Take me out to the (Japanese) Ball Game

CheapyD

CheapyD

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I went to my first real (the WBC didn't count) Japanese baseball game last weekend. Myself, Mrs. Cheapy, and two friends got to see the Hanshin Tigers take on the Yomuri Giants.

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The two biggest differences between American baseball and Japanese baseball are:

1) The Fans: They are really into elaborate cheering/chanting. Not only do the teams have their own cheers, but each player has their own too.

Here are a few videos:

2) The Concessions: There are no fat guys slinging beer walking the stadium. All vendors are young women. You may remember this video of one of the beer girls (who carry small kegs on their back) which I posted from the WBC. Here are a couple new photos.

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Cheering is so much a part of the game, that the popcorn container is designed to turn into a megaphone once you have finished the popcorn.
 
hilarious and awesome - the yomuri giants are amazing, i really wanted to see a ball game when i was there but just couldn't fit it in.

also, soccer games are supposed to be nuts too. go Kashima Antlers!

so uh, who won?
 
Yomuri Giants won 4-2

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20060702TDY22006.htm
Koji Uehara won for the first time since April 28, pitching Yomiuri to a 4-2 victory over the Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Dome as the Giants snapping a 10-game losing streak.
The Giants losing skid ended at 10 games, one shy of the franchise's worst ever losing streak, an 11-game abscess suffered in 1975.
Uehara (3-4) allowed two runs in seven innings, striking out seven and giving up six hits.
"It was crucial for us," said the Giants ace. "I just wanted to come flying off that mound. I wasn't thinking about going the distance. If I went all out for five or six innings, that would do."
The Giants scored in the first after Mototsugu Kawanaka doubled to leadoff the inning and scored on a groundout. Although the Tigers took the lead, the Giants turned the table in the sixth on three pitches.
Tomohiro Nioka tied it with an RBI double, while Lee Seung Yeop put Yomiuri ahead by also smacking the first pitch he saw for a double and Yoshinobu Takahashi did the same.
Takahashi, who has missed already been out twice injured this season, once for a 27-day stretch and later for 32 days, returned to action on Friday as a pinch-hitter but this time made an impact.
"I had been away for a long time and had a lot of painful thoughts," Takahashi said. "But once you step on the field, your adrenaline starts pumping. It's great to be back."
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Would you say that baseball is the dominant sport in Japan? I don't think soccer is as popular as baseball in Japan.
 
I posted this in the CAGcast thread but think it might be appropriate here:

You might want to check out an hour long program on PBS tonight about high school baseball in Japan. It's on the program P.O.V. and in the NYC area it's going to be on Channel 13 at 10. It will be shown again on Monday, July 10 at 1:05 A.M. I read a review of it in today's Times and it looks like it's going to be good.
 
I'm curious how competitive fans are with each other. For instance, if the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Chicago Cubs are in town, Great American Ballpark (the Reds' stadium, where I go to all the games I can) is damn close to a 50-50 split between home and away fans. How does Japan compare in that regard (especially since the teams' cities are far closer together and considering transporation, it should be nothing to go see your home team play an away game)? Are they violent or respectful to one another? Do they have "counter chants" for teams/players, or do they try to interfere with opposing team chants?

I know I have my assumptions due to the stereotypes of Japanese as perpetually submissive people. However that can't be consistent over everything, and sport is often a culturally-acceptable means of competing with other people, even when you are only tangentially related to what goes on on the field (within and between national soccer games are extremely reflective of that phenomena).

That PBS show looks interesting. Thanks Cheapymom!
 
When I was there, it seemed some of the fans were so into the cheering that they were not really paying attention to the game (almost like "professional" cheerleaders, I guess).

Another funny thing I saw was the home team coming out of the dug out after the game to apologize to the fans for losing. I do not know if this game had special significance or not, but that really cracked me up.
 
Whenever i see a post from cheapymom, i feel like i've done something wrong - like she's watching over us... because she's a mom.
 
[quote name='cdeener']CheapyD, when will we ever get to see Mrs. CheapyD?[/quote]When she gives me permission...
 
[quote name='CheapyD']When she gives me permission...[/QUOTE]

so probably not a while, right? :lol:

"lets go popcorn! lets go popcorn! whoooo popcorn"
 
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