March 5, 2024, 11:00am: From left, Chushin Brothers manager Hirano, Giants manager Abe, and Rakuten Monkeys manager Kokubo smile after taking the stage at a press conference for a friendly match (Photo taken on March 1, 2024)
The Giants traveled to Taipei Dome in Taiwan as part of the 90th anniversary of the team’s founding.
The 37,890 spectators for the game against Nichishin Brothers on the 2nd was the largest in the history of Taiwanese professional baseball. The game against the Rakuten Monkeys on the 3rd also drew 30,890 fans. It was a day of great excitement, with 18 local TV cameras and 80 reporters gathering from the first day of practice.
The stage was Taipei Dome, which was Taiwan’s first multipurpose dome stadium. It opened in December of last year. The location is close to the center and has excellent access. The completion of the Taipei Dome seemed to make Taiwan’s baseball fever even hotter.
Although it is a domed stadium, the outfield fence is so low that it seems like you could catch a home run. It’s like a major league baseball stadium. There was a sense of realism.
The audience seats were also improved. The seats are colored in white and green. Even when there were no spectators, like at the National Stadium, it gave the illusion that the seats were filled with people.
The artificial turf used was from Mizuno. It had high shock absorption ability and seemed to put less strain on the feet.
Speaking of Taiwan, the cheerleaders dancing on the benches are also famous. A press conference for the cheerleaders was also arranged before the game. Chia, Chunchun and others from the Chushin Brothers, who have over 950,000 followers on Instagram, graced the exciting match.
Giants manager Abe said this before the friendly match. “I thought it was such a great stadium that I wanted to play as a player, not just as a manager.I think the opening of the Taipei Dome will make Taiwanese professional baseball even more exciting.It’s gone now, but… I hope that something like the Asia Series will be revived in the near future.I hope this game goes well and serves as a precursor to that.” On the 3rd, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen wrote in Japanese on X (formerly Twitter), “Through this baseball game, we were able to reaffirm the bond between Taiwan and Japan.” Exchanges that transcend national borders through baseball. This was the trip to Taiwan that I felt was going to deepen further in the future.[Giants in charge = Yuta Ueda]
Rakuten Girls (front row) and Venus smiling (photo taken on March 3, 2024) This column has back issues.
2024-03-05 02:21:51
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