small, so the longer nails help me to grip the ball better when I play third base.  I also have a very artistic nature, so I could not leave those wonderful blank canvases blank!  My nickname was bestowed upon me soon after.”

“Intersex athletes are not unheard of,” Kimi continued.  “You may Google Erik Schinegger or Santhi Soundarajan to read about others like me.  Of course, I’m the first one to try to compete as a male!”

“What a great story… a beautiful story, if you will,” I said, turning to Fees.  “Why is Naha Shisa management trying to squelch it?”

“Well, it all rolls down from the top,” he said.  “It is not widely known, but the owner Iyou Seigyoki is a fundamentalist Christian.  He was most upset when he found out that we drafted Kimi.”

“I’m surprised that you still have a job,” I said.  “But I guess that explains your scout Daisuke Wakabayashi’s attitude, as well.”

“Daisuke is actually very supportive and proud of Kimi,” Fees said, “but he is afraid for his job.  As for myself, my job is secure because I have certain information at my disposal to protect me.  But that is a story for another day!  I let you go as team correspondent so that you would be free to publish this story in freelance mode without fear of being edited.  Unfortunately, Seigyoki has serious connections with Japanese media, so I don’t think your story will see the light of day in Japan.  That also explains why Kimi’s prospect ranking has fallen.  Many people are simply not very open-minded.”

We all shared a wonderful meal together and Kimi was a most entertaining storyteller.  We boarded the plane back to Naha deciding that we liked this young man very much.  While I will no longer be the official team correspondent, I will certainly keep my faithful readers up to date as this “wonderful story” progresses.