Besuboru Guy—Outfields of Dreams

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One year ago on Round and Square (5 June 2012)—The Accidental Ethnographer: Ocean and Isle (Maori)
Two years ago on Round and Square (5 June 2011)—Hurtin' Country: The Heart That You Own

[a] Individual and Society RF

可飛ばせ, 内田!

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

—Common Japanese baseball chant
(Tanaka is a common surname, like "Olson")

And that's what hitters try to do—let 'er rip (and fly to base).

[b] Vast RF

And when the batter smacks the ball over that infield we've talked so much about, and it carries high over the heads of the infielders, a number of things can happen. 

If the dimensions of the outfield are large, even a well hit ball might be a very long "out." 

On the other hand, in a little ballpark with stubby little walls and short distances to home plate, even a lazy fly ball may drift into the stands and become a home run.

These things matter, and Japanese ballparks have a few surprises. 

While most of them carry the dimensions of American major league parks, five are so small that they would not meet the standards of Major League BaseballTM. 

[c] Outfield dreaming RF

And that has consequences in all sorts of ways—more home runs, but also more incentive for the pitchers to make sure that the ball stays out of the air, and on the ground. It creates a fascinating little change even in the world of Japanese baseball. 

And, what's more, many of the little parks are among the most popular in Japan.

Ranking the Ballparks

Think Wrigley Field. Think Fenway Park. Although their outfield dimensions are "standard," they have that "little" field that fans (and sometimes players) adore.

[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].

[d] Funway Park RF

[Originally posted on August 5, 2014]