Japan Blog

Weeks 21 & 22: June 17th - June 30th

Entries completed: June 21st & 30th

June 21st

Not so bright...

I am having one of those "if my head weren't attached" kind of weeks. A couple of days ago in Yokohama I forgot to bring my uniform to the field with me. In Japan your hotel room is more your locker than your actual locker on the road at the stadium. Each day your laundry from the day before is available at lunch. You grab it and bring it back to your room. I put on my batting practice clothes like I do everyday and then put my game clothes (uniform, socks, jock, etc.) in a nice neat pile on the chair in my room. I missed the next critical step which was to then take the nice neat pile of game clothes and put them in my equipment bag. I was not aware of my mistake until I reached Yokohama Stadium. I summoned Monna San to handle the problem for me. In the end I had to pay for an employee from the hotel to take a taxi round trip from the hotel to the stadium. That cost me ¥10,000. Nice way to start the road trip.

Earlier today we took the bullet train from Yokohama to Nagoya. In Japan whenever you take a subway or bullet train you have to keep your ticket and run it through a machine in order to exit the station. As I approached the exit gate I realized I had left my ticket on the train, which was long gone by now, wedged between the head rest in front of me. Once again I summoned Monna to help me. We talked to the ticket agent at the gate. Originally they were going to charge me for another ticket, at least $100 but Monna talked to the agent, let him know I was with the Hawks and after some haggling they let me go. Monna did a nice job but also proceeded to tell me "You do that all the time." This was the first time I forgot my ticket on either the bullet train or subway to which he quickly (at least quickly by Monna standards) replied, "Yeah but you forgot your uniform the other day in Yokohama." He is not a dumb as I think sometimes.

I had an interesting night in Yokohama. With an off day coming up I thought it would be interesting to see some of Yokohama at night. One of my teammates and I decided to venture out on our own with no translator and no plan. We wandered into a tiny sushi shop near Yokohama Station. I would tell you the name of it but I couldn't read the sign or the business card. It was just a tiny place that could hold maybe 10 people.

Dinner was great. I like sushi a lot but surprisingly haven't eaten much of it in Japan. This was one of those mom and pop type places. We got to talking to the sushi chef and one of the patrons, a business man who spoke pretty decent English. He had asked us what we did and I told him we were here playing baseball. Back in the States you sometimes try to avoid telling strangers you are a professional baseball player the first time you meet them. It can often lead to uncomfortable conversations and situations. For whatever reason I have no problem telling people in Japan that I play for the Hawks. I think it has something to do with the opportunity as an American to be an encouragement to Japanese baseball fans. I feel very comfortable around the fans here and they seem to really enjoy interacting with the foreign players. The Japanese players are generally more distant with the fans here so it's fun for them when you talk with them a little and let your personality show. They get excited but almost never to the point where you're concerned.

I really struggle with Japanese names. I feel bad. People will tell me their name and more often than not it is the first time I have heard that name and I have a difficult time repeating it. This was the case here. Our business man friend told us we could call him "Maximus" because that is what they called him when he was in California for a year. Naturally it got shortened to Max. I enjoyed talking with Max, he was a nice guy and a genuine baseball fan. He seemed pretty excited to have met us and offered to take us out after dinner. Under normal circumstances I would never do such a thing. In Japan I find myself doing things I would normally never do so we joined Max.

He took us to a favorite bar of his. Now I am not much of a drinker these days but I allow myself a drink or two (maybe three) every now and then. Different people have different opinions on whether or not a person who calls himself a Christian should even be in a bar. For me it is a non issue. I have no problem with it. I am always in complete control of my thoughts and actions, if I were to lose that then I may want to reconsider my stance on where I hang out. If Jesus ate at Matthew's house I think it's OK for me to be in a bar. After hanging in Max's favorite spot for about an hour with one of his friends who was also at dinner and then we decided to go for karaoke.

Karaoke in Japan gets a little bizarre. At one point I was in a karaoke room with about 7 people and I had known just one of them before the night began. It was a lot of fun but sometimes I look around and ask myself, "Where am I right now?" It is really unusual to me but to be honest I really enjoyed it. Hanging out with people who speak little or no English in a country really far away from home is a lot of fun for me. Japan has been a great experience and I am meeting a lot of interesting people.

On the baseball front, the real reason I am here, the Hawks are struggling. We have lost 4 straight and wrap up interleague play this weekend in Nagoya. We have two days with no games leading up to the series so maybe the team can get refreshed and back on track. We have been slowed by a few injuries which has hurt our offense. We are hanging in there and are still in a great position to make a run at the Pacific League title. There is a lot of season left as we approach the halfway point.

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June 30th

Nice in Nagoya...

Nagoya treated us well. After dropping 4 in a row we were able to pull off the 2 game sweep at the Nagoya Dome versus the Dragons, the second place team from the central league. Our offense, which had been struggling, put up 15 runs in the two games. We needed that.

Our new gaijin, pitcher Jason Standridge, made his debut and picked up a win. Jason threw up a zero as we say (a shutout inning) in the 5th while we were down 4-0. The team rallied back in the top of the 6th and we took the lead 6-4. Not bad for Jason, 1 game, 1 win. I teased him that I had been here for 5 months and haven't even come close to getting a win. As a reliever you just fall into wins, it's all about being in the right place at the right time.

I got into both of the game in Nagoya and had positive results. I feel like I am really starting to catch a groove since I have been back from the minors and Lord willing that continues. We now have 4 days without a game, something very unusual for me. We'll practice 3 of those days and you do whatever you can to try and stay sharp. We have good momentum right now and we don't want to lose it.

Our interleague record finished at 11-13, 8 games back of the Nippon Ham Fighters. By posting the best record in interleague the Fighters claimed the 50 million yen team prize. In Japan the team with the best record in interleague play wins approximately $400,000. I am told half goes to the players and staff and the other half goes back to the team. Not a bad 12 months for the Fighters, they were the Japan and Asia Series winners last post season. Manager Trey Hillman is having a nice run.

Off the field Nagoya was fun. We had bad weather but I managed to find my way out for a little while. I once again found myself singing karaoke with a few strangers. It wasn't a late night as we had day games but it was still fun. Nagoya seems like a cool place.

I have posted some videos on the front of my MySpace page. I hope you enjoy them. You can also catch them and others on YouTube.com, account name Nicochan35.

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