The Last Day of the Worst Season of the Year
Hello! I am writing this iteration from my dorm room. In between studying for Wednesday's Japanese test and packing for the trip immediately after, I am getting giddier by the second over my plans for the next 10 days.
Tomorrow, March 2, at 12 PM I will be in the Osaka Dome for Team South Korea's exhibition game against the local Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) League. The Tigers have 2 championships in their history, far less than the superpower Giants or Lions, yet their proximity to a major metropolitan area provides them with one of the loudest, fervent fanbases in the league. Remind you of anyone????? Even though they never employed any of the Ohtani, Oh, Ichiro level superstars, there are dozens of MLB alumni, many of whom had a stop in Baltimore, including Shintaro Fujinami, Glenn Davis, and Lew Ford. Their best all time player is Randy Bass, a 6 year MLB veteran of 5 different teams who struggled against MLB pitching, but carried the Tigers to a championship in his MVP 1985 season. More impressive than his two triple crowns is the fact that he is the all-time NPB single-season batting average leader. Followed by two Ichiro Suzuki seasons, Bass hit for a record .389 average the year after his MVP. After his professional baseball career he worked in politics, ultimately as the Minority Leader of the Oklahoma Senate. Pretty cool stuff for a MLB hitter unable to find a roster spot.
While the game I have a ticket for begins at 12 tomorrow, I am planning on getting to the stadium area around 10 AM and staying until I have to leave. Team Japan plays at 7 PM so at the very least I will be amongst crowds of fans and if I find a ticket, I will do so inside. Even if I am seeing only one game tomorrow, that is infinitely more live baseball than I have seen since August. Which was way too long ago. After Wednesday's test, I am packing my suitcase and boarding a bullet train to Tokyo and checking into my Airbnb where I will be living until the end of the tournament. It is a private room with wifi and I can supposedly get to the Tokyo Dome in under an hour. Out of the 10 tournament games that are scheduled, I have tickets to 4 and will continue scrounging resale sites for more. I want to see 1 Team Japan game, but I think it will be almost more impactful to watch Team Japan play in a sports bar or restaurant with the masses. I assume the scene of the first Ohtani home run will be unlike anything I have ever experienced, and his second, third, fourth, fifth.... will also.
In all of my excitement for the baseball, I have yet to realize that I will be in Tokyo for a week. Described to me as 'New York City on steroids', I am eager to be in the busiest place in the entire world at one of their busiest times. Because I am there for so long, I can see what it's like on a weekday, weekend, midnight, and in the middle of the afternoon. Not unlike my solo excursions to NYC, I am there for the purpose of watching baseball but I am going to explore until I have to sleep.
If my host isn't lying to me about the wifi, I will be producing far more entries about my experiences watching baseball and taking in the biggest, busiest city in the world. I am incredibly excited and am soaking in every second. We did it everybody. The wait is over. Baseball season is finally, finally here. Thank you for reading.
Oliver
