Swallows fans
Visiting crowd reaction after one of Wladimir Balentien’s home runs in his record breaking 2013 season
TravelJapanBlog.com - Japan (07, 09-10, 13), Denmark (08, 11, 16-19, 21, 24), Korea (13), Poland (21), Mexico (14, 15, 19, 26), Iceland (17, 19), Hawaii (14, 17, 22), Czech Republic (16, 17, 19, 21)
|
The above will search Traveljapanblog.com. Concerts - Landscapes - Sports |
Posts tagged yakult swallows
Opening Day
Yasuhiro Ogawa (小川 泰弘) of the Yakult Swallows (Hiroshima, Japan 2013)
MLB begins today. NPB has been going for a couple weeks.
Ogawa, pictured above, is one of Japan’s finest. He is 1-1 on the young season with an ERA of 1.20. Over the past few seasons he has a combined ERA of 3.11. His rookie season, when I took today’s photo, was his best as he went 16-4 with a 2.93 ERA. Last year Yakult nearly won it all, but they are off to a rough start so far in 2016.
Pitching Change
Swallows’ fans crack out their umbrellas when it’s time to send the opposing pitcher to the showers
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) has their opening day in just over two weeks, more than a full week before MLB.
2015セリーグ優勝
2015 Central League Champions
@NPBinENG
For the first time in 14 years, the Yakult Swallows won the Central League of NPB and will be heading to the Climax Series. Play begins on October 14.
The umbrellas you see in today’s photo are the way Swallows fans celebrate a run. Yakult fans are insinuating that the opposing pitcher should head for the showers.
Baseball binoculars
明治神宮野球場での双眼鏡
I have seen binoculars at baseball games before, but this guy took things to a different level. I imagine he positions himself in this same spot for all games. He had the worst seat in the house, but with his binoculars on a tripod he had perhaps the best view of the action.
Lastings Milledge
Lastings Milledge of the Yakult Swallows
The “best 16-year old player” in 2001 is currently working to come back from a couple of injury-plagued seasons in Japan. He has played in just 4 of the Swallow’s 28 games so far this year.
Milledge’s best year as a pro came in 2012 for the Swallows when he hit .300 with 21 home runs. Today’s photo comes from 2013, the first year of a three-year $4.4 million contract for Lastings which has produced only 17 home runs so far and a batting average below .250 for Yakult.