World Baseball Classic 2009 newspaper article

Japanese fans' devotion lures them from Utah to San Diego. Published March 19, 2009 in The Olympian, an Olympia, Washington newspaper. The latest reports from Olympia's Oscar Soule at the World Baseball Classic in San Diego: Five hours before game time, the streets in front of Petco Park are deserted except for a small cluster of Japanese baseball fans and Nippon TV reporter Natsuko Aoike at the corner of Tony Gwynn Drive and Park Boulevard. Her viewers are getting their morning news in Tokyo. As Aoike begins her interviews of these 11 fans, ranging in age from 4 to 40, they cheer, yell, jump, and wave flags and fans. It is a grand television moment. The scene, over breakfast in Tokyo, will show controlled chaos while here it looks like a sound stage. Natsuko Aoike is based in New York City for the Nippon Television Network. She is the only TV-caster (her term) devoted solely to Major League Baseball for NTV. This is her third year following the success, primarily, of Japanese baseball players around the major leagues. However as she wryly points out, “being in New York brings them to me.” Natsuko has been in San Diego for all of Round 2 and will continue with her crew to Los Angeles for the semifinals and finals of the WBC. Aoike made the most of her few fans present. As she gathered a couple of characters she had seen earlier in the week, more flocked in until she had everyone on the street, all 11. They finished after a second take and the “crowd” broke up. A couple of men were from Japan; Tokyo and Nagoya. There was a family from San Diego and a group of three young women who had traveled to San Diego from Utah. Two are Japanese, Manami Onuma and Yayoi Tonami, and one Korean, Susan Walker. “We became friends out of necessity given the small Asian community in Utah,” said Walker. They are all die-hard baseball fans and were pulled to San Diego because Japan and Korea are playing in the WBC. Manami and Susan are Boston Red Sox fans because of Diasuke (Dice-K) Matsuzaka. Yayoi is a Seattle Mariner fan because she follows Ichiro. However, their passion for the game goes back to their childhoods. All three credit their fathers, and in one case both parents, for instilling a love of baseball. Manami grew up with the Yomiuri Giants; Yayoi with the Yakult Swallows; and Susan with the Boston Red Sox because her family lived in New England. The three young women arrived Tuesday night in time to see Korea defeat Japan. This evening, it is a “loser out” game between Japan and Cuba. Susan’s statement drew approving nods from her friends. “Last night it was for me. Tonight, it will be for them.” If she is correct, there is no telling what the three will do. Later, Japan did defeat Cuba 4-0 behind the brilliant pitching of Hisashi Iwakuma and Ichiro’s first hits in this round of the series. Possibly, Yayoi’s presence helped. All three young women must be pleased because now both teams move on to Los Angeles. However, Korea will host Japan tonight in the final game of Round 2 to determine seating places. The real friction will come for these three friends if Korea and Japan meet in the WBC finals, which many predict. Oscar Soule, For The Olympian