In honor of the Giants-less baseball playoffs (what was Zimmer thinking?), I'll continue my writings of Japanese professional baseball... or puro-yakyuu.

Deddo booru (Dead ball). Shuuto (Shoot).

That's beanball (as in what Roger Clemens likes throwing) and screwball (as in what John Franco and Jim Mecir throws). Where they got those terms... I have no idea. Oh, and like half of the pitchers here in Japan throw a "shuuto." And nearly all of em throw splitters or forkballs (i.e. Kazuhiro Sasaki and Hideo Nomo). Combine those nasty pitches along with Koshien, the big nationwide high school baseball tournment that happens twice a year, and I think anybody can figure out why most Japanese pitchers' arms practically fall off by the time they turn 30.

"The count is 2-3 with 2 outs." (Translated)

2 and 3? 3 strikes? Isn't that an out? No, no. 2-3 is read as being 2 strikes and 3 balls here in Japan. Not 2 balls and 3 strikes as it would be read in America. It's the little differences.

Speaking of differences... strategy.

Bunt. Bunt. Bunt.

It doesn't matter who's at bat. If there's a man on first and less than 2 outs... they guy at bat is more than likely to bunt. Forget the hit and run. If Barry Bonds ever comes here to play Japanese baseball, he better learn how to lay down a bunt. Rob Neyer, and his devout disciple Ben Tao would go nuts.

"Hey, you swing like a Major Leaguer." (Translated)

I went to a batting cage a while ago. People stopped and took notice. Apparently, I swing differently from all Japanese hitters, both pro and amateur. According to them, I swing like an American Major Leaguer. How do they swing? After watching other people for a while... i noticed a few differences. All their swings were either level or in a downward motion. Mine were either level or in a upward motion... an uppercut. The level swing I can understand. The downward swing... yeah, that goes beyond all logic in my mind. Then there's the issue of the legs. They didn't try to generate any power for the swings from their legs... I did.

The fans.

Baseball? A pasttime? As Tony Soprano would say, "Forget about it." Japanese fans are super devout. Going to a Japanese baseball game is not about sitting down and having a good time. Going to a Japanese baseball game is about standing up for a majority of the time, following the the lead of the "mic man," and going all out for your team. Closest thing I can compare it to is going to a college football game in the student section.

Ahh, the repercussions of not having a real national military force. All that built up energy gets put into sports. No joke. It gets downright scary at times. Never will you hear a Japanese athlete say that "Baseball is a game." Instead you might hear things like "Baseball is a battle," or "Baseball is life," or "Baseball represents the struggle between... etc etc etc." or "Baseball is the sacrifice of the individual for the greater good." It's incredible. Gotta admire them for their commitment to their convictions.