Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

...and not just any ball game.  Take me out to a Yokohama Baystars ball game and I'm a happy girl. Ever the clever planner,  Chris arranged for a night at the ball park last week that was lots of fun for all of us, from grandparents to kids. 

I'll confess to knowing only the absolute basics of baseball, despite the fact that my mother was an ardent card-collecting, statistics-taking fan of the game. Nor did the gene rub off by marriage, as my father-in-law, Neil, is also an enthusiastic fan. But even though I may not know the ins and outs of the innings and outs, I do love a good event, and a baseball game in Japan was easily that.

Instant fans: Just add baseball caps
(Go Baystars!)

Pay no attention to the more than half empty seats you spy in the pictures. While it's true the Baystars could use a few more fans, those that were there made sure to fill in any empty spaces with their enthusiastic chants, robust singing, and wild cheering when good fortune came their way. And although the stadium never came close to full capacity, what initially appeared to be a meager crowd was gradually augmented with the arrival of the salarymen, fresh from work and still in suits, bentos in hand.

Those of us who arrived without bentos in hand were suddenly ravenous by about the third inning, and luckily there was no shortage of ballpark fare. I'll admit that eating sticky rice with chopsticks at a sporting event is new to me, but I wasn't complaining. Others in the group went for the more traditional "France Dog". Were you to find this offering in a different continent you might confuse it with a "hot dog", but it is equally delicious, I'm told.

Besides the France Dogs, carmel corn, and bento boxes, another popular item in our group was the draft beer offered from the most adorable beer girls you have ever seen. Bright, smily, efficient, and hard-working, they hustled through the stands with kegs on their backs, cheerfully tapping beer and posing for pictures with their bright eyes and sweet smiles. If they were tired from lugging their lager from stair to stair, it never showed. Impressive!

        

Despite the ongoing entertainment of a cheerful crowd, the mascots and cheerleaders, and numerous fan participation opportunities (a command of the Japanese language would have been helpful here), our wee fans soon tired of shivering in the evening air. We coaxed them into staying till the 7th Inning Stretch and I think they were amused at the spectacle of balloons that fans sent zipping through the air. We left with the game still in the balance, and unfortunately learned later that our newly beloved Baystars had lost by a mere run. But it wasn't for lack of cheering from six new fans!