This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
I don't think there was a dry eye at Jingu this evening (Oct. 17) for Yakult's "Ikeyama Night." Ikeyama played the entire game despite the fact that he was having a lot of trouble with his knees.
When he struck out to end the game in the bottom of the 10th, the noise level didn't decrease at all. The fans were with him all the way. Hiroshima's Hasegawa, after striking him out, came up to the beloved veteran, tipped his hat and shook Ikeyama's hand. I'm sure that even he was rooting for Bun Bun Maru to get one more hit.
Ikeyama did hit a double to left in the 8th inning. I really thought his knees were going to give out, but he hung in there for the complete game.
After a video of his career on the big screen in center, [
Akiyama] Ikeyama thanked the crowd, the Carp for staying through the cerimony, his kids, team mates, and many more. By the end of his speech, there wasn't a dry eye in the place. (I was glad that I had a box of tissues nearby as well.)Otsukaresama Ikeyama.
[Edited by: admin on Mar 1, 2003 5:06 PM JST]