baseball

Japanese fans flock to U.S. to see Ohtani

17 Comments
By Jack Tarrant

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17 Comments
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Japanese tourists shifted from cold New York to hot Orange County this year.

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They probably did not know Orange county weather or went to watch games in Seattle. But nice to them to visit Angels Stadium. On Sunday night, Pujols had 3.000 th hit.

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Ichiro is an executive of Mariners main office.

Trout was 19 when he joined Angels. We used to watch Trout. actions. and Homeruns.

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I do not watch Japanese Pro Balls anymore. Players are small and stadiums shabby.

I can imagine that people feel familiar with players that resemble their own 'well fed' frames.

Nevertheless are J players successful in the US of A among local anabole steroid players :)

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I do not watch Japanese Pro Balls anymore. Players are small and stadiums shabby.

Besides the lip service that teams pay to the fans here in Japan, the JPBL system sucks and teams that are bad, stay bad because of a system that does not give them a chance to succeed.

Hiroshima has a brand new stadium. Yeah, still no hot dogs but the team is not owned by a major corporation. Tokyo centric?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I do not watch Japanese Pro Balls anymore. Players are small and stadiums shabby.

Besides the lip service that teams pay to the fans here in Japan, the JPBL system sucks and teams that are bad, stay bad because of a system that does not give them a chance to succeed.

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They could've flocked to Sapporo to see him last year. The allure of "a Japanese person performing on an international stage" strikes close to the hearts of many.

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@kawabegawa--inform their boss that they are going to use some of their allotted paid vacation days?

@sf2K--you can see the complete live games on NHK BS channels, usually between 8 am to 11 or 12. You're right that the evening sports shows just compile a bunch of highlight clips, but those kinds of shows also exist in the US and often show bias to larger market teams.

In some rare cases, an MLB game may be shown at a more convenient time, but NPB games get precedence at prime time. It just goes with the territory of being the local brand. I'm satisfied with the amount of sports programming in Japan, but with the usual critical comments I get the feeling that some will never be happy. Media blackouts exist in both US and Japan to get more butts in stadium seats, right?

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How did they get the time off work?

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My love for baseball is increasing tremendously day by day.

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This is a happy story and I hope it continues.

It may seem superficial for people to go overseas to watch a baseball game, but travel opens people's horizons. For some fans, this will be their first experience of another country. The number of young Japanese studying in English speaking countries has fallen significantly in recent years and questionnaires seem to indicate less interest in going overseas. If Ohtani can inspire a few more to go, even if just to watch him play, I think that's a good thing. The experience may change those people's lives.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I enjoy watching MLB. Stadiums are beautiful and players are big and powerful. I do not watch Japanese Pro Balls anymore. Players are small and stadiums shabby.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

My parents have had season tickets for about 20 years and they have been able to sell tickets well this season unlike the past few years. Heck, even used tickets sell online for a pretty penny.

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Good for them.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Taking a trip to sunny Southern California? Such dedication. Go to a game in Minneapolis or Cleveland in early April, then we'll talk.

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Baseball trips are fun. For those at home I hope people on TV can watch the entire game, not just when Ohtani is present.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

What else is new? They did it for Nomo, Ichiro, Aoki, and others too. Great for them.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

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