Antho(n)logy: Sa-wing Batter!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Sa-wing Batter!

We had a little taste of home a few weeks back. Nothing says America like... BASEBALL!!! Nothing says Washington baseball like The Mariners!

The first pitch set the stage for the rest of the game:

Yup. He's in the ground...

The Mariner Moose made up for a lot in chuckle, though!

Ichiro is a baseball sensation in America, but here in his homeland of Japan, he is a HERO!!!

Good luck. Good life.

Baseball games in Japan are like attending college football games in the States. They have yell leaders, rowdy rags, and a BAND!!! No kidding!!!

And keg girls. They wear their neon outfits with their baseball caps perched and pinned on their heads like a shark fins. These teensie-weenie girls carry a keg-backpack and serve up cold ones up and down the stands. Now that is a workout!!!

All sorts of vendors are roaming the stands. You can buy any drink you like and get nearly any food from bentos to peanuts. It is like a drive-through without going anywhere!

The Mariners played the Yomiuri Giants, the oldest and most popular team in Japan (apparently): Yomiuri Giants Official Website. They are patterned after the SF Giants... The stadium was a sea of black and orange. Except for the three rows of Mariners fans. Our group was one of those rows.

Tim Putaansuu, Dona & Tom Connor, Jaye Sullivan (on phone with Gabe), Me, Allie & Dwayne Strand (Erin Strand taking pic, Liesl Strand "conveniently missing") Other M's fans behind us - see the hat on the left?!?

Behind us sat another third of the M's cheering section; a family of three boys and a little darling girl. A highly unusual number of kids for a Japanese family, not just for its size. Even numbers are unlucky. Four is a VERY unlucky number - "four people" translates to "dead person". So, you can see why it has a bad reputation...

This family was fabulous. The boys were as cute as could be. The older two wore M's caps. As the Dad went to get a jersey for the youngest boy (had no idea), I gave him our Mariners ball cap. From Safeco field. From Henry Smith to Stefan. We knew we could always get a new cap, from Safeco Field. And we knew how cool Henry would think it was to pass his cap on to a boy here - a fan of the Seattle Mariners! The dad tried to give it back to be polite. I refused. They were all estatic over the hat. Such a simple pleasure! Henry, you would be proud!