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| JOE TAKES HIS HACKS BENEATH HISTORIC OSAKA CASTLE |
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| JOE BOUNCED BACK TO THE PITCHER, FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT HE SHOULD KEEP HIS DAY JOB AS A JOURNALIST! |
“You have done a superb job. It is an exceptionally good piece
of work.” – Jim, on “A Fan’s Guide To The World Baseball Classic”
Many fans have always wondered, which country has the best talent? The U.S., Dominican
Republic, Venezuela…Japan. The Japanese won the inaugural and 2009 World Baseball Classic and you can learn more about the history of baseball in Japan in World in a Ballpark: Baseball Goes Global, which is available for purchase at the Buy Joe's Guides page. If you're curious about the above photo, Joe happened upon a pick-up game taking
place beneath the Osaka Castle (you can see a small portion of the castle in the upper left hand corner of the picture) one
weekday morning in Osaka, which has been home to two Japanese professional teams, the Hanshin Tigers and the
Orix Buffaloes.
We hope you enjoy this collage of
Japanese baseball!
| A BASEBALL GAME IN JAPAN IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION |
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| CARP FANS AT OLD HIROSHIMA STADIUM ENJOY A SATURDAY NIGHT TILT AGAINST THE YOMUIRI GIANTS |
To say that the Japanese love their baseball would be an understatement.
They're freaking nuts!
Going to a Japanese baseball game is like attending a carnival or a big party.
Everyone's happily making lots of noise. Everyone's smiling. Everyone's is a good mood.
As you see in these two photos below, "cheer squads" are a huge part
of Japanese baseball. The Chiba Lotte Marines have the largest and most vocal cheer squad. Up until 2005, they were the Cubs
of Japan. They hadn't won the pennant in decades! But in 2005, the Marines won it all, erasing past frustrations just
like the Red Sox and White Sox did. The Marines won again in 2010. If you want to view a sample of the guide and how easy the guide works, visit the MLB Ballpark Trips page.
| STANDING, CLAPPING, CHEERING, STANDING, CLAPPING.. |
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| ..CHEERING. THE CHIBA LOTTE MARINES, NO LONGER PENNANT-DEPRIVED, HAVE THE LARGEST PEP SQUAD |
| STRIKE A POSE, THERE'S NOTHING TO IT... |
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| ...JOE HAVING SOME FUN IN THE BLEACHERS AT THE TOKYO DOME WITH HIS JAPANESE FRIENDS |
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| NO MONKEYING AROUND, THIS ONE BELOW IS UNCAGED! |
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| IN THE HILLS OF AHORI PARK, OSAKA. ABOVE RIGHT, A "TUFFY RHODES SUSHI BOX LUNCH" - 10,000 YEN, KIDDO |
| IN TUFFY, THEY TRUSTED: THE FORMER CUB WAS BIG... |
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| ...IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN - FOR HIS BIG SMILE AND EVEN BIGGER BAT |
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