Posts Tagged ‘baseball’

Hatoyama’s first pitch

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama throws the ceremonial first pitch at special baseball game held on the 22nd to commerate the 60th anniversary of the Central/Pacific league:

Hatoyama was able to throw it all the way to the catcher, and the umpire apparently called it as a strike.

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Ichiro ejected!!

Having long been an Ichiro fan, I was amused to find this video of the usually subdued baseball superstar being ejected from a game!  Apparently he is the first Mariner to be ejected this season.

Wonder what English he conjured up on this occasion.  Please comment your guesses.

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Contributor Bio: I am a doctoral student of environmental anthropology currently living and conducting research in a mountain village in Nagano. In my research I explore modernity as it is expressed in a rural mountain community. Specifically I look at national management structures, as well as social discourses, related to forests and probe the impacts these have on local human communities. I have lived and worked in Japan for 5 years. My interests also include Buddhism, literature, music, and mountaineering. Read more at my personal blog: In the Pines.
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Ichiro meets Obama

One of the top stories on the news yesterday was Ichiro Suzuki’s meeting with President Barack Obama in the locker room at the All-Star Game:

When the president came up to Ichiro Suzuki, or just Ichiro as the Japanese like to call him, Ichiro told reporters that he had planned to casually say “What’s up?” However, once face-to-face with the Barrack, Ichiro lost his nerve and was unable to say much more than something like, “It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” he admitted.

Despite his nervousness, and disappointment from missing his chance to gingerly greet the President, Ichiro was able to get his signature on a baseball.

He’s not used to such formalities, and says it was the first time that he called somebody “sir.” The players had been told they couldn’t get autographs from the President, but Ichiro got one because Obama offered him one.

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Samurai vs. Baseball

A Japanese swordsman takes down a 130km/h fastball:

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Bear stops playing with baseball bat

A bear that drew visitors with his bat-twirling antics has mysteriously stopped playing with his bat, much to the dismay of zookeepers:

Cloud, who resides at the Asa Zoological Park in Asa-Kita Ward here, was last seen twirling on Sept. 27.

Nicknamed the Kung-fu Bear, Cloud started spinning poles in 2003. By March this year, he would spin about 15 times a day for up to 15 minutes at a time. But by September, he was spinning just once or twice a day.

Batting bear thrills visitors at Hiroshima Zoo

A video news report about Cloud, an Asian black bear at the Hiroshima City Zoo that likes to swing around a bat:

Cloud had originally played with a stick, but yesterday he received a special present from the Hiroshima Carp: an official game bat. Now both the zoo and the baseball team can share in the free advertising they’re getting from the media!