After losing 7 games in a row, we finally won tonight 7-4 over the first place Hawks and Ct’s own, Gary Burnham was the hero.
After a 12 day, 9 game road trip to Sendai, Hokkaido and Osaka, we returned home to Marines Stadium for a 3 game series against the Hawks. Unlike the US, all series in Japan are 3 games except for Inter league play when the series are only 2 games.
We got off to a rocky start giving up 1 in the first inning and 2 in the third to fall behind 3-0 but in the bottom of the third we rallied for 3 to tie it up.
In the bottom of the 6th with a runner on 2B, Ct’s own, Gary Burnham, delivered a 2 run Home Run to right that turned out to be the winning runs as we went on to win 7-3.
In Japan, every game awards a hero of the game. After the game, the hero is interviewed on the field in front of all the fans, who always stick around to celebrate. After the interview, the hero heads out to the right field cheering section, where our most loyal fans sit, where he does a little ritual with the team mascots and basks in the glory as the fans sing the hero’s fight song. He then heads back to the dugout shaking hands and giving high fives to all the adoring fans waiting along the rail. Then it is on to interviews with the press followed by another celebration with the fans in front of the stadium on a small stage where the fans wait for the day’s hero to make and appearance and say a few words.
It really is incredible and a wonderful experience for those fortunate enough to have the opportunity. Gary had a blast as did his lovely fiancé , Rachel, also from the great state of Connecticut.
Besides being a heck of a player, great guy and ultimate competitor, Gary is a guy who truly loves baseball and is proud to put on a uniform each and every day. Among his many accomplishments, Gary holds the all time home run record for the Redding Phillies. Check out the link below which pays tribute to the Redding Home Run Champ.
Click here for Gary’s career stats and bio.
Enjoy the photos of Gary’s great night:
Bobby and Frank:
I stumbled across this blog while reading posts on JapanBall.com. You guys do a great job of blogging! I thought the GPS in Tokyo story was hilarious. You should never drive without our good friend Koji as a navigator. Please give my regards to Paul Pupo. Go Marines!
Comment by Steve Ikeda — July 22nd, 2009 @ 2:57 pm