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Last night, I went to my first Japanese baseball game. Considering I've been living here for over two and a half years and visiting regularly for over six, it's kind of hard to believe that it's taken me this long to finally get out to a game. I've always had a soft spot for baseball (lifelong Yankees fan here -- was at the Stadium for Game 6 in '96 when they beat the Braves to win the World Series), so it felt great to get a feel for what a Japanese game was like. The mood wasn't as different as I expected it to be, but nevertheless I had a really good time. I went to Jingu Stadium with some friends to watch the Yakult Swallows play the Yokohama Bay Stars. Yakult (the home team) won 3-2 -- their closer, Shingo Takatsu, actually broke the Japanese record for save points (number of saves plus relief victories) with his 270th point. Not that I really cared; I just wanted to have fun, and I did. And since the Swallows won (not exactly a common occurence), it seemed like most of the other people in attendance had a good time too:
I'm definitely heading back soon. Going to baseball games in the summer was always one of my favorite ways to beat the heat (especially in Chicago), so I want to try to get back into the habit ASAP. I wonder which team I should start supporting?
Posted by john tv at June 21, 2003 09:13 PMWondering which team to support ??
阪神 Without a doubt, Hanshin !!
Go Tigers !
It was fun, indeed, and it could be a nice way to spend the summer. i might even learn something about the sport if i keep this up.
next on the list: football.
Posted by: Cormac at June 24, 2003 01:51 PMNice piece on a great way to spend an evening in Tokyo. I only got to a handful of games in five years in Tokyo -- mostly thanks to working in game production -- but they were some of my best memories. Jingu is a great place to hang out on a hot summer evening. Gotta love anywhere you can buy edmame, yakisoba and beer on the street outside and just carry it all right into the stadium.
The dome is a different beast all together, but you should definitely check it out. Might be good now that I imagine it's still raining in Tokyo. Be sure to sit in the back row and motion to the beer girl while she's down in the front so you can watch her run all the way up the stairs with the pony keg on her back. California is beautiful, but I have to admit I miss Japan from time to time... ;-)
Posted by: Phatty D at July 8, 2003 03:44 AMHah, good idea. I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the next game. In fact, if I can, I'll try to get a video of it for the site. :)
Posted by: john tv at July 9, 2003 10:12 PM| ©2003 john ricciardi - all rights reserved - the only constant is change. |