"Old Boy" Baseball

Today I had a special excuse to leave work on time... I was going to watch the General Manager of the Mitsui Nagoya office play baseball!!

The 32nd annual baseball event between "Japan OB's" and "Local Execs" was held at the Nagoya Dome and consisted of retired Chunichi Dragon players vs. Presidents/Executives of Nagoya businesses!

(Side Note: OB is a common term in Japan meaning "Old Boy" or anyone who is retired.  Guess what Dad's new nickname is gonna be when I see him in a few days?!  LOL.)

The players were mostly in the late 50's and early 60's, but there were 3 players who were 75 years old!! 

In fact, one of them was playing first base for the "Local Execs".  Sure, that position doesn't require a lot of running, but you certainly gotta stay alert and have some great catching skills. 

Impressive to say the least, but who is still working when they are 75?  When the heck are these guys gonna retire and let someone else be CEO?!

Here's the Mitsui GM Mr. Hanagata up to bat. 

He is a lefty, and sadly he drilled a hit down the first baseline for a swift Out.

You may recall Mr. Hanagata as one of my kind translators during our trip to the Mitsui Forest.

It was hilarious to see a crowd full of men in suits and ladies in their office clothes rooting for their bosses.

I wonder how many people felt obligated to go due to pressure from their boss.  (Mr. Hanagata stopped by my desk today to ask if I was still going to come and support him, but I'll use pretty much any excuse to leave the office at 5:30!!)

Tickets were free to this event, but you did have to sign up and collect them from work prior to the game.

There were no concession stands open, so instead they gave each person free cans of beer and a bag full of snacks when you walked in!

In addition, there were no cleaning crews working at the Dome, so they announced that everyone should pick up their own trash when leaving.  Gotta love Japan and their rules!  As we were leaving, I didn't see a stray empty can or wrapper anywhere.  (Do you think we could ever pull that off in America?!)

When Ema and I arrived in the 3rd inning, the score was 7-1 favoring the Local Execs.  I was trying to decide if the Japan OBs were just going easy on purpose, but I soon discovered that wasn't the case.  Final score was 8-6, and the Execs finally broke their 11-year losing streak!

I've never noticed this before, but at the end of the game, the players all meet in the field and bow to each other!!  LOL.  Total Japan!  I love it... so funny that there's no hand slapping!!

Notice the 4 ladies standing up in the bottom of the picture above. 

They were all wearing kimono, and Ema tells me they were "working" girls.  (Not prostitutes per se, but if you've seen the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, you know what I mean.)  Apparently, these ladies work at some kind of local gentlemen's club, and the businessmen are very important clients.  Some ladies had to leave in the middle of the game, presumably to go to work entertaining other clients, while many stayed to cheer for their men.  I should mention that 99.9% of all businessmen are married... Awkward!!!

The game was a lot of fun and really entertaining! 

One OB stuck his leg out while batting in order to get hit by the ball, and then charged the mound in mock fight before taking his base :)

Many of the players were moving pretty slow when walking back to the dugout between innings or after being tagged out, but I'm not complaining!  It was awesome to see them run to catch pop flies and speed around the bases.  There were even several double plays!

One of my friends from work, Hariyama, was watching the game with her dad, whose company executive was also playing.  I thought it was adorable because you don't usually see men and women out together in Japan unless they are married.  (Another crazy rule!)

I learned that "Nice Catch" is the same in either language, so whenever a pop fly was caught, I could chime in...

The uniforms for the Local Execs looked pretty professional to only be used for one game, and I decided since all Japanese men are basically the same size, they are likely used year after year by random players!!

On my subway ride home, check out the sweet train I got to ride on!! 

I've never seen this Dragons train before, and it's decorated inside and out!

And what amazing luck since I was actually coming from the Nagoya Dome to see some former Dragons play ball!

Rooting for the "C" team

What are 2 lovely single ladies going to do on a beautiful summer evening in Hiroshima?!

Go to a baseball game, of course :)

The Hiroshima Carp play in one of the few open-air stadiums in Japan.  This was excellent weather for a night game!  I'm so glad it wasn't in a dome!

The Hiroshima Carp play in the "Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium" built in 2009. 

The name makes me giggle, and it's refreshing to hear something being sponsored by someone other than Toyota!!

Another reason I like the Hiroshima Carp? 

Well, they fashioned their uniforms and iconic "C" from the Cincinnati Reds!!  (Out of all of the US teams they could have picked... LOL)

I felt right at home looking at all of the gear on the souvenir stands!

So refreshing to be at an outdoor game.  I almost forgot what it was like! 

The Hiroshima Carp fans are known as the rowdiest throughout Japan.  In fact, they were the first team to start selling the noisy clappers and plastic bats you bang together during chants!

I even saw my company's name "Mitsui" roll across the scoreboard.  I know it's been over 8 months since I've arrived, but I was so proud of myself for recognizing it in Japanese Kanji characters!!  (Followed by the Mitsui logo, so I knew I was right!!)

Being from Hawaii, this is Tarynn's first baseball game ever.  It was a little strange to have to explain everything on the scoreboard, including Balls, Strikes, Outs, etc.

Kerri and Tarynn enjoy the game.

Why doesn't Cincinnati have a food stand called "C-Men" that serves ramen soup (among other things)?!

  Maybe I should suggest it...

And which team were the Hiroshima Carp playing against tonight? 

None other than my hometown team, the Chunichi Dragons!!  I was so torn on who to root for... the cool uniforms that remind me of Cincy or my Nagoya boys.

The goofy baseball team mascots. You may remember Doala, the clumsy blue koala (who has nothing to do with dragons).  The Carps do not have a fish either, instead they have Slyly, an unknown animal imitating the Philly Phanatic.  (Does this team not have a single original thought?)

We discovered another goofy Japanese tradition... 

What is that man doing to that balloon?

At the bottom of the 7th inning, everyone blows up these odd-shaped "jet balloons". 

Waves the balloons around while singing the team song.

And then lets them go!!

It was wild stuff, and of course, can only be done in outdoor stadiums.  The only reason I got a few pictures of it was because a small group of Dragons fans did the same thing at the top of the 7th inning after singing their team song.  So when I saw Carp fans getting their balloons ready, I knew what was going to happen.

I checked the internet to find out the meaning behind the balloons, and it's all in good fun.  No particular reason, but it's wildly popular in Japan.  Interestingly, the tradition was banned last season due to the H1N1 flu virus.  No one could have human breath-powered balloons because an infected person could breathe their germs into the balloon and then let it go, spewing airborne germs all over the stadium (or so the theory goes...).

The end of the game, and the Dragons finally pull out a win!!  6-0, with 3 home runs.  The Zoom-Zoom stadium is smaller that most domes, so home runs are much easier to achieve!! 

When I was back at work, my co-workers were very jealous to hear that I went to another baseball game, especially a night game in an outdoor stadium!  And it's unbelievable to them that every game I go to happens to be the Dragons!  (But there are only 12 teams, so how unbelievable is it, really?!)  Anyway, in my department I now officially hold the record for most Dragons games attended so far this season.

I guess it just proves that Americans really do love their baseball ;)

Fun with foreigner visitors

After a hard day's work in Tokyo, where do you take foreign visitors during the rainy season?

The answer we came up with was a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome!!

By some odd chance the Yomiuri Giants (a.k.a. Tokyo Giants) were playing the Chunichi Dragons (Nagoya's team).  I was happy to cheer on my hometown team, and check out the Tokyo stadium. 

The Yomiuri Giants are based off of the NY Giants of the 1930's (now San Francisco Giants).  They even have the same uniforms and team colors.  The Yomiuri Giants are the oldest and most popular team in Japan, and they have won the most pennants and Japan series titles. 

Take me out the the ballgame... buy me some beer and ... Pocky?!  It was a special Pocky promotion day.  Each free box featured a Giants player.  (Pocky is tiny chocolate-covered sticks.)

I was very happy because the food in Tokyo was a little more Westernized than Nagoya.  I had my first hot dog in 8 months!  It was delicious!

Here's one of the beer girls.  They carry small kegs around on their backs, so you can have draft beer in the stands.  Also notice that no ladies actually wear their baseball caps.  They fold it in half and pin it to their hair. 

Matt (from North America) and Fred (from Europe) in town for some training.  Fred hasn't been to a baseball game since he was a child living in New York in the 1970's!

When the Giants hit a home run, the crowd goes wild waving their orange towels.  Who knows, they might do a similar thing in Nagoya, but I've never seen them score a run, much less a home run!

Fan section with all of the orange towels.

Out came this giant Giants banner during the 7th inning stretch.  It truly felt like a college football game!

There was no "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song at any point throughout the game. I was really disappointed because I was ready for the cartoon Wii voice this time!

Here is the Giant's mascot.  She's half "YG" logo and half rabbit.  Therefore, her name is "Giabbitt".

The Dragons played better today, but not good enough to beat the Giants.  Since the home team won, they had a MVP ceremony and interview after the game.  Notice the MVP on the jumbotron is holding a big "Giabbitt" stuffed animal!!  LOL.

Kerri is fist-bumping with a Giants player!!

Next stop on our Tokyo evening of fun is ... Karaoke!

It took a little convincing to even get Matt and Fred to agree to karaoke, but it's a true Japanese tradition! 

I thought they were going to pee their pants from laughing so hard when Tag asked me if I had my karaoke club members card with me!  I like karaoke, but unfortunately I'm not part of the "club".

Kerri and the giant wall of Zima bottles when we enter karaoke.  Who even drinks Zima anymore?

Apparently, we do!

Tag ordered us all Zima because we could get 10% off of our total bill, but I'm pretty the cost of 4 Zimas was more than 10% of our bill... 

Tag sings the Japanese national anthem.

We all had an awesome time singing the night away. 

Even though the foreigners were hesitant to karaoke at first, by the end we were all rushing to get our choice of songs in.  We even extended our time after the first 90 minutes because we simply weren't ready to leave!

Chunichi Dragons

Japan loves baseball, and thank goodness that is a spectator sport I actually enjoy!  I've been wanting to go to a game in Nagoya since the season started in April, but the ticket system is all in Japanese and work said they would take me.  My big baseball day has finally arrived!!

Nagoya is the capital of the "Chubu" region of Japan, hence the name Chunichi Dragons represents all of central Japan, not just the city of Nagoya.  There are 12 teams in the Japan league, and the Dragons are the 3rd oldest, founded in 1936.

The entire walk from the subway station to the stadium is decorated with Dragons pictures and team stats.  Building the suspense...

They even have a section featuring the cheerleaders, affectionately known as "Cheer Dra" for short.

Nagoya Dome and its tiny parking lot since everyone takes public transportation.

It was a beautiful day outside (you'd never know it's supposed to be the rainy season), and I was kind of disappointed the game was inside.  But I'm told that before 1997 (when the Dome was built), the season had to be extended at least a month every year in order to make up for all the games cancelled from rain.

Our seats were very good since they were season tickets from TMC.  (Thank you, Toyota Motor Corporation!  I knew there was a reason I liked doing business with them!)  We were about 20 rows behind home plate. 

They have designated "cheering" sections in the outfield.  1st base side is the home team, and 3rd base side for fans of the visiting team.  They were super enthusiastic, with giant flags and chants!  It reminded me of the Rose Rowdies or the Chip Crew from CMU's sporting events!  I was amazed at the number of fans there for the visiting team.  Maybe it's because Japan is not so large, so it's easy to travel around.

Here's the scoreboard with the team names and players names... uh, yeah.  Seriously, I had no idea which player was up to bat!

The Dragons mascot.  Oddly, he's a clumsy blue koala bear named Doala. He joined the team in 1994, when the koala bears first arrived at the Nagoya Zoo.

This is Shaoron, another dragon that dances around.  He also has a pink friend named Paoron.  Why one team needs 3 guys dressed in costumes is beyond me.  But Doala is the only one who travels with the team to away games. 

Ema and I cheering for the Dragons. 

They played terribly and lost 0-9. The game started out boring. No one even got on base until the 5th inning. Once the Seibu Lions started getting hits, there was no stopping them! I even got to see a home run. You know, when the ball bounces off the dome and falls back into the crowd!! Wacky. And no fireworks like the Reds home runs. In addition, Japan is quite possibly the only place where fans run from balls that are hit into the stands.  Literally, people scrabble, and then the balls end up bouncing all over the place until someone finally stops it.  (Not to mention the ushers are also equipped with whistles, and they start blowing them incessantly wherever a ball is headed into the stands to warn people.)

Also pictured above are the hollow plastic bats that everyone uses to help clap and cheer for their team.  Ema let me use hers for most of the game.

So what does one eat at a baseball game in Japan?!  Not pizza, pretzels, nachos, hot dogs, or peanuts that's for sure.  Pretty much anything that still requires chopsticks.  So lots of noodley stuff, balls of fish, rice treats, and popcorn.  I got the closest thing to junk food as possible: fries, and a stuffed fish patty flavored with wasabi.  Prices are about the same as the USA.  A can of beer cost $6.50!

There is no "7th inning stretch" in Japanese baseball.  In fact, they started playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" between the 5th and 6th inning, and I was so confused.  Not only was it at the wrong time, but it was sung by a Wii character on the Jumbotron in a cartoon voice.  No one else joined in the singing (maybe because it's English...) and even I didn't sing along because I was so confused!

Between the 6th and 7th inning, they sing a special Nagoya Dragons song and post the words (in Japanese, of course) on the screen.  People actually sang this one!

Right before the 8th inning, each team's mascot does an acrobatic performance!  The theory is whichever mascot does the best performance, his team will win the game.  Well, Doala is always clumsy, so he screwed up and fell over immediately.  But the score was already 0-8.  It didn't take an acrobatic mascot to figure out who was going to win this game.  In fact, most fans had already left at this point!!

The rest of the atmosphere was pretty similar to baseball games in America, except when they placed YMCA, I only saw 2 people doing the motions.  I also liked the clips of the songs that were played for each batter.  Most had cool rock 'n roll songs, but one guy had a Japanese love song and another had a Beatles tune which I thought was awesome!

If you want to see more about Japan baseball, I highly recommend checking out the movie Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck.  It's a 1992 classic about an American player that gets traded to the Chunichi Dragons.  It's funny and cheesy and has plenty of Japanese culture!