Tokyo Yakult Swallows hosted a special 'American Baseball Weekend'?

With the sun shining and the hot dogs sizzling on the grill, fans filtered into the ballpark past the iconic MLB "Batter man" logo, the strains of organ music playing over the stadium.

This might sound like a routine day out at the ballpark for an MLB fan, but this wasn't the Major Leagues. It wasn't the Minors, either: This was at Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium, home of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball as they were hosting the first ever "American Baseball Weekend" from July 19th to 21st.

"The one concern I had as an event organizer was if fans coming to the stadium would even realize that the music or the public address announcements had changed at all," Akane Noguchi, head of the sales planning team for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, said through translator Yugo Hasaka of MLB Japan. "Many people might not typically pay attention to these types of things, and I would have felt bad for the people who went through the trouble of making this happen if no one noticed, so day of I was paying attention to the fan’s reactions in the stadium as well as by the stadium entrances. When we opened the gates to let fans into the stadium, I overheard someone say 'Oh, the music is different. They must be playing the organ because it's American baseball.' I felt relieved, and also felt a great sense of success."

While NPB teams are known for bold themed uniforms, a lively fan atmosphere and unique experiences -- including games played in regional areas that don't usually host baseball -- this was the first time that a Japanese team had hosted a specific "American baseball" game.

The inspiration for the weekend came out of last year's World Baseball Classic, which had baseball fans all around the world looking to the game as a way to also experience other cultures. Just as American fans loved hearing the fan songs for Japanese players at last year's World Baseball Classic in Tokyo, so too did Japanese fans want a taste of a typical American ballgame.

"Especially with the 2023 World Baseball Classic shining a spotlight on baseball around the world, I knew that interest in baseball has been growing both in the United States and in Japan," Noguchi said. "MLB viewership in Japan is growing, and consequently, the ballpark atmosphere unique to America has also garnered much attention in Japan. On the other hand, in the United States, videos of Japanese cheering squads’ individualized player chants, or of 'Uriko' vendors walking around the stadium selling beer are being spread around, with many social media commenters saying that they would like to 'go to Japan and experience this culture.'"

Beyond the music, the Swallows also introduced each lineup in English, had cutouts of Major League stars including Shohei Ohtani and Shota Imanaga that fans could pose with, held a hot dog mascot race and, of course, brought in special U.S. ballpark food. That included hot dogs, fried chicken and -- in a neat little trick of fusion dining -- the Dodgers' special guacamole-and-cheese takoyaki that were introduced in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Hosaka, who led this event and grew up as a baseball fan in Japan, took special notice of the day as a fellow fan.

"When I entered the stadium, the music was different than usual, the decorations were American-themed, and the atmosphere was different from other games I have been to," Hosaka said. "The cheering was Swallows-style as always, but player introductions, content between innings, and music was MLB-style. While it is the same sport, I felt some of the differences between “Yakyū” and “Baseball”, and I was able to experience the best parts of both Japanese and American baseball."

This period in the NPB schedule usually coincides with hot weather and fans' busy summer schedules, so attendance can sometimes suffer at the park. That wasn't a problem this particular weekend.

"At first, we were worried about being able to fill the stadium because our ticket sales usually face tough times at this time of year," Noguchi said. "However, in the end, attendance surpassed 28,000 (95% of the tickets were sold) people for each of the three days, and tickets were sold out on the final day, Sunday."

That last day was particularly memorable. The 2024 season marks the 60th anniversary of Masanori Murakami's debut as the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues, so the iconic hurler was on hand to deliver the first pitch in his iconic Giants uniform.

Not only that, but the game went to extra innings, with the Swallows trailing the DeNA BayStars, 7-5, going into the bottom of the 11th inning. Then, former Major Leaguer José Osuna -- who had been featured in YouTube videos discussing his big league career to help promote the weekend -- sent the Tokyo fans home happy with an RBI single for the walk-off victory.

"José Osuna, a player with MLB experience, got a walk-off hit, and there is no better way to cap off the event than that," one fan noted. "Overall it was a very special game."

"The way the stadium went wild when the Swallows won," Hosaka added, "made me realize that no matter the country, the beauty of baseball is universal."