YONAMINE WAS BASEBALL PIONEER.

Byline: JILL PAINTER

Wally Yonamine never knew exactly what was coming at him from the stands while in Japanese outfields in 1951.

Yonamine, a Japanese-American, was the first American to play baseball in Japan after World War II, and Yonamine was routinely peppered by insults and objects, including rocks.

It wasn't just that he was an American that drew the ire of fans -- although that seemed to be enough. Yonamine played the game hard, running out grounders and aggressively taking out players on slides while breaking up double plays. Japanese baseball was known for its sportsmanship and politeness, even on the diamond. Yonamine changed all that.

Yonamine, a former pro football player with the San Francisco 49ers, transferred the aggressiveness he learned growing up playing sports in Hawaii, where he lives half the year. The other half he spends in Tokyo with his wife, Jane, who runs their pearl shop.

Fans thought he was a dirty player, so life was awfully difficult. He had a family to provide for and a commitment to fulfill.

"I had a lot of pride in myself that they picked me to be the first American to represent Japan," Yonamine said while driving in Los Angeles on Monday. "That made me want to stay. I felt I owed it to those people who had confidence in me that I could do well in Japan, that I would change Japanese baseball and better the relations between Japan and America."

He was successful on all counts, but he was anything but an instant hit. Yonamine, 82, estimated that six or seven years passed before he was accepted by fans. His teammates immediately liked him, but Yonamine's decision to forgo first-class train tickets for a third-class ride certainly had something to do with that.

Yonamine never knew internment camps, a seldom-discussed, ugly part of American history in which Japanese-Americans were forced to sell most of their possessions and live in these camps. The popularity of baseball among Japanese-Americans flourished in internment camps during the war, something that's chronicled in the movie "American Pastime." The DVD goes on sale today.

Yonamine paved the way for countless Americans to find lucrative baseball success in Japan. Players who were role players in the U.S. became starters in Japan and many who are at the end of their careers extended them in Japan. And, conversely, Japanese players like Daisuke Matsuzaka ("Dice-K"), Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui have known tremendous accomplishments in the major leagues.

Yonamine spent 37 years in Japanese baseball as a player, coach and manager. He was the Central League MVP in 1957 and was a part of four Japan Series Championships. His induction into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 was his most proud accomplishment, a goal he set but never thought would be realized.

"He did a lot for baseball in Japan," said Tommy Lasorda, who has spent a considerable amount of time in Japan. "He helped build the bridge between Japan and the U.S. It's my own personal opinion that somewhere in the near future, we're going to be competing for a real World series. When it will happen is when the Japanese teams can compete with the major leagues."

Yonamine's two daughters operate a pearl shop in Redondo Beach, and he visits them and his grandchildren often. He is in remission from prostate cancer -- which he got seven years ago -- and goes to UCLA Medical Center every three months for checkups.

Yonamine's affect on Japanese baseball is often compared to Jackie Robinson's affect on breaking the color barrier.

"People tell me I changed Japanese baseball," Yonamine said. "If I did, I'm happy and proud. If I had anything to do with the bridge, I'm honored. With all the American players that could've gone, they chose me."

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Photo:

Actor Aaron Yoo plays the character Lyle Nomura in "American Pastime," a movie about baseball played in Japanese internment camps.

Warner Bros. home video