Besuboru Guy—World Baseball Classic

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One year ago on Round and Square (30 July 2012)—The Accidental Ethnographer: Nesting Rinds
Two years ago on Round and Square (30 July 2011)—Longevity Mountain: Into the Valley of Buddhist Sound

[a] Individual and Society RF

可飛ばせ, 山本!

Let 'er rip, Yamamoto!  OR
Fly to base, Yamamoto!

—Common Japanese baseball chant
(Yamamoto is a common surname, like "Jenkins")

And sometimes Yamamoto let's 'er rip (and flies to base) in international competition.

[b] Ichi(ro ban RF

Japan has been extraordinarily successful in games against the world's baseball-playing countries. Of the three World Baseball Classics that have been held, Japan has won twice and finished third the other time. 

That is quite amazing. As a contrast, the United Stats have finished fourth...once.

Could this be because of the team-oriented and harmonious traditions of my mother country (and the somewhat selfish and individualistic qualities of the American teams)?

Um, I'm Besuboro Guy's not talking (success has a way of speaking for itself).

[If you don't read Japanese, but want to have some sense of the Japanese kana and kanji in these posts, just copy the phrases and paste them into translation software such as Babylon or Google Translate].

[c] World watching RF

[Originally posted on August 20, 2014]