By Ben VerlanderFOX Sports MLB Research
Editor’s note: Ben Verlander is spending time in Japan exploring Shohei Ohtani’s roots, learning about the country’s culture and meeting be with happy people. This is the second in an ongoing series that began on Friday, August 19.
What’s up, everyone? It’s Day 2 in Japan and I couldn’t be happier with another day of this trip. Before I head to the Tokyo Dome to watch the Tokyo Giants take on the Hanshin Tigers (NPB’s version of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry), I wanted to take a few minutes to play yesterday bit everything. It also happened to be one of the best days of my entire life.
We were at Yokohama Stadium to watch the Yokohama Baystars and the Hiroshima Carp.
To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. We came, got our credentials and met with different people from the Baystars community. They could not have been more kind and generous with the whole experience. It was really nice.
Then we walked into the stadium – it was my first time in a Japanese baseball stadium – and I was disappointed. I walked out of the tunnel and just took it all in. This place is great. It seats about 34,000 people and is completely circular, with steep rows of blue seats. You’ll feel like you’re on the field even if you’re on the 50-yard line. Another thing that jumps out right away is how small the field is: 309 feet. down the line but only 380 in the middle, but with a 16-foot wall that wraps the entire field outside. You can imagine that there are some very high-quality games out there.
We walked in while the teams were in the middle of taking BP. One thing was known right away: In Japanese baseball, the home team will have two players who play at the same time with two different boats. There is also a lot to do with batting practice. It’s usually a full training session before the game starts. There are pitchers who work out there, guys who hit the tee on the side, for example, the list goes on. You never see this in MLB.
During the BP, I met the star pitcher of the Baystars, Shota Iminaga. He was happy to come and shake hands. I asked him how he liked putting it in a small ballpark. He made a point that if the batsmen from the United States played, they would hit more runs in the park. I also asked if he had a goal of playing in the MLB, to which he said “absolutely.”
After that, we headed to the team store. I have decided to buy a jersey for every game I attend this week. Naturally, I should pick up a beautiful white Iminaga No. 21.
Next, we hit the default setting. Hard.
The cuisine here is very different. I tried everything from pork belly to ice cream and topped it with one of the best curries I’ve ever tasted. I will have a full video breakdown on all of this coming soon.
Then the doors opened. And let me tell you, I was not ready for what happened next. I’ll agree with you: I’m very proud to say that my podcast, Flippin’ Bats, is the No. 1 baseball podcast in Japan. Despite knowing that, however, I couldn’t have known the response I would get from fans in Japan.
Within 30 seconds of the doors opening to fans, two girls came up and asked for a picture. One of the girls burst into tears. That is normal. We took hundreds of pictures. It was a special day.
Shohei Ohtani’s influence was well known. All this because of him. I became the No. 1 Shohei player on the other side of the world. After flying 13 hours around the world, the appreciation and love was immediately noticed.
Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and host of the “Flippin’ Bats” podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before joining his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @BenVerlander.
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