My first introduction to Japanese baseball was the 1992 release of Tom Selleck's film Mr. Baseball. The film was no Three Men and a Baby but it's not too bad. I do not remember much from the film other than the raucous Japanese sports fans who seem to incessantly chant, sing, bang noisemakers, and in general create havoc throughout the game. I couldn't wait to see how closely reality lived up to Hollywood Fiction.
The first baseball game I attended was in Hiroshima between the Carp and the Yomiuri (Tokyo) Giants. The Giants are Japan Baseball's equivalent of the New York Yankees - high spending, star laden, perennial championship contender. The Giants are a top draw wherever they play and the game was sold out which meant I'd need to work with a scalper to attend my first Japanese game. I arrived an hour before the game and started scouting for potential scalpers. The Hiroshima Carp have die hard fans who have more to celebrate the past two years as the team has returned to winning ways and the playoffs for the first time in seventeen years.
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I was starting to feel a bit defeated when I saw an older gentleman handing out tickets to a bunch of people circled around him.I thought they all must be together because they was nothing striking about the ticket distribution to indicate the old man may be a scalper. The crowd left but the old man was still there...more people started to approach him. Sensing a buying opportunity I walked over and observed a few more people purchase tickets. The old man saw me and fortunately put it together that I'd like a ticket. He said 1,700 YEN, I paid and was on my way.
The Carp play in Mazda Stadium. Opened in 2008 it is a nice and modern facility. I walked around the stadium concourse to see food options. Without anything exotic beyond sushi bento boxes I bought a hot dog and a beer. The game was about to start and the Carp fans began to warm up their noisemakers. Japanese baseball teams have fan clubs that participate in organized cheers throughout the game. These fans sit in a designated area - typically right field. It's debatable as to whether you want to sit in this section or not. On the one hand your in the middle of the fan action, but on the other hand you may not have a full visual of the fan club's activities. The visuals are just as impressive as the sounds. I found an open space on a concourse stairwell and watched in amazement as the Carp fans broke into different coordinated cheers whenever a team member entered the batter's box.
The Carp play in Mazda Stadium. Opened in 2008 it is a nice and modern facility. I walked around the stadium concourse to see food options. Without anything exotic beyond sushi bento boxes I bought a hot dog and a beer. The game was about to start and the Carp fans began to warm up their noisemakers. Japanese baseball teams have fan clubs that participate in organized cheers throughout the game. These fans sit in a designated area - typically right field. It's debatable as to whether you want to sit in this section or not. On the one hand your in the middle of the fan action, but on the other hand you may not have a full visual of the fan club's activities. The visuals are just as impressive as the sounds. I found an open space on a concourse stairwell and watched in amazement as the Carp fans broke into different coordinated cheers whenever a team member entered the batter's box.
Nobody merchandises like the Japanese and baseball paraphernalia follows this cultural habit. A walk through a baseball team's store will unearth all sorts of treasures from handpuppets (that would be culturally insensitive in the US) to curry mix. What made the Carp's merchandising efforts personally enjoyable for me is that the team's mascot bares a striking resemblance to my hometown Philadelphia Phille's mascot, the Philly Phanatic. I later learned the similarity is not a coincidence - both mascots were designed by the same firm.
In Tokyo I decided to see the Yomiuri Giants play. Giants' games sell out months in advance but fortunately the team has an English version website and tickets can be ordered online. The Giants play in Tokyo Dome which is part of a large entertainment complex in the Bunkyo neighborhood.
Even though the game was sold out many seats were empty - not because fans did not show up, but because the fans in the higher section would rather stand in the concourses near the fan club area in right field. I joined this area for an inning and it felt like I was engulfed in a sea of orange - whenever the Giants would score a run the fans would start to swing rally towels in the team's orange color.
The Giants fans seemed a little more reserved then Carp fans - maybe they are more accustomed to winning - but all the business men who arrived in suits quickly put on a Giants' T-shirt over their suit. |
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As for the product on the field...you sometimes get caught up in the cultural experience that you forget a game is even being play. The Japanese League is in a period of pitching dominance so the games have been relatively low scoring and lack offensive fireworks. When balls are put in play the defense is usually pretty crisp with fielding and throwing the batter out. While the quality of play may not be at the same level as major league baseball it doesn't feel like much of a drop off when you are sitting in the stands or watching a game on TV at a bar.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION
The Yomiuri Giants have an English website. Most games are sold out well in advance so you may have to hunt for a while to find an open date. The Hiroshima Carp website was only in Japanese. I used Google translate but eventually hit a wall when a cell phone number has required to complete the ticket purchase. The Giants website did not have a similar restriction. Other than the single old man at the Hiroshima Carp game I did not see any other scalpers but Giants home and away games are typically the only games that sell out in advance - and some Hanshin Tigers games. To attend most other games you should be able to simply purchase tickets day of at the stadium.
The official Japan Baseball League site has schedules and other information - the home team is listed first on the schedule, similar to European sports, not like US sports and I double checked the schedule against the team's official website. I found the independently run JapanBall site to be equally useful.
The official Japan Baseball League site has schedules and other information - the home team is listed first on the schedule, similar to European sports, not like US sports and I double checked the schedule against the team's official website. I found the independently run JapanBall site to be equally useful.