Japan

Fan Teaser: Week 183 Solution

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This one’s a deep thinker. What say you?

This week’s #FanTeaser was the feast of the seven, er, three fishes.

A few of you correctly figured out that those photographed above are Kevin Bass, Mike Trout, and Tim Salmon.

What does that trio have in common?

Well, apart from all spending time playing for California-based MLB teams, their surnames are all a bit, shall we say, fishy sounding.

So, if we wanted to make it a bona fide Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition and craft a Feast of the Seven Fishes edition of the#FanTeaser, who should be added?

For starters how about Baseball Hall of Famer Jim “Catfish” Hunter?

There’s also more trout to be served in the form of Dizzy and his son, Steve Trout.

And, yes, there are four other Salmons to have appeared in MLB (Roger, Harry, Chico, and Brad) and even a Crab (Roy).

My preference is to go back to the MLB bass hole for our seventh member. There are, in fact, eight more Basses beyond Kevin. There is Anthony, Brian, Dick, Doc, John, Leroy, Norm, and, my choice, Randy.

Randy Bass
Hanshin Tigers’ first baseman, Randy Bass, won the offensive triple crown twice during his six seasons in Japan. (Photo by Kyodo)

Why Randy, you ask?

Well, it certainly isn’t for his relatively pedestrian 6-year, 130-game MLB career with a .212 batting average and nine career homers. 

However, Randy played his final six professional seasons in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers where he batted .337 and belted 202 homers, including a whopping 54 during the 1985 season when he led the Tigers to their only NPB championship. In 2023 he and Venezuelan, Alex Ramirez, were the first two foreign-born players inducted into Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame. (Check out this article about their complicated path to induction here.)

And, the real reason for selecting Randy – I suppose – is the Japanese culture’s affinity for – wait for it – fish. 

Sushi
A tray of Japanese sushi.

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Jee-ho Yoo

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Jee-ho and I at Milano Ice Skating Arena.

I’m delighted to be rejoined by someone I’m pleased to call a friend, Jee-ho Yoo.

Jee-ho’s an English-language sports writer for South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency who, fresh off three weeks in Milan covering the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, now finds himself stationed in Tokyo for Pool C play of the World Baseball Classic where he’ll be writing about the Korean team’s bid to qualify for the knockout round for the first time in 17 years.

I first became familiar with Jee-ho thanks to another former Conversations’ guest, Andrew Chong (Season 2, Episode 14) from Sports-Reference LLC. Andrew pointed me in the direction of Jee-ho for more knowledge about the Korean Baseball Organization as I prepped for my upcoming trip to Korea and Japan as part of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project.

Jee-ho joined me for the first time a little over a year ago in Season 4, Episode 7. Following that Conversation, we had a brief meet-up while I was in Seoul watching the Doosan Bears and LG Twins play (Event No. 16). We connected again (as the photo above indicates) in the Milano Ice Skating Arena during the recently completed Winter Olympics.

Separately, I might have even more excited than Jee-ho was when I spotted him in this MLB video about baseball in South Korea. It’s a 10-minute view well worth your time:-)

Events No. 16-19 (maybe) on the Horizon

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Jamsil Baseball Stadium
Fans of Seoul’s LG Twins pack Jamsil Baseball Stadium for a 2024 game against the KIA Tigers. (Photo Yonhap News)

I compose this dispatch on the precipice of my next international trip as part of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project.

Unlike the previous two – Scotland (Event No. 2 – The Open) and Montreal (Event No. 7 – The Presidents Cup) – this one has me, um, excitedly terrified.

OK, terrified might be too strong a descriptor, but unlike my first two trips that left U.S. borders, this one doesn’t simply take me one nation to the north or even across the Atlantic Ocean to a place that still calls English the official language. No, this one travels 14-plus hours west – so far west, in fact that it becomes east – Seoul, South Korea. Then, after several days there it’s off to Tokyo, Japan, for the second leg.

Last time I checked, Korea and Japan have wildly different cultures from what I’ve experienced for nearly 58 years of life. English is not the primary language and, speaking of language, I’m pretty certain no amount of advanced Babbel study would help me read menu items in the amount of prep time I’ve had. (Here’s hoping there are some pictures or staff who are willing to assist.)

So what is it that’s taking me and four buddies halfway around the world for the better part of 10 days?

In Korea the plan is to see a Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) game in Seoul’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium and, possibly, a Korean Basketball League (KBL) Championship Series game in the Jamsil Students’ Gymnasium.

What I did not predict was how challenging securing KBO tickets would be. It turns out Korean baseball is wildly popular and – far and away – the most sought-after sports tickets in the country. Non-season tickets are only made available eight days prior to the game, there’s a four ticket limit, and a Korean address is required to purchase. Further complicating our predicament is that Seoul’s LG Twins play their Jamsil co-tenants, the Doosan Bears, when we’re looking to attend with a seating capacity of 25,000. Oh yeah, it’s also a long holiday weekend while we’ll be there. We’ve got someone on the case and – fingers fully crossed – we’ll wind up going. Otherwise, it’s likely to be the Gocheok SkyDome for a Kiwoom Heroes game as a consolation.

As for the KBL, if the Seoul Knights (the regular-season winners) advance to the Championship Series we’re going to try and get there if schedules permit … and the ticket gods bless us;-)

Meiji Jingu Stadium
The view from behind homeplate at Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Meanwhile, in Japan, tickets for a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) game between the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the crosstown rival Yomiuri Giants in Yakult’s historic Meiji Jingu Stadium have already been secured. What has not been secured, however, are duckets for the May Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo.

I was online at the prescribed hour and was feverishly refreshing my browser but had no success. The entire two week tournament is sold out and, by all accounts, was no sooner than I’d logged in. There is a secondary market, but the prices are steep and consumers are warned about an abundance of counterfeits. Will we want to see this tradition-rich sport at the cost? I’m thinking yes, but that’ll likely be discussed during our time together in Seoul.

As for the sports stuff, I’ll keep you all updated – best I can – here at The Sports Fan Project. And for the rest of my travels, I’ll be trying to post regular brief Travelogues over at my Middle-Aged Male Musings‘ site. If you’re not subscribed to either/both, I invite you to do so now to have all posts delivered directly to your inbox.

Five days until wheels up (he types nervously).

Wish me luck!