Take Me Out to the Hyakyu Game

First I have to give my friend Jim credit for the title and the closing.




Page 2.


It was the first time I've arrived at a ballpark an hour early since the Cubs game last summer at Wrigley... but there was no batting practice. We knew we were going to sit in the outfield, that's where where all the cheering happens. Traditionally the home team's fans sit in right field, and the visitors in left. It had been raining most of the day, and the rain stopped just before we arrived at the ballpark.

Where you are trying to dodge ticket scalpers outside of an American ballpark, you are trying to pick out the best scents of what delicacy you will partake outside of the Japanese ballpark.



We chose a type of okonamiyaki (it looked much less messy on the grill), that once placed in the take out tray, is the most delicious, messy, Japanese baseball goodness you could have. You don't have to buy your food in the stadium, you can buy it outside the park and bring it in with you. Or pack your own lunch/dinner or bento box. Or if you get hungry during the game, you can stamp you hand, get some more okonamiyaki, and bring it back in. And you can do it all without missing any of the game since the stadium was fairly small and the vendors are literally right outside the exit. We didn't save enough room to even try the grilled corn (although I know Iowa corn would have won in a heartbeat - but to still taste sweetcorn is a dream I've had since last July). The vendors outside the stadium had more a market than a food court - you could get anything, from kitchen knives to fresh flowers.















I don't care what people say, it's still baseball without the hot dogs and peanuts... but what about the beer?

I wasn't looking for the hot dogs, so they could have still sold them at the stadium. I was too full from our tasty treat. The only place I remember seeing hot dogs at in Yokohama was at IKEA, but the breakfast binge didn't leave room for hot dogs (sorry honey). You could still get beer at the vendors. There were two vending stand in in right field, one for souvenirs, and one for food (manned with two people in nothing more than an 8 x 8 ft trailer). But why go to the vendors when the beer would come to you, in easy to spot beer women. They were hard to miss, they all wore florescent colors that I swore most of us wore in the late 80s (some into the 90s).





You could spot them across the stadium. (It made me think that it was easy for management to ensure none of their folks were sitting idle, but I wouldn't expect that from the mostly dedicated Japanese work ethic). And I'm not going lie, it didn't hurt that most of the beer girls were young and good for the single guys to look at (without getting myself into too much trouble). Jim and I managed to do our own little taste test amongst the Japanese beers. Among the three, Yebisu won, followed by Kirin and Sapporo.



(As delicious and the airline peanut sized snack looks, it's dried fish and almonds. Not so delish.)


But why we came of course was for the game... (the video came from our camera and not the flip).

Every time your team is up to bat, you are on your feet cheering and making noise. Most of the time these cheers are chants that all the fans know, and are let by a man who gets on a box like the marching band conductor and leads the cheer. His supporting cast includes the flag bearer and a trumpeteer. Most players received support like this when they were batting:



But not Murata-san. When he stepped up to the plate, his supporting cast in right field would start a different ritual. I was waiting for him to part the clouds... but I had to settle for Murata-san hitting a single.





Another difference was the call to the bullpen. Most pitchers come jogging out of the bullpen in the States, but in Japan, they gave them a ride in a Toyota MR2.



One final difference, something the NFL and NBA have caught on, even the NCAA, but MLB has yet to pickup: cheerleaders. Here they are doing the Yokohama Bay Stars song (part of the lyrics: oh, oh, wow, wow; Yokohama Bay Stars):




Cause it's ichi, ni, san strikes you're out... and the Bay Stars lost to the Nippon Fighting Hams, a lot to a little.