Baseball in Japan

It is no secret, Japan loves its baseball. I went to watch my local team, the Dragons. They have been the central region champions for many years (not consecutively), including 2011. This year they are in second place. They were playing the Osaka Tigers.

While there might have only been two other foreigners in the entire stadium, we ended up sitting next to a nice American pilot who was in town on a 48hr layover.

So much of the game atmosphere was the same as in America. When the players came to the plate, they each had their song, most (80%) of which were in English. Number 6 must have been special because he did not have a radio song; when he came to the plate, the official cheering section of fans played him a song. He was their #4 batter so he must also be a favorite in skill. Some of the cheers were also the same; for example:
clap-clap, clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-clap-clap, boom-boom
and
doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo, CHARGE!
The large screen would show pictures and the words were in English.
I'm betting baseball fans have a better English understanding than others.
*There are also two channels here that seem to air American baseball constantly. Go Red Sox!

The game went pretty quickly and took 3 hours in total. After the earthquake, last year, they implemented a time-limit for games of 3.5hrs, to conserve electricity. With this new rule, some games end in a tie. This game, however, did not :-) The Dragons won soundly (4-0). Maybe 5-0 or 6-0?

While they are called the Dragons, their mascot is a koala. I'm not sure why since a dragon is pretty awesome. They are all about kuwaii (cute) things here so I can see how the koala would help sell souvenirs but I would think they would have both a dragon and koala in that case. Maybe dragons have too many religious links to be used as silly mascots? They also had these kuwaii yoshi characters that ran around with pom-poms, cheering. Baseball has cheerleaders. The women were so tiny!

The food selection was amusing. Instead of peanuts, people ate edimame. Instead of a burger/McDonalds, people ate bento boxes with rice, sushi, veggies (you could get the meals in cute jersey-shaped lunch boxes.

The best part was the official cheering section for each team. Fans had giant flags with the team logo, drums, trumpets, and costumes. They would lead the fans in the majority of cheers while their team was up to bat. When the other team was up to bat, all fans remained respectfully-quiet. There was no jeering toward either umpires or opposing fans, though at one point I did see some Dragons fans tease a Tigers fan. Almost everybody in the stadium had these little bats they would bang together with the beat. While the Dragons' cheering section was fun, the Tigers' cheering section was amazing. They were extremely-lively and creative. I enjoyed when the Tigers were batting so I could listen to their band. Apparently, the Tigers are known throughout the country for having the most enthusiastic fans. They are probably the most similar to Americans.

The cost of a ticket: 2600 yen.
I attended the game with K'. It was great. I would go again.