Shikoku Independents vs New Jersey Jackals

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks back, for the third time in five years the Shikoku Island League has sent an all star team to play in the Can-Am League for a couple weeks in games that actually count in the standings for the Can-Am League.  On Sunday, June 23rd, I took a trip up to New Jersey to see the team play, also for the third time in five years.  I caught the Independents (as they have been dubbed this year) at Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, home of the New Jersey Jackals.  I was accompanied by my good friend Chuck (as I was in 2015 and 2016) who's not really a baseball fan but this gives us an opportunity to get together which doesn't happen anywhere near often enough.

We got to the ballpark only about a half hour before game time.  I had brought cards of the team's manager Tetsu Yohfu and coach Teppai Komai with me to try to get autographed.  As soon as we got into the ballpark I made a beeline for Shikoku's dugout on the first base side.  I immediately saw Yohfu walking up the right field line to talk to a couple players working out there.  I called out to him as he was walking back and he came over.  He seemed surprised to see a card of himself (which has pretty much been the reaction in the past from the Shikoku Island coaches and players) and asked me if I wanted him to sign it in English or Japanese.  I told him whatever he wanted to do was fine with me.  He also graciously let me take a picture of him as well:

Chuck took a video of me getting the card signed:

Things took a very interesting turn after that.  Apparently Yohfu went into the dugout and told the players there was some guy in the stands with a Japanese baseball card of him.  One of the pitchers, Suguro Ito of the Tokushima Indigo Socks, came out of the dugout looking for me.  I was still in the stands near the dugout looking for Komai.  Itoh called out to me and asked me if I was the guy with the card of the manager.  I said yes and added that I had a card of Komai as well.  Ito asked if he could borrow the cards to show his teammates.  He took my Sharpie with him so that Komai (who was in the dugout) could sign the card.

Chuck and I watched as Ito took the cards into the dugout and called his teammates over to look at them.  After a few minutes he brought the cards back out and thanked me.  He asked me why I had the cards and I told him I collected them.  It was getting close to game time so Ito headed back to the dugout and Chuck and I started to make our way to our seats which were behind home plate.  Before we got too far however Ito came back out and asked to borrow the cards again for the team's pregame meeting.  I gave them to him and he ran back over to his teammates that were clustered around the front of the dugout.  After Yohfu had finished speaking, Ito moved into the center of the group of player and held the cards up above his head.  I didn't hear what he was saying (and since it was in Japanese so I wouldn't have understood it anyway) but I think he was rallying the team around the two cards.  The players yelled something out and all crowded together so that they could touch the cards.

Ito returned the cards and thanked me yet again.  I thanked him as well and Chuck and I headed off for our seats as the game was getting ready to start.

One last note about the pregame activities - the Japanese National Anthem was played on by a guy with a trumpet which sounded pretty good.  What was odd was that the guy was wearing an LG Twins jersey.  I had to ask myself - why would someone be wearing a Korean team's jersey to play the Japanese National Anthem?  I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to make a political statement or if he just didn't realize they were two separate countries.  Or maybe he wears it to every game and there was no deep meaning behind it.

The game started and the Jackals (who were being the away team for this game) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.  The Independents scored three runs in the bottom of the second and another one in the third to take a 4-2 lead.  Both teams scored single runs in alternating innings over the next four innings with Shikoku scoring in the fifth and seventh and the Jackals scoring in the fourth and sixth (the run in the sixth coming on a home run from DH Richard Stock).  Ito came in and pitched the top of the seventh in relief of starter Katsuya Yamazaki and he pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one and walking one.

Ito on the mound in the seventh

Then the top of the eighth happened.  Shikoku came into the inning leading 6-4 but the Jackals ended up sending 15 men to the plate in the inning, scoring 11 runs (only five of which were earned) on 7 hits, 3 walks and 4 errors.  The Jackals batted around before the Independents even got an out.  Shikoku used four pitchers in the inning - the first two didn't record an out.  The Jackals actually overwhelmed the scoreboard - the scoreboard only showed nine runs for the inning as it couldn't handle a double digit run count.

The game was obviously pretty much over at that point.  Shikoku pushed a run across in the bottom of the ninth to make it the final 15-7.  The teams exchanged handshakes after the game and posed for a group photo as this was Shikoku's final game against the Jackals as well as their final game of the "Am" portion of their Can-Am League tour.  All their games after this one would be in Canada.

Here's some random photos from the game and afterward:

Yamazaki pitching to Santiago Chirino in the top of the first inning

Final score - you can see the scoreboard only lists 9 runs in the top of the eighth

The two teams exchanging handshakes after the game

Group photo

I was pleasantly surprised at the souvenir stand Shikoku had at the ballpark.  For their third tour they had finally laid in a supply of "American" sized shirts so I was able to get an Under Armour "Heatgear" shirt with the Independents logo on it that fit me. 

CanAmLeague.TV has the video for the game here and the Shikoku Island League's press release about the game is here. 

Shikoku's final game is tonight in Ottawa.  I think this team has played better than their two previous instances as they took two of three from both the Rockland Boulders and the Trois-Rivieres Aigles and were at .500 (with a record of 7-7) after last Saturday's game but since then they've lost four straight.  Their record will be either 8-11 (.421) or 7-12 (.368) after tonight's game.  They went 6-10 (.375) in 2015 and 8-12 (.400) in 2016 so a win tonight would give them their best winning percentage ever although either way their record this year has ended up being right around the same as the two previous seasons.

Almost forgot - here's the two cards I got autographed:

2002 BBM 1st Version #239

2001 BBM #448