Chiba Lotte Marines at Orix Buffaloes - August 2/3, 2013

One of the interesting aspects of Japanese baseball is that some teams occasionally play home games in different stadiums, even during the same series. Such was the case this weekend, when the first match of a 3-game set between the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Orix Buffaloes was played at the Kyocera Dome Osaka while the other two took place at Hotto Motto Field Kobe, where Ichiro Suzuki gained fame with the Orix Blue Wave back when the ballpark was known as Kobe Green Stadium.

When the Blue Wave merged with the Kintetsu Buffaloes to become the Orix Buffaloes, the team made the Kyocera Dome their regular home ground, but they still manage to get out to Kobe for a few games a year to keep their old fans happy. Given the experience I had this weekend, they should reverse that decision and play most of their games in the open air, saving the dome for a few games during the rainy season.

Kyocera Dome



Opened in 1997, the Osaka Dome was immediately famous for its spaceship-like appearance. Big, round, silver, and lying in the middle of a semi-industrial area in the city, the Dome is conveniently located if you are staying near the nightlife area of Namba. There are several trains that get you close, with the Dome-mae Chiyozaki Station on the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi subway line the closest.



Gates only open 1 hour before the game, which gives you time to visit one of the two malls next door, or to watch the cheerleaders performing outside the main gate. You can walk around the entire facility but there is not much to see.



Tickets here vary considerably in price, with the most expensive being the field seats at 8,000 yen. I recommend the B seats at 2,700 yen, which still leave you close to the action. With a capacity of 50,000 and crowds around 20,000 for the Buffaloes games, you will have space to yourself regardless of where you choose to sit.



Food here is not that good and you might be better off bringing something from outside. As the Orix team is originally from Kobe, which is over an hour away, there are not as many fans as one would expect in such a large city as Osaka. In fact, the visiting Chiba fans were out in greater numbers. With the cavernous layout, this is probably Japan's quietest ballpark.



The roof is quite interesting though, looking like a huge speaker. This might be the highlight of the entire stadium!



Overall, the Kyocera Dome is perhaps the worst place to experience Japanese baseball for a newcomer to the game. It is just too big and there are not enough transplanted fans to make this a true  home stadium. The location is good and the lack of fans does make it easy to get around, but those are about the only positive things I can say. It is really the opposite of their other home ground in Kobe.



Hotto Motto Field Kobe



Located about 20 minutes from downtown on the Seishin-Yamate subway line, this ballpark has had four different sponsors, with Hotto Motto, a take-out bento restaurant, the most recent. This field is set up like an American ballpark with a grass infield and basepaths.



Seats here are a bit cheaper than in Osaka, with the best bet being the B seats at 2,500 yen. There is a small upper deck here that tapers towards the end, much like Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. If you do sit upstairs, avoid the first few rows as there is a fence that blocks the view. Note that you can save a bit of money buying the tickets in advance, which I recommend as the walk up that day was surprisingly long.



The bullpens here are visible from the stands (most Japanese bullpens are hidden from view) and you can get a unique view from directly above.



There is a restaurant on the 4th floor but it was full when I went to check it out. This is where the 1996 Japan Series pennant won by Orix hangs as well.



The concourse is narrow and filled with arches which makes things even tighter when a full crowd is on hand. The picture above is from the upper deck, which is obviously not as busy. Many food stands are outside the stadium proper though, which alleviates the crush somewhat. I tried a couple of snacks and wasn't impressed. There was one Okinawa-themed stand selling Orion Beer and Blue Seal ice cream, two staples of the island culture.

The atmosphere here is among the best in Japanese baseball. The fans are more vociferous than in Osaka and there are more of them as well. Once the sun sets behind the first base grandstand and the air cools slightly, it is a very relaxing place to spend a summer's evening. Unfortunately, the team only plays a few games per year here, so you'll have to check the schedule before booking your ticket to Japan.

The Games



The first game was a fairly pedestrian affair, with the Buffaloes taking an early lead on a home run from Yoshio Itoi (#7 above). Dai-Ho Lee added a monster shot in the fourth, and the two of them opened the sixth with back-to-back singles, eventually coming around to score to make it 4-1. Another run in the seventh seem to salt the game away, but Lotte pinch-hitter Kazuya Fukuura tripled home two runs in the top of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate. Closer Yoshihisa Hirano managed to get the next two hitters out though, and Orix escaped with a 5-3 win.



I was surprised to see ex-Yankee Kei Igawa (below) starting for Orix in the second game out in Kobe. He came back to Japan last year after a tough six years in America and struggled, going 2-7 with a 4.65 ERA. This season saw him at 3 wins and 2 losses but he was not sharp on this night, giving up 3 runs in the second and 2 more in the fifth as he departed behind 5-2.



Amazingly, he lasted longer than the Lotte starter, Hiroki Ueno, who was pulled after 3.2 innings despite giving up only a 2-run homer. When Aarom Baldiris (below) crushed a ball to the warning track in center field, the manager had seen enough and pulled Ueno. His bullpen did the job though, limiting the Buffaloes to just two more runs the rest of the way as they won 7-4.



The star was lead-off man Takashi Ogino (below), who had two hits, two walks, and two RBIs on the night.



The two games took 3:22 and 3:25 respectively. We actually left the Kobe game early as we had to get back to Osaka and it was dragging on and on. I really can't understand why these relatively uneventful games take so much longer than they used to, but as far as I am concerned, fans are being done a disservice. Well, for me I doubt I will attend another NPB game, so at least I'll stop yapping about this.

Notes

The Orix designated hitter was Dai-Ho Lee, referred to as Lee DH in Japanese. In other words, DH Lee DH!  He's had a notable career, winning the triple crown in South Korea in 2006, Olympic gold in 2008, and hitting home runs in 9 consecutive games in 2009. He is in his 2nd year in the NPB and hit a monster homer in Friday's game.



My friend Mike came down from Tokyo for these two games and spotted a jersey giveaway for anyone who had bought a ticket in advance. Thankfully we had, so we each grabbed a Buffaloes practice jersey. On Thursday at Koshien, I had received a free Tigers jersey, so I suddenly have two NPB shirts, something I never bought in all my time in Japan.

Next Up

I'm disappearing to the Maldives for 8 days before returning to close out life in Singapore. I'll then be in New York for a week to get set up there before heading off to Denver to begin the NFL Stadium Journey. Things will be hectic, so check back often for updates and let me know if you want to meet up at one of the 32 games I will be seeing.

Best,

Sean

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Chiba Lotte Marines 4 at Rakuten Golden Eagles 2 - April 1, 2012

The Rakuten Golden Eagles are the newest franchise in the NPB, having been formed in 2005 to replace the Kintetsu Buffaloes, who merged with the Orix Blue Wave. The irony of replacing the Blue Wave is unfortunately noted here as the Eagles are based in Tohoku, which was devastated by the double disasters from last year. Sendai is the base city for the team and it sustained heavy damage from the earthquake before its coastal areas and airport were inundated by the tsunami. Kleenex Stadium was not spared, suffering structural damage that was only recently completely repaired. Last season the team played their first few home series in the Kobe area before returning home, becoming a symbol of the area's rebuilding efforts in the process.

Kleenex Stadium Miyagi

Kleenex Stadium Miyagi was opened in 1950 and actually served as the home ground for the Lotte Orions (now the Chiba Lotte Marines) between 1973 and 1977. However, it was very dated when the Eagles were granted a franchise and much renovation was done to modernize it in time for their first game. In fact, when I first went I initially thought it was a new stadium, a testament to the great job done here.

The stadium is located about a 20-minute walk from the main train station but if you prefer you can take the JR Senseki line two stops to Miyaginohara (above), which is known as "Baseball Station" due to its proximity to the ballpark. From there, it is just a 5-minute stroll to the stadium, which lies next to a track and field facility.

Gates open two hours before game time, but there is so much going on outside the ballpark that getting there early is worthwhile. First, there are dozens of concessions that sit outside the actual stadium and offer everything from hot wine to the local delicacy, gyutan (cow's tongue). For those without a taste for the unusual, there was even a KFC stand. Take your time to walk around and see all the possibilities; you can easily have two meals here. There are even some seating areas where you can grab a table and relax with your lunch.

The information desk has a great brochure listing all the spots both inside and outside the gates. My recommendation is the steak don on level 3, it is crowded and takes a while to get the food, but was good value for the price. The Eagles Nest Sports Lounge was very popular as well, likely for providing some indoor warmth on this chilly April afternoon.

Fans also arrive early to participate in many special giveaways. I noticed 3 or 4 large lines, each one for a different promotion. Often one needs to be a member of a fan club or have a special type of ticket to participate. There is always a guy holding a sign indicating the end of the queue, if you are not sure, you can ask him what the line is for.

The mascots make their appearance signing autographs the kids, who also have the option of riding a small train around the stadium for a small fee. You can also find a home plate and bases buried beneath thick plastic windows; there doesn't seem to be any meaning behind them and the windows were covered with condensation so I couldn't read the plaque inside. The Eagles have a very active cheer squad known as the Angels consisting of about 16 young ladies who dance on the field during the game. Beforehand they have a couple of shows on a stage located near gate R2, where you can also find the usual hordes of perverts with their zoom lenses.

Tickets here vary widely in price as Rakuten has adopted the variable pricing method, with five categories of game, ranging from Platinum down to Value, with Gold, Silver, and Bronze rounding out the list. I don't know why they didn't use a cheap metal like copper for the Value category; this inconsistency is highly bothersome. Anyway, the most expensive ticket is called a Golden Seat (yet again with the metals) and costs 7,700 yen for the Platinum games and only 3,100 yen for the Value games. So go to the Value games if you can. There are 18 different seating options, so the ticket matrix lists 90 possibilities, which I will not detail here. My advice is to sit in the infield A seats or upper level seats on the 3rd base side. One good thing about Kleenex Stadium is that the screen doesn't extend all the way down the lines so if you are sitting high enough, you can have an unobstructed view of the field from these seats.

I bought a field level seat from where the view was poor (see picture above), so I moved to a better location after a few innings. The field level seats have their own gate and no concessions as well as no other way to access the rest of the stadium. Fortunately, you can move back and forth between the main stand and the field seats as long as you tell them that you are going to get some food. Once I found a seat I liked, I planted myself down. A few innings later, a staff member inquired about my ticket and I said I didn't have one for this area. She said that's fine, but please move if the seat holder returns. Well duh!

Getting around the main part of the stadium is a pain. The walkway has two gates that force you to go up some stairs and back down on the other side. These gates are easily moved and vendors are constantly passing through them, so it makes no sense that fans can't have the same access.

The inner concourses are quite small, particularly the third floor which is heavily crowded before the game as fans line up for food. Capacity here is a 23,000, about half that of the Tokyo Dome, but it certainly seems much more busy with the small floor space.

There are two scoreboards: the main one is the typical Japanese one with lineups and the linescore, but there is also a video screen that shows detailed stats as the game progresses. Definitely something I'd like to see at other parks.

Some fans who won a contest are allowed on the field before the game to play catch, and all fans are invited on the field afterwards, although you have to wait 30 minutes after the game finishes.

Just before the game starts, an eagle flies in from beyond the outfield fence to first base, a majestic sight that is somewhat ironic given the team rarely soars into the playoffs (only one playoff appearance in seven seasons).

When I first visited here in 2005, I thought it was the best ballpark in Japan, but upon reflection, I think I overstated things then. The food selection is great and there are lots of cool things around, but the location is not that good and once inside, moving around is a hassle. Even with these problems though, it is better than the average domed stadium and certainly worth a trip to Sendai to see the Golden Eagles.

The Game

A very interesting pitching matchup was the story here with 43-year-old Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi taking the hill for the Eagles against star rookie Takahiro Fujioka (below), who led his Toyo University team to the past two national championships. I saw him pitch one of the games during their 2010 run where he threw a complete game. Drafted 3rd overall, Fujioka was also coveted by the Eagles, but the Marines won the special lottery and were ecstatic to get him. (In Japan, the first round of the draft is governed by different rules: each team picks a player they want and if two or more clubs desire the same guy, a draw is held to decide which team gets him.) As this was only the third game of the season, this would be Fujioka's first pro start.

The Marines had won the first two games and started quickly here when Ikuhiro Kiyota led off with a double. Naturally, the next batter sacrificed and already I was annoyed with Japanese baseball. Why sacrifice when the first batter doubled? Challenge the pitcher! When former Chisox Tadahito Iguchi (below) popped out on a great over-the-shoulder catch by second baseman Kensuke Uchimura, it looked like the sacrifice would be for nought, but clean-up hitter Josh Whitesell singled and the Marines had the early lead.

Fujioka came on to much anticipation from the Lotte fans and promptly retired the first three batters, including two strikeouts. During the game, he showed a strong fastball touching 150km/h (93 mph) as well as a very good curve ball that had a couple of hitters missing badly. When the Marines added two more in the third including an RBI single by Iguchi, it looked like Fujioka had enough support. He yielded a run in the 5th on a walk, double, and Uchimura groundout, but Lotte got it right back in the 6th when Kiyota singled home Shota Ishimine who had doubled.

Fujioka continued unabated, retiring 10 in a row (that's Jose Fernandez making an out above) before giving up a single to lead-off batter Ryo Hijirisawa with two out in the 8th. After Ginji Akaminai (who follows Ichiro's annoying habit of going by his first name) got a lucky double that scored Hijirisawa, Fujioka was finally pulled. His scoreline was excellent, only 4 hits, 2 ER, and 6 K's while throwing 128 pitches. No rookie babysitting here; I was very impressed. Fellow rookie Naoya Masuda got out of the mini-jam and closer Yasuhiko Yabuta pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save of the season to give the Marines the 4-2 win and the series sweep. It is the first time in 55 years that they have won three in a row to start the season.

A fairly entertaining game that will be remembered for the brilliant debut of Fujioka. No doubt Lotte fans have forgotten last year's last place finish and are dreaming of a return to the championship glory years of 2010, led by their new, prized rookie. Should be a fun summer in Chiba!

Notes

After the game I went to Yurtec Stadium to watch a women's soccer friendly between the US and Japan. I'll post about that tomorrow.

Best,

Sean

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Fighters 1 at Marines 5/Marines 3 at Fighters 2 - Minor Major Doubleheader - August 17, 2010

The Nippon Ham Fighters are back in Tokyo this week for a 3-game set against the Chiba Lotte Marines. The teams are locked in a battle for the 3rd and final playoff spot in the Pacific League, with the Marines holding a 2.5 game lead. Orix is also in the running just another game back. It's not quite as exciting as a pennant race, but with the NPB allowing half the teams into the playoffs, it's the best we can get.

Interestingly, both teams' minor-league squads faced off in the afternoon in Lotte Urawa Stadium. So I decided to check that out as well, making it a doubleheader with the same teams, just in different stadiums.

Game 1 - Nippon Ham Fighters 1 at Chiba Lotte Marines 5

Lotte was the home team here and Yuta Ohmine (above) got the start for them. He was the hard-luck loser in the game I saw in the Tokyo Dome last week, giving up just two runs in 6 innings but falling to the Giants 2-1.

Today though, he got some run support as Lotte broke out with 2 runs in the 2nd off Mitsuo Yoshikawa. After Juan Muniz (above on third) walked and Shota Ohmine singled, Katsuya Kakunaka doubled them both home. That's Shota rounding third below.

In the 6th, Makoto Imaoka led off with a double and later scored on a sac fly by catcher Masahiko Tanaka (shown below stretching in the bullpen). Lotte added two more in the 7th on a Kakunaka walk and doubles from Takumi Kohbe and Imaoka.

Meanwhile, Ohmine was pitching a gem. Through 8 innings he had given up just three hits and two walks while throwing 127 pitches. With the Marines holding a 5-run lead, I figured they would take him out as it was a rather stifling 35C (95F) out. But no, he wanted the shutout, so he came in to pitch the ninth. Pinch-hitter Kazuya Murata led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. Ohmine then uncorked a wild pitch and the shutout was gone. After walking Kenji Satoh, Ohmine was finally taken out of the game, having tossed a mere 140 pitches. Kodai Matsumoto came in and got pinch-hitter Manabu Iwadate to ground into a double play to end the game.

Fighters 3rd baseman Suguru Ichikawa

This was a critical win for Lotte who are now tied for the lead in the Eastern League with the Giants. I was impressed with Ohmine's stamina given how hot it was. Imaoka (below), who is in his first season with Lotte after 13 campaigns with Hanshin, was the key offensive player with the two doubles. What I found amusing is that he didn't waste any time at the plate, only seeing 6 pitches in his 4 appearances. His two outs were deep flies to center, so he was certainly seeing the ball well.

Overall, an interesting and thankfully quick game that allowed me to get down to the Tokyo Dome in plenty of time for the nightcap.

Game 2 - Chiba Lotte Marines 3 at Nippon Ham Fighters 2

The starters were both foreigners, with Bill Murphy (above) getting the call for Lotte against Bobby Keppel (below) for the Fighters. Murphy spent the last two seasons with the Blue Jays organization but only saw action in 8 big league games before signing a lucrative contract to play in Japan. He was 9-4 with a 3.69 ERA. Keppel was with the Twins last season but decided to seek his fortune over here and it was a wise choice as he is 12-4 so far.

I had high expectations for this game and wasn't disappointed. Murphy started poorly though, giving up two runs in the first, highlighted by a double from Eiichi Koyano. But the Fighters left the bases loaded when catcher Shinya Tsuruoka grounded out.

In the top of the third, Toshiaki Imae grounded a single past diving shortstop Makoto Kaneko, who didn't get up immediately. The Fighters gathered around as the trainer checked him out, and it wasn't good news. Kaneko had to be helped off the field (looks like a torn calf) and was replaced by Yuji Iiyama. What's interesting is that Iiyama had played in the afternoon's game as well, going 0-for-4 before being taken out in the 9th, no doubt so he could make the trip down to the Dome.

Despite the setback, Keppel continued to pitch well, breezing through 4 innings before running into trouble. With two out and runners on first and second, Tadahito Iguchi (who won the World Series with Chicago back in 2005) blooped a ball that fell just inside the right field foul line. It rolled to the fence and both runners came around to score, with Toshiaki Imae taking out Tsuruoka with an aggressive slide. Tsuruoka didn't like that much and must have said something because next thing you know, both dugouts emptied. A bench-clearing brawl! Not really, this is Japan after all. The players merely milled around home plate for a minute before returning without any punches being thrown.

The score remained tied through 7, but in the 8th Iguchi took Keppel's first offering to deep center to give Lotte a 3-2 lead. Keppel finished the inning but the damage was done. In the bottom half, the Fighters Sho Nakata was hit by reliever Shingo Ono with one out. Tsuruoka sacrificed him to second but Iiyama grounded out to end that threat.

In the 9th, closer Hiroyuki Kobayashi came on for Lotte and gave up a leadoff single to Kensuke Tanaka. After another sacrifice, Atsunori Inaba walked. Koyano grounded out to advance both runners and bring Yoshio Itoi to the plate. It was do-or-die time but Itoi couldn't come through, grounding to Iguchi to end the game. Murphy got his 10th win and Kobayashi picked up his 21st save while Keppel dropped to 12-5.

This was a thriller that came down to the last pitch. The story of the game was how many chances Nippon Ham wasted. They left 13 men on base and constantly took themselves out of rallies with sacrifice bunts (5 in total, plus a missed bunt that resulted in a line drive double play). Murphy and the relievers did not pitch particularly well, yielding 15 baserunners, but they were able to escape every jam as the Fighters just gave them outs. I felt like Nippon Ham was playing scared, just trying to get a run here and there when a big rally was what they needed. I am not a fan of the sacrifice to begin with, but using it 5 or 6 times in a game is just silly. That's Itoi below preparing for another one.

With the win, Lotte moved 3.5 games up with two more games in the series. You have to feel for poor Iiyama, he played 15 innings in the two losses, going a combined 1-6 in the process.

Thoughts

It is unfortunate that the NPB changed the rules to allow three teams into the playoffs in each league as there would be two great pennant races now: Hanshin leads Yomiuri by a game in the Central League with Chunichi just 2.5 back; in the PL Seibu leads Softbank by 1.5 games. First place still matters as that team hosts all games in the Climax Series final stage, but it's not as compelling as eliminating the other team during the regular season. Fans of the teams fighting for third might disagree, but I think the long baseball season should reward only the best teams with a playoff spot. Even the wild card in MLB is a bad idea.

Best,

Sean

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Chiba Lotte Marines 1 at Yomiuri Giants 2 - Eastern League - August 9, 2010

There's usually no baseball on Monday here in Japan as both the majors and minors take the day off. But for some reason, there was a minor-league game between Lotte and Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome yesterday. These are the top two teams in the Eastern League, and I wanted to see how the crowd would be, so I went to check it out.

The Game

Keisuke Saito (above) started for Yomiuri. He's in his second season but hasn't seen much action this year. He has an odd delivery in that he leaves his arm behind him as you can see in the picture. Yuta Omine was on the hill for the Marines. He's been up with the big club this season but struggled with an ERA over 5.

Ikusei player Kota Sumi flies out

The game was scoreless in the 4th when Daisuke Fujimura led off for the Giants with a triple. Daisuke Nakai followed with a fly to left. Fujimura broke for home as Katsuya Kakunaka made the catch. The throw was on time but catcher Masahiko Tanaka couldn't hold on as Fujimura slid home. But the umpire didn't see the ball bounce out of Tanaka's glove and made an emphatic out call. After the Giants pointed out the error, the umps had a conference, and the call was sheepishly reversed.

In the 6th, Fujimura singled and Nakai drove him home with a double to make it 2-0 Giants. Meanwhile the Yomiuri pitchers were keeping Lotte off the board. Saitoh lasted 5 1/3 striking out 4, but it was a laborious effort as he threw 89 pitches. Yuki Furukawa and Jumpei Ohno each pitched to a batter to end the 6th. I was surprised to see top-team closer Marc Kroon come out for the 7th, I guess he is on rehab. He's a fireballer who has 168 saves over 6 seasons here, with 1.3 K/IP. He also holds the record for the fastest pitch thrown here at 161 km/h (100 mph). Anyway, he pitched a perfect inning.

Taishi Ohta breaks his bat

Finally in the 8th, Takuma Sadaoka started with a single off the Giants' 5th hurler of the evening, Kyohei Tsuchimoto. A double by Hiroshi Miyamoto and a walk to Shota Omine (who goes by Shota) loaded the bases and ended Tsuchimoto's evening. Veteran Yasunari Takagi took over and got Kakunaka to ground to second, scoring the Marines' first run on the force at second. Pinch hitter Toshio Saito then grounded into a double play to end the threat.

In the 9th, Yi-Hao Lin, a Taiwanese prospect who was recently added to the Giants roster from the ikusei program, entered the game. After a leadoff single to Cuban Juan Muniz (above calling off Shota), Lin settled down to strike out two and get Tanaka to fly out to end the game. The Giants used 7 pitchers in all, but it seemed to work as Lotte only managed 6 hits. The game took 2:54, mainly due to all the pitching changes.

With the win, Yomiuri moved within a game of league-leading Lotte, with two more games in the series, including another one tonight at the Tokyo Dome.

The Minors In Japan

Before I got there, I was expecting a few thousand fans. But the attendance was over 17,000! That's more than watched a Swallows game I went to last month. I used to think that the NPB ignores the potential revenue from having the minor leagues play in the evening in smaller towns where community matters more. There are plenty of decent stadiums that could support 54 games a year. Moreover, the players need more chances to see game action. The Giants have 83 players on their roster, split between the major and minor team. Why not make 3 teams with 25-28 players on each roster and have 2 minor leagues with players moving up and down and team names that are different from the big club?

Well, that was all just a pipe dream. The Shonan Searex are the only team in the minors to have a different team name than their big-league counterparts (Yokohama Bay Stars) and they usually play in the evenings at Yokosuka Stadium. Unfortunately, it looks like that will change after this season as they revert to the Yokohama name. I guess that minor league baseball just doesn't appeal to a large segment of the population here, fans want established names to cheer for.

Best,

Sean

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