Welcome to the northern most ballpark in the NPB! The wonderful little city of Sapporo, home to Sapporo Beer, is also the home of the Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Sapporo Dome.
We have spent two days in the city and were able to enjoy a lot of its offerings. After arriving on our flight from Tokyo, we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed to the Sapporo Beer Museum at the Sapporo Brewery. We were able to sample many of the fine selections of beers in the museum – kind of made me feel right back home in Wisconsin - including Sapporo Classic which is only sold in Hokkaido.
Taking some swings on the field.
This morning, we got up early and made our way to the ballpark. While the game wouldn’t be until later in the evening, the Sapporo Dome offers behind the scenes ballpark tours. I love to go on ballpark tours in the states (29 of the 30 teams offer them – only the Marlins don’t) so our small group of four made the trek over to the stadium to see how it is done in Japan. Of course, the entire tour is in Japanese and my grasp on the language is still limited. We expected this and just enjoyed wandering around behind the scenes, getting to sit in the dugouts, and walk on the field. (Check out this video of the incredible baseball to soccer transformation in the dome.)
Having seen a number of teams in pennant contention over the last couple of days, the matchup between the Fighters and the Eagles left something to be desired as both teams are near the bottom of the Pacific League. Even though this is the third game on the trip we saw the Fighters, we missed Yu Darvish and the traveling pack of MLB scouts again as he pitched last Saturday in Fukuoka – the day after we saw the Fighters take on the Hawks. However, we were treated to a complete game four hit shutout by Satoshi Nagai of the Eagles as they defeated the Fighters 9-0.
Tomorrow we are going back to Tokyo to see the Yakult Swallows take on the Giants at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. Hopefully, it will hold off.
Question of the Day
Q: Does the NPB use instant replay? – Fred
A: Yes. It can be used for most kinds of disputed calls. In fact, at the game at Yokohama Stadium earlier in the trip, we saw a home run call reversed. The entire crew went and took a look at the replay after the incensed BayStars manger came running onto the field. After making a ruling on the challenge, the home plate umpire actually takes a microphone and explains over the PA system why the call was made. It is pretty interesting and makes sure the right call gets made. By the way, it only delayed the game 2-3 minutes – most of which was time spent by the BayStars manager arguing the call. This is one area where Major League Baseball could learn a thing or two from the NPB.
Check out the Sapporo Dome Stadium Guide at Japanese Baseball Stadiums »
