March flies in like a swallow

Okinawa is the Florida of Japan, so it isn't surprising that eight Japanese professional baseball teams and three Korean teams were on island for spring team during the month of February.

I first heard about spring training last year from some of my co-workers. So attending spring training has been on my Okinawa Must Do List since August 2008.

Oh, for those who don't know, I love baseball and it has been my dream since I was a child to live in a city with a professional baseball team so I could regularly attend games. Ideally this city would be Chicago and I would have season tickets to the Cubs.

Benny and I try to go to a few baseball games a year, which is more difficult since we are now living in Japan. Last summer we went to Wrigley Field with my parents when we were in the States for a short visit. In Yuma, we cheered for Yuma's minor league team. When Benny was in Iraq two years ago, I went to L.A. Dodgers Opening Day with three female friends from Port Hueneme.

For the last month, I've wanted to go to a Japanese baseball game, but I haven't because:

1) It's been hot and humid and I'm already hot, so I don't want to be outside without air conditioning

2) I thought I might have the baby at any moment, so I didn't want to risk my water breaking during the 7th inning stretch

3) I'm pregnant and sleepy, so taking a nap is much more appealing on most days than spending the afternoon sitting on hard bleachers.

On Sunday though, the weather was comfortable and cloudy. Perfect weather for me. And I had become a bit stir-crazy from spending the past week at the house waiting for Baby V to arrive. I checked online and found that there were two games on Sunday afternoon, one in Nago (which is more than a hour drive away) and another in Naha (which is only a 30 minute drive).

I packed us a lunch and told Benny that spring training was over so we were going to a Season Opening Game, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs. Yokohama Bay Stars at Urasoe Baseball Field near Naha.



I would have rather seen the Nippon Ham Fighters play because I think the mascot "Ham Fighter" is hilarious. But they were playing in Nago and I didn't want to travel that far.




We found the stadium with no problem, but it wasn't the usual American baseball experience. Parking was free. Beer was 200 yen, less than $3 a glass. You could bring a cooler of food into the stadium and most families did. Food was sold at the stadium, but you needed to eat it with the aid of chopsticks. No hot dogs or hamburgers. Players sprinted to their positions. The player's legs were normal sized, not huge, so I don't think there is a steroid scandal here. And the last time I saw numerous bunts was during my high school softball game.

We sat on the Bay Stars side. The cheering was intense, especially when your team was up to bat. It took us some time to be able to read the score board, but we finally figured it out. It was a fun detective project for us on Sunday afternoon.


We're still debating what they are saying in the chants that we heard over and over every inning.
Michelle votes: "It's ok; Yes we can; something something something"
Benny votes: same as Michelle


Kids went nuts for the Bay Stars mascot, we think the kids called him "Hoshi". You should have seen it when they shot t-shirts into the crowd (sorry, no video).



The biggest cultural difference from American baseball was watching a player's reaction after he hit a homerun to tie the game in the top of 9th inning. The crowd chanted his name as he ran to his position in left field. He covered his face with his glove to conceal the embarrassment of all the attention. He kept trying to persuade the crowd to stop cheering, as if it was no big deal.

That home run in the top of the ninth ended up being negated with the home team scoring in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

Benny's baseball firsts:
1. Benny had the height advantage (for once) and could have easily caught the t-shirt shot into the stands by Hoshi that landed two seats next to us. But Benny was a good sport and let the little boy catch the kids size small t-shirt.
2. A line drive foul ball came right at us, no kidding. Just over Benny's head. Benny's hand was going up to catch it, but he felt myself falling backwards off the bleacher as Michelle dove for cover. It all went in slow motion, and tipped off his middle finger... into the stands behind us. If he was only 8 years old and still brought his glove to the game, I would have had it.
3. Benny picked the Bay Stars as his team, since that was the side we sat on. On the way out, we paid 200 yen to reach into a box and pick a number, 1 to to 4, corresponding to a prize. Michelle went first and got a 4, the token prize that everyone was getting, a hands free cell phone lanyard with earpiece that conforms to the Japanese cell phone driving law. When Benny pulled out a 2, the crowd let out a "ooooooooooooooooooh" as he was handed a Yakult Swallows jersey! He jumped up and down in excitment, it was a great day.
5. Benny speaking: We went to opening day on a spontaneous decision, not having any idea it was Opening Day until Michelle told Benny 15 minutes before we left. Michelle confirmed her selection as Wife of the Year for 2009!