High School Baseball

When we think of sport in Japan, many readers automatically assume Sumo is number one. Surprisingly, it is baseball that is the sport of choice among the Japanese.

The high school baseball tournament, called "Koshien"(ko-she-en), is held every summer, and is followed obsessively in the news. High school players are often drafted by professional teams here, so there can be big rewards for these young athletes.

I was invited by a friend to one of Kanagawa's "best 8" matches. This was only my second time to enjoy a ball game in Japan. I thought I would share some unique features of ball tournaments here.

The game was held in Yokohama Stadium, which is home to the professional league team DeNA Baystars. The stadium itself is quite large and quite a few fans came out to watch the high school boys.

cutenekko at the main gate:

 The view from inside the stadium:

 Scoreboard. The sign says this is the 94th annual high school baseball tournament. 

It also warned fans that the weather was very hot 

and to be careful regarding heat stroke or sunburns. 

 The team I came to see -- Yokohama Shonandai. Pre-game, they had a little prayer.

Before every game, the two teams line up near home plate and bow to each other, then to the umpires. I snapped this photo as they had just finished their bows.

The game began and we enjoyed cheering for our team:

In between innings, high school boys came around with clear bags, collecting garbage from fans. I was impressed. Fans leave the stands very clean in Japan!

The back of his vest says: "Be careful of foul balls."
Safety is always first in Japan. ^_^

By the end of the 5th inning, a grounds crew came out to tidy up the field:

The biggest difference between MLB in America and baseball in Japan? The cheering.
The main rules in Japan are:

• When your team is up at bat, you are free to cheer. If your team is pitching, you only clap at strikes, or when a batter is ruled out.
• Cheers are different for each batter. Fans often add the batter's name to the cheer.
• A cheer leader will hold up a sign, which designates which cheer will be used. The names are often based on popular songs. One high school team's cheer was called "Atom" and the music was based on the "Atom Boy" animated series.
• Finally, in the first and seventh innings, schools sing their school song. It's a tradition for high school baseball tournaments.

Okay, onto the videos which show how well organized these cheer groups are. The opposing team:

The next video shows the team I was rooting for, cheering on their high school seniors:

I hope you could get a taste of the boys of summer in Japan. The Kanagawa tournament finishes up this Sunday. The next tournament will be held in Osaka, and is the for the winning teams from each prefecture in Japan. It will begin in August. Games are usually only ¥500 ($5/ 200 baht) per ticket. Seats are non-reserved. 

Yokohama stadium information and how to access the site, is HERE.　日本語の情報とアクセスはココです。