Yomiuri Giants 1 at Chunichi Dragons 4 - April 19, 2012

The Chunichi Dragons are a long-standing team in Japanese baseball, having begun play in 1936. They used to host games at Nagoya Stadium, an outdoor field constructed in 1948, but the Nagoya Dome opened in 1997 and the Dragons moved in, relegating their old grounds to the minor league squad. Despite nearly 70 years of existence, the Dragons have only won two Japan Series, the most recent in 2007. Lately though, they have been the strongest team in the Central League, taking 5 of the last 8 pennants.

Nagoya Dome



When I first visited the Nagoya Dome when it opened in 1997, there was no convenient station close by. That changed in 2000 when the Nagoya Dome Mae - Yada subway stop was opened. It seems to be part of the stadium itself with dozens of old Dragons' photos as well as a shot of each player on the current roster. Because this walkway is crowded before and after games it is tough to stop and look at everything on display but if you can get there a few hours before the game, it should be easier to enjoy.



The dome is quite nice from the outside, its silver geodesic dome shining in the sunlight. There are a couple of restaurants outside one of the gates but I would avoid these and go inside where there is more to see and do. Take note of the roof which has been double glazed to allow natural light through. Each section on the roof can be individually shaded which allows for intricate patterns to be displayed, although this doesn't happen during the game.



There are five seating levels, each painted a different colour. Sitting down low is more expensive and the view is blocked by the screen all the way down the lines, so I chose the cheaper upper deck seat at 2,500 yen. Even this was not optimal as the people in the first row lean over the ledge and block your view from time to time, and it was rather cramped as well. I did notice that the seats in the lower bowl don't face home plate forcing those fans to spend the game with their bodies turned sideways.



The outfield seats are actually reserved unlike most other ballparks here. The view is not bad as you are well above the field as you can see below.



There are some other special seating areas including the Prime Twin, a pair of seats meant for couples, as well as Prime Box, where four fans can sit together at a table. Above the outfield seats is Arenaview, a restaurant that offers a panoramic view of the ballpark.



You can freely move between the upper and lower levels here, with the better concessions down below. The concourses are relatively narrow and rather dated but it was still easy to get around.



The standard fare is available at stands named after their location, such as Snack Home, behind home plate. Of course, this leads to the beverage booth near first base to be called Drink First, a message designed to throw recovering alcoholics off the wagon. The most memorable item was a shrimp and avocado salad dog which I did not try as it looked disgusting. Some of the concession stands had MLB memorabilia above them, including a very old Chisox jersey (below). When walking around, keep your head up, there are a few surprises to be found.



If you want more than just a stadium snack, the third floor has a large food court with 6 choices, including a sushi place that was packed. Judging from the crowd, this would be worth trying but you probably have to arrive just as gates open to ensure a seat.



The third floor also houses the Dragons' Museum, a large collection of memorabilia including the 1954 Japan Series championship plaque. All of the explanations are in Japanese only but it is worth visiting as it is free. It is only open on game days so you do need to buy a ticket to get in.



Overall, this is a decent venue for a dome. I enjoyed the friendly staff and food selection. The seating issues make it difficult to relax. I think only the first row in the upper deck offers a purely unobstructed view among the infield seats, and those tickets can be tough to get. With no unreserved seating area, you'll be stuck with whatever ticket you buy, so be aware of that before going to the ticket window.



The Game



Two top pitchers were starting tonight with Dicky Gonzalez (above) taking the hill for the Giants against ace Kazuki Yoshimi for Chunichi. Things got off to a rough start for Gonzalez, who gave up a leadoff single to Yohei Oshima who was quickly sacrificed to second by Masahiro Araki (below). After Masahiko Morino grounded out, clean-up hitter Takeshi Yamazaki, a 43-year-old veteran, brought Oshima home with a single to make it 1-0 Dragons.



The Giants tied it up in their half of the second when Shuichi Murata led off with a double and scored on Yoshinobu Takahashi's single. Takahashi advanced to second on the throw home, but when the throw went wild, he tried for third. Yoshimi, backing up the play at home, threw to third and Takahashi retreated. Again the throw was too high and Takahashi reversed field yet again, only to be gunned out at third by the throw from left field. The old 9-1-7-5 play if you are scoring at home. The inning ended when Gonzalez grounded out and he must have hurt himself as he was removed from the game after warming up in the bottom of the second. Jumpei Ohno was brought in and took another three minutes to get ready, meaning a seven-minute break between innings.

That still wasn't enough time for Ohno to get loose as he gave up a single to Hirokazu Ibata and then a monster homer to Ryosuke Hirata, his 4th of the young season. After a groundout, Ohno walked Yoshimi and gave up singles to Oshima and Araki to load the bases. That was it for him as Satoshi Fukuda relieved and retired Morino on an RBI groundout before striking out Yamazaki. Two innings were in the books and over an hour had passed. I slumped in my seat, fearing another four-hour marathon, but as it turns out, that was all the scoring.



Yoshimi (above) settled down, giving up a walk and 2 singles the rest of the way, retiring the last 11 batters in a row for the Dragons' first complete game of the season. Fukuda and two other Giants' relievers were equally good, giving up just 2 hits themselves as the final seven innings were completed in just 90 minutes. It was one of the quickest games I have seen in Japan and as the Giants lost, one of the most enjoyable as well.



Notes

The Dragons' mascot Doala (a Dragon and Koala mix I guess) tries to land a running backflip during the 7th-inning break. The team keeps his record of success and failure, so far 2-5. He missed again below.




Best,

Sean

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Yokohama DeNA BayStars 6 at Yomiuri Giants 3 (Eastern League) - March 18th, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Weekend! Last year at this time, I wrote a piece on the poor media reporting after the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku area. One year later, there has been much progress in the recovery but there is still a long, long way to go. Not that the media will tell you that; there has been very little substantive reporting overseas other than a blip last weekend during the anniversary. Even then, for us in Japan, things are essentially back to normal outside the affected area. I'm not trying to be glib, but the rest of the country has moved on. Unlike last year, baseball is starting on time, and here, the minor leagues begin play a week or two before the big guys get started. It was opening day yesterday but rain postponed the first game until today, when the Yomiuri Giants hosted the renamed Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Yes, the only ballclub that had forsaken a corporate sponsor was bought last year by DeNA (pronounced D-N-A) who promptly stuck their stupid name in the team's moniker. DeNA are some sort of online service company but I don't care, they are pure evil for doing this.

Anyway, the game started 30 minutes before the other two scheduled matches, so it was officially the first regular season pro game of the year. And as it was being played at my favorite minor league stadium, I had no choice but to go. About 1,100 similarly-minded fans braved a dreary drizzle to open their accounts on the 2012 season. To mark the occasion, there was an opening-day ceremony that featured a taiko drum display in the seating area that was appreciated by players and fans alike. After that, Giants' manager, all-time sacrifice bunt king Masashiro Kawai, then gave a short speech (without a mike) and that was it, the season was underway.

The game started with a bang when Atsushi Kita smashed the first pitch of the year deep over the right field fence (below). It immediately looked like perennial losers Yokohama were going to enjoy the change in their DeNA.

Or would they? The Giants' Daisuke Nakai managed a 2-run homer in the bottom of the first when the ball bounced off the top of the left-field fence. After that, the teams traded zeroes until the Giants used a walk, two wild pitches, and a sacrifice fly to take a 3-1 lead after 6.

That is when the Yomiuri bullpen imploded. In the 7th, Yuki Koyama gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases and Tatsuya Shimozono singled to drive home a couple and tie the game. Things got worse for the home team in the 8th as Norihito Kaneto allowed three runs (two earned) with the big blow a 2-run double from catcher Kenjiro Tsuruoka, who had started the rally in the 7th as a pinch-hitter.

Although the Giants got the tying run to the plate in the 9th, Atori Ota induced Nakai to fly out to deep center to finish the match. Ota, who goes by his first name, recorded the win by pitching three shutout innings in relief.

Both teams finished with 11 hits, but Yokohama bunched theirs together and came away victorious. It was a long game in poor weather, but I was glad to see Yokohama pull one out. Whether the big-league squad will be any good still remains to be seen.

Notes

The BayStars have new uniforms with DeNA on them. I wasn't sitting close enough to get a good picture, but the shot of starter Shugo Fujii gives you an idea.

Oscar Salazar was the only non-Japanese on the field today. Generally there are few foreigners at this level, as most of them are brought over to help the big team win. I am not sure why Salazar is with the BayStars' junior club, but he went 0-5, although he crushed a ball that was caught at the center field wall.

There is a lucky number contest that is played at every game at this stadium. Your ticket has a number on it and after the 5th inning about 20 various prizes are awarded. Today they had a bonus prize where fans holding tickets ending in 1,4,6 or 9 got to go on the field after the game and receive an autograph from one Giants player. That meant about 400 people total and it took them a while to get organized, with a lineup of about 25 fans for each player. A nice touch that I hadn't seen before. In the photo below, you can also see how terrible the field is at this early stage, it appears to be just dead grass.

Next Up

Things are getting busy. I've got a trip to Okinawa from Tuesday that will see me attend a battle of the top two western teams in the bj League, Ryukyu and Osaka. Lynn Washington, Osaka's best player and a 2-time MVP who has been in the league since its inception, was arrested earlier this week and will therefore not be playing. It is perhaps the biggest news to hit the league and certainly not the sort of publicity it was seeking. This is a bit of a disappointment for me as I was hoping to see him in action against some of the Ryukyu stars, but it should still be a good contest.

The week following will see the MLB season-opening game between the Athletics and Mariners as well as the Rugby 7s that weekend. After that I'm off to Hokkaido to see a baseball and soccer game over three days and finally add the Sapporo Dome to my list. Oh yeah, I'm also leaving Japan on May 5th. It will be a hectic time, so check back often to see what's happening.

Best,

Sean

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Saturday Sees Champions Suffer

Saturday was a good day in baseball if you are like me and hate seeing the same teams buying their way to the top year after year. In Japan's Saturday morning (Friday evening in Arlington), the defending champion New York Yankees were eliminated by the Texas Rangers, who advanced to their first World Series. Seeing A-Rod watch the final pitch of his team's season was sweet.

Then Saturday evening in Japan, the defending champion Yomiuri Giants were sent packing by the Chunichi Dragons in the second stage of the Central League Climax Series. The Giants are the big spenders of the NPB and seeing them and the Yankees lose on the same day was gratifying. The Dragons will face the Lotte Marines who finished 3rd in the Pacific League but managed to win both stages of the Climax Series. However, the Nippon Series doesn't start until next Saturday as the NPB continues its policy of prolonging the season for no apparent reason.

Finally, Saturday evening in Philadelphia, the 2-time defending NL champion Phillies were dispatched by the San Francisco Giants in a tense affair. The Phillies are no longer a laughingstock with the 4th highest payroll in the majors, so it's nice to see that their acquisition of the two Roy's (Halladay and Oswalt) wasn't enough to send them to a 3rd consecutive Fall Classic.

The Giants will now try for their first championship since moving to California. Whatever the case, one of two long-suffering fan bases will finally enjoy a championship. I always like to see different teams win so I'll enjoy this series regardless of who wins. Here's hoping for 7 games!

Best,

Sean

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Yomiuri Giants 5 at Yakult Swallows 2 - September 15, 2010

With my friend Meg in town finishing up her 12 parks tour of Japan, I decided to make a final visit to Jingu this year to join her in watching the Giants and Swallows. Yakult is technically still alive in the playoff race, lying 6.5 games back of 3rd place Yomiuri with 18 games left, but another loss would pretty much seal their fate. And so it came to pass.

The Game

Yoshinori Satoh got the start for Yakult against Tetsuya Utsumi. Satoh started by walking the first two Giants on 8 straight balls and I thought we were in for a long night, but he struck out Michihiro Ogasawara and Alex Ramirez before inducing Shinnosuke Abe to fly out. He then settled down, yielding just two hits and a walk over the next four frames.

Norichika Aoki pops out

Meanwhile Utsumi was also solid and we were still scoreless after 5 innings. That's when the rains came, just a light mist at the start but turning into a steady drizzle shortly thereafter. This seemed to affect the pitching as the Giants exploded for 4 runs in the 6th, including a 3-run double from Edgar Gonzalez (below grounding out in an earlier at-bat).

Yakult replied with a 2-run homer from Kazuhiro Hatakeyama in their half of the 6th. But Utsumi was replaced one batter later and the Giants relief corps, including ex-Blue Jay Micheal Nakamura, proceeded to shut down Yakult the rest of the way.

Pinch hitter Kenji Yano added a solo homer in the 9th for a bit of insurance as the Giants won 5-2 in a well-played if somewhat pedestrian affair. Yakult is still 6.5 games out of 3rd though as Hanshin lost, but I doubt they can make up the ground. Really, since they are a game under .500 (61-62-4), they shouldn't be part of any playoff discussion but that's what happens when half the teams make the post-season.

Minor League pennant race

The rains from last night have continued today and the minor league game between Shonan Searex and Giants has been postponed. This is unfortunate as the Eastern League is having a great pennant race. Yomiuri leads by a half-game over 3 other teams including the Searex with just a week left in the season. What's really interesting is that the second place teams are all 55-45 with a different number of ties, hence the different number of games left. The winner will play in a 1-game championship with the Western League in Niigata on October 2nd. I'll keep you posted; here's hoping the baby Giants are knocked off by somebody in the next week.

Update (Sept 17): The game has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 25th. It'll be the last game of the season and hence the last Searex game ever, and if the teams are still close, might decide the pennant. There's also a futsal game nearby after that so I'll try to catch both.

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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Tokyo Crosstown Doubleheader - June 24, 2010

Yesterday was a perfect day for baseball. I had already arranged to meet a friend for the evenings Giants-Swallows game at Jingu so I decided to make it a doubleheader by biking down to Ota Stadium to watch a Tokyo Industrial League tournament game in the afternoon.

There were two games scheduled, but with the World Cup games going on overnight here (yay Japan!), mornings are not an option, so I only made it for the afternoon game featuring JR East and Sega Sammy.

Ota Stadium

Ota Stadium is located in the southern part of Tokyo, close to Haneda airport. The closest train station is Ryutsu Center on the monorail, just two stops from the airport, but the stadium is located next to a long bike trail that takes you from Tennozu Isle all the way to Jonanjima. I used to use the trail here regularly and had passed this stadium hundreds of times but had yet to venture inside.

It is used for a variety of baseball games, and like most of these smaller stadiums, has no outfield seats. The seats extend down the lines a fair bit, and there is a small canopy shading the seats directly behind the plate. The field is a bright green that is almost blinding when you first get in. The dimensions are similar to other stadiums at 325 feet down the lines and 400 to center. You can walk around the top of the seating deck which provides nice views of the surrounding area, including Oi Racecourse, a nearby horse racing track.

Next door is a smaller stadium that looks to be a soccer field and had players practicing lacrosse, which I found interesting. There's not much more than that. It's not a place that is easy to get to or that has regularly scheduled games, so I'm glad I got to finally catch a game here (and up the stadium total to 304).

You can see a plane on approach just to the top left of the scoreboard

The Game

The game featured two teams who had won their first round matches. I missed the first out so decided not to keep score (which turned out to be a fortuitous choice as I had to leave early to make it to the nightcap). JR East broke open the scoring in the 3rd when Akira Matsumoto (shown above) cranked a 3-run shot to left. Sega Sammy got one back in the bottom half on a Takuya Jukuura RBI single (shown below).

The game progressed rather slowly for a few innings until JR East added a run on a great hustle play in the 7th. With a man on first, the batter attempted a sacrifice. The pitcher fielded it and threw wildly to first. The ball bounced into shallow right and the runner rounded third, heading for home. He just beat the throw and that made it 5-1. The bunter also scored on a single later in the frame and that was the final, 6-1.

Not a very exciting game, lots of pitching changes and Sega Sammy must have left 10 men on base. With the win, JR East faces Tokyo Gas next Monday at Jingu with the winner going on to the top tournament. Sega Sammy played a loser's bracket game today and were eliminated.

Tolerant Umpires

The most interesting incident in today's game involved the Sega Sammy manager arguing a call. He felt like his fielder had been interfered with and came out to physically show the umpire. He bumped the ump not once but twice to demonstrate what he felt had transpired on the field. Yet he wasn't tossed, the umpire just explained how he saw it while the manager steamed. Generally in Japan, umpires are much more tolerant and managers or players rarely get ejected.

There's a famous incident where American umpire Mike DiMuro, who was here as part of an experiment to improve umpiring standards in the NPB in 1997, ejected a player for arguing balls and strikes. He was surrounded by the players and pushed, no doubt causing him great consternation. That just doesn't happen in the States, where umpires are respected to some extent and have much more power. No punishment was given to any of the players and DiMuro subsequently resigned, ending the experiment.

Giants beat the Swallows

After biking back home and cleaning up, I headed over to Jingu to meet my friend Greg. He had never been to the stadium before despite living here for over 10 years. I told him I would bring him to a game, and we decided to check out the Yomiuri Giants. Weather was perfect and plenty of tickets were available at the box office. Given that the Swallows are in last, a full 14 games behind the league-leading Giants, this might not be surprising.

We ended up sitting in the second row just beyond first base. I didn't take many pictures as the screen was bothersome and the angle wasn't that good as you can see above. As for the game, the Giants won 4-2 behind two homers from reigning MVP and one-time Swallow Alex Ramirez and a two-run shot from Hisayoshi Chono. Chono is an interesting case - he was drafted twice previously but only wanted to play for the Giants. So he opted to play industrial ball for two years, leading Honda to the title last season. Finally, Yomiuri drafted him and he's been playing all year, although hitting only .245 with 9 homers. Of course, homer number 9 gave the Giants the winning runs yesterday. Ugh. Still, it takes guts to stick with your favourite team, even if it makes you a frontrunner.

It was nice to be back in Jingu to watch the Swallows but the game itself was thoroughly unenjoyable, taking 3:07 to reach its inevitable conclusion.

Next Up

That's pretty much it for Japanese baseball this year, at least in Tokyo. There's no stadium here that I still need to see and the teams I cheer for are horrible (as seems to be the case in every sport).

I'm off to Minneapolis and Iowa in two weeks and will be enjoying the World Cup in the meantime. Look for a post on that in the next couple of days and everyone please cheer on Japan!

Best,

Sean

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Nippon Ham Fighters 0 at Yomiuri Giants 4 - March 30 - Eastern League

One of the best things about Japanese baseball is the early season start. The Pacific League got underway on March 20th while the Central League began on the 26th. The Western League began even earlier with a couple of games on Friday the 19th. As for the Eastern League, which has 6 teams in the greater Tokyo area, it also began on the 20th but poor weather has kept me at home for the first week. But today was a relatively balmy 10 degrees so I decided to visit Giants Stadium to get back into baseball.

I was in for a bit of a shock when I arrived. Last season tickets here were only 700 yen but inflation has hit the minor leagues suddenly and this year it's now 1,000 yen to get in. That's a whopping 43% increase! It's still a bargain though, but it means that 3 of the local stadiums charge 1,000 yen (unless they've raised their prices this season) while 3 are still free.

The Game

I got to the park just a few minutes before first pitch and was surprised to see that Kazuhito Tadano was starting for the Fighters. Despite being a highly touted prospect back in 2002, he was blackballed by the NPB after appearing in a gay porn video. Instead he made his way to the majors where he appeared in 15 games for Cleveland in 2004-05. But he couldn't stick in MLB and was finally drafted in Japan in 2007, pitching for Nippon Ham the last two years. I'm not sure why he's in the minors at this time. He was opposed by Satoshi Fukuda, who has pitched in 48 games over 5 seasons with the big team but seems to be a career minor leaguer.

Tadano delivers

Both pitchers were strong over the first four innings but Fukuda was slightly better, yielding just a single and a walk in that time. In the 5th, Giants' rookie catcher Tomoya Ichikawa crushed a double to left to score Takanori Hoshi and give the Giants a 1-0 lead. But Tadano escaped with no further damage and left after 6 innings still trailing by a run.

Daijiro Tanaka grounds out

In the 7th, ex-Fighter Kazunari Sanematsu hit a sharp grounder to third but Takahiro Imanami made a poor throw and Sanematsu was safe. Next up was Daisuke Fujimura who grounded to second. But Kenshi Sugiya lost his grip on the ball throwing to first and suddenly there were runners on first and second with nobody out. After a sacrifice bunt, Ryota Wakiya (shown below) singled to score both runners. Wakiya later scored on a Kenji Yano double to make it 4-0. All 3 runs were unearned for Shintaro Ejiri, who has pitched with the big club already this season.

Fukuda was replaced by Takahiko Nomaguchi who pitched the final 3 innings, yielding just two more hits and notching the save as the Giants won 4-0. It wasn't a great game for the Fighters who had 4 hits and 3 errors to snap a 5-game winning streak and drop to 5-3. The Giants moved to 3-1 on the year. Because there are 7 teams in the league, teams have several days off and the Giants have already had 3 off days and two rainouts. As an aside, I really can't understand why they don't just merge the two minor leagues; Japan is not that big and travel costs shouldn't be prohibitive. Doesn't make sense to have players not playing.

Balls and Strikes

One interesting change this year in Japanese baseball is that balls are now counted first. Until now, strikes were always first, so a full count was 2-3. But the powers that be decided to follow the west and modified the rule. I noticed it when the umpire called out "Suree-two" when the count was full. Scoreboards have not been fixed yet as you can see below - strikes are still above balls. I wonder if they will bother...

The Gondola

I had some time after the game so took the gondola ride over Yomiuriland, the amusement park that is next to the stadium. If you are visiting, I highly recommend this ride as you get a great view of the ballpark as you go by. It's only 200 yen and takes about 5 minutes. The pictures below show the steps that you need to take to the stadium, as well as the Giants working out after the game. Yep, in Japan there is always work to be done, even after a win. The players were running sprints as I passed overhead.

Next Up

The big-league Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have a 2-game set in Tokyo this week. So I'll go to the game tonight with my friend Chris, who has yet to see a baseball game in Japan. Then I'm off to Singapore tomorrow for a couple of days before heading to Malaysia for the Grand Prix this weekend. Not sure how much time I'll have to post, but check back on occasion for updates.

Best,

Sean

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Dragons defeat Giants to win the Farm League Championship

Yesterday saw the one-game playoff between Eastern League champs Yomiuri Giants and Western League winners Chunichi Dragons take place in Toyama. In front of 14,150 fans, the Dragons held the Giants to 2 hits and won 2-0.

The Giants used Yuya Kubo as their starter in what I can only guess was a cynical bid to win the game. Kubo seems to have good numbers with the big club over the past 6 seasons, and he was sent down most recently on September 28th after the baby Giants had finished their season. So I suspect he was sent down just to pitch in this game.

Kubo did well, going the full 9 innings, giving up only 6 hits, but Chunichi's pitchers were slightly better. Junki Ito gave up two hits and 5 walks through 5 1/3 but left with the bases loaded and a 1-0 lead. Yoshihiro Suzuki, another pitcher with plenty of top league experience, came in and got two outs to keep the Giants from scoring in the 6th. Suzuki and two other relievers were then perfect the rest of the way and a pinch-hit homer from veteran Kazuki Inoue added an insurance run to give the Dragons the 2-0 victory.

Glad to see the Giants lose and hoping that their big-league team suffers the same fate in the upcoming Climax Series. Also good to see over 14,000 fans there and now I'm wondering if Toyama could support a full-time minor-league (or even NPB) club? Or was this just because it was the Giants playing?

Best,

Sean

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Giants win the Eastern League - why ties suck in baseball

It was an interesting finish to the Eastern League here in Japan. The Yomiuri Giants had gone on an 11-3 run in September and with 1 game left in the 108-game slate, they were tied for first with both Shonan and Lotte. However, Japanese baseball allows tie games, so their records were not identical. Both Yomiuri and Shonan had 59-46-2 records for a .562 winning percentage, while Shonan was 60-47-0 to stand 3rd at .561. You might wonder how that is: all 3 teams are 13 games over .500 and have played 107 games - their percentages should be the same, right? Nope, ties are ignored in the calculation. So Shonan is punished for not tying two games. Imagine if a team went 1-0-107, tying all but one game. Their percentage would be 1.000 - a perfect season! Another way of looking at it is that 0-0-2 is considered better than 1-1-0. Coming from a hockey background, where ties count 1 point and wins 2, I find this rather silly and unfair. Ties should be included in percentage calculations as 1/2 a win.

Anyway, Lotte and Yomiuri played each other today at Giants Stadium. The winner would notch the championship, while idle Shonan (who close out the season tomorrow against Yakult) could only watch. Interestingly, if Yomiuri and Lotte tied their game today, then Shonan would have a chance for the pennant tomorrow. But sadly it was not to be. The Giants defeated Lotte 9-5 to clinch the title; their 23rd. And with the big-league Giants also winning the Central League, it marks the 15th Kyodai V (brothers victory) in their history. Ugh. I didn't realize the junior team had the same obnoxious attitude as their much-hated CL counterparts, but next season, I'll be rooting for everybody else to put them in their place. Preferably last place.

Sadly, I was otherwise occupied today so couldn't go to the game, but I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed watching the baby Giants celebrate. The Giants will now play the Western League champion Chunichi Dragons next Saturday in Toyama, which is rather far from Tokyo. So I won't be going there either.

I also missed the Big 6 university games on Saturday due to a sudden visit from an old friend, so I'll try to go in the next couple of weeks. I also found out about another college league that plays weekday games, so I might see some of those should I find time this week. Finally, there's also a women's tennis tournament in town this week, so I'm going to try to catch at least one day of action. So it should be a busy week as I return to sports-watching mode. Check back mid-week for updates and some photos.

Best,

Sean

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Giants clinch, Frontale wins the first leg, NRL playoffs

Giants win their 3rd consecutive title behind Obispo

A few weeks ago, I watched Wifrin Obispo pitch in a minor league game for the Giants against Yakult. While I was in Hawaii, he was recalled to the big club and has been pitching well. Today, he started against Chunichi and pitched 7 good innings, giving up only 5 hits and a walk. Unfortunately, one of the hits was a 3-run homer from veteran catcher Motonobu Tanishige, but this was the only blemish. The offense managed to put together 5 runs and the bullpen held the lead, giving Obispo 5 wins against only 1 loss, with a tidy 2.66 ERA.

Sadly, this victory gave the Giants their third straight Central League title. Their celebration was an orgy of beer spraying as the players tried to soak each other with bottles of Asahi. Such a waste! I am not a fan of the Giants, who dominate Japanese baseball in much the same way the Yankees and Red Sox do in MLB, so 3 titles in a row is particularly bothersome. And with the Yankees clinching their playoff berth on the same day (in Japan at least), it's doubly depressing. But I'm glad to see Obispo succeed, and I know that I lucked out watching this kid pitch from 100 feet away for free just three weeks before he started a critical game.

I should note that Chunichi is solidly in second place in the CL and will host Hanshin, Yakult, or Hiroshima in the first round of the Climax series. These 3 teams are all within 1.5 games of each other but are about 8 games below .500. So it's a rather ugly race and I'd expect Chunichi to dispose of whichever team takes 3rd place and challenge the Giants for the CL title.

In the Pacific League, the Nippon Ham Fighters are choking away their lead and now have only a 3.5 game cushion on the Softbank Hawks . The Rakuten Golden Eagles stand 3rd with a 2-game lead on 4th-place Seibu. It's certainly a much more interesting race than anything happening in MLB. But the bad news is that the only Tokyo-area team to host games in the playoffs will be the Giants and I don't know if I can stomach a game there.

Frontale knocks off Nagoya

Today was the first leg of the Asian Champions League quarter-finals. Kawasaki Frontale hosted Nagoya Grampus in an afternoon tilt. A first-half goal from Aussie national Joshua Kennedy gave Grampus a 1-0 lead, but Frontale replied with two in the second half from Kengo Nakamura and Juninho to win 2-1. They travel to Nagoya next week for the second leg, and if Frontale can hold on, they'd advance to the semi-finals against either an Uzebekistan or Saudi Arabian team. They'd play the first leg on the road in one of those two countries - now there's a road trip worth thinking about!

NRL semi-finals this weekend

Back in May I saw Brisbane defeat the Gold Coast in National Rugby League action in Australia. Well, it's a long season there, and the playoffs are finally underway. In the first round, the Broncos, who finished 6th, visited the 3rd place Titans in a rematch of the game I saw, and won 40-32. Due to the odd playoff system, both teams advanced to round 2, where Gold Coast lost to 8th-place Parramatta Eels, while Brisbane beat the 1st place Dragons (who were upset by the Eels the week before).

This weekend sees Brisbane travel to Melbourne while the surprising Eels take on the Canterbury Bulldogs. The two winners meet in the Grand Final on October 4th. I'll be cheering for Brisbane, but they are heavy underdogs. I'll let you all know what happened next week.

Best,

Sean

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Rakuten Golden Eagles 7 at Yomiuri Giants 12 (Eastern League) - September 22, 2009

The minor league season is drawing to a close here in Japan, and I wanted to visit Giants Stadium one more time as it is the best place to watch a game for me. My friend Hiroshi, a Giants fan who had never seen a minor league game, joined me.

I've described the stadium previously, but there was one small difference today: there was a shuttle bus from the station to the stadium. The bus only runs on weekends and holidays though, but we're in the middle of a 5-day long weekend, so it was available. It runs every 20 minutes from 11:00 to 12:40 for the 1:00 game, and saves you the 10-minute walk up 283 stairs.

The shuttle bus

Due to the holiday I was expecting a large crowd and wasn't disappointed. There were 1,823 people there, compared to an average weekday crowd of around 400. By the time the game started, nearly every seat was taken and the atmosphere was comparable to a minor league game in the States. We were able to get two seats behind the plate, but they were relatively far away as all the front row seats were filled. So there aren't many pics from this game.

The Giants were hosting Rakuten, who I had seen two weeks earlier in Lotte. In that game, they made 4 errors and only had two hits while being shut out. In today's game their offense was hitting on all cylinders as they took a 6-0 lead in the 5th inning. Unfortunately their defense was abysmal yet again: 2 errors in the 5th allowed the Giants to score 5 runs (4 unearned) and 2 more miscues in the 6th led to 2 more runs. Rakuten had managed to score a run in between, so we were tied at 7 after 7 innings.

The Giants then brought in ex-Blue Jay Micheal Nakamura (pictured below) who pitched a perfect 8th inning. In the bottom half, Rakuten veteran pitcher Hiroki Yamamura threw away a sacrifice bunt 9their 5th error!) and Yomiuri capitalized, scoring 5 runs, highlighted by a monster 3-run homer from Seung-Yeop Lee. Nakamura pitched a quick ninth and the Giants had overcome a 6-run defecit to win 12-7.

Another ugly game from Rakuten who knocked out 16 hits but allowed 8 unearned runs. There's a reason they are in last place. The Giants meanwhile took over the lead in the Eastern League, a half-game in front of Lotte and Shonan. The Giants have a home-and-home with the Marines this weekend which should settle the pennant. I'll let you know who wins next week.

Thoughts on the Japanese minors

I was planning to see a Futures game today down in Yokosuka, but I'm not feeling all that well, so I'll skip it. Which means that my minor league schedule is finished for the year. Overall, I really enjoyed going to all these games - high-quality baseball, often for free. Sure, some of the stadiums are terrible, but it beats the big leagues here. I often wonder why the NPB doesn't upgrade their minor-league system as they could easily draw decent crowds with night games in decent stadiums, but I'm not complaining. I feel like I happened upon a secret and I'm happy if it stays that way. Next year I'll either be working or out of Japan and won't make any weekday games, which is rather depressing. But if I'm still here, I do hope to make it down to Kansai for some Western League games - there's still 5 parks I've yet to see. As always, check back here for updates.

Best,

Sean

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