1067-Metropolis

PACIFIC LEAGUE
CHIBA LOTTE MARINES
QVC Field | Chiba City, Chiba
Blood! Guts! Roundhouse kicks to
the head! These are all-too-familiar
sights at the Chiba Marines’ QVC Field — well,
for fans of the classic 1993 video game title
Tekken, which uses the stadium as one of its
combat locales. Though Marines games tend to
be (slightly) more civilized affairs, you can say
this for Lotte fans: they’ll never let you take a
mid-game snooze. They’re an infamously loud
and raucous crew, known for intimidating the
opposing team and even their own players if
they’re not performing up to par. Games at QVC
Field generally have a really nice atmosphere,
though the weather can be a bit unpredictable
due to the stadium being right on the shore of
Tokyo Bay. That means warm days can quickly
become chilly evenings, and gusty winds often
sail through.
Definitely take time before or after the game
to visit the Marines’ Museum beside the stadium.
The museum is a reverent homage to
the team’s history, which began in 1950 as the
Mainichi Orions, who went on to win the inaugural
Japan Series. The museum, which is free,
has a great collection of old-time memorabilia
and kid-friendly interactive displays. Wander
around the Makuhari area a bit and you may
come across Valentine Dori, the street named
after beloved ex-manager Bobby Valentine,
who led the Marines to the Japan and Asia Series
championships in 2005.
KAIHINMAKUHARI
MAKE A DAY OUT OF IT
QVC Field is tucked between Makuhari Beach
and the Makuhari Seaside Park, both of which are
great places for throwing the ball around or having
lunch before the game. The Makuhari area has a
fair share of attractions, from an outlet shopping
mall to the beautiful Mihama-en Japanese garden.
UPCOMING HOME SCHEDULE
Sep 5-7 vs. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Sep
8-11 vs. Saitama Seibu Lions, Sep 19-21 vs. ORIX
Buffaloes, Sep 23-26 vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham
Fighters, Sep 28 vs. ORIX Buffaloes
SAITAMA SEIBU LIONS
Seibu Dome | Tokorozawa City,
Saitama
Hoero Lions! The pride of Saitama is
the Pacific League’s historically best team, with
21 league pennants, 13 Japan Series titles and
an Asia Series championship in 2008 among its
accomplishments. The reasons to check out a
game start with the team’s stomping grounds.
The Seibu Dome, originally built as an open-air
stadium, is now covered by a domed roof that
sits on giant legs perched outside the stadium,
with a big gap between the roof and the stadium’s
walls. That gives batters the bizarre opportunity
to hit an out-of-the-park home run in
a dome. The visual effect is neat, allowing fans
to see the rain or swaying trees outside while
being sheltered from the elements. It feels like
being on a giant porch with 35,000 of your
closest friends.
The 2014 team has made an incredible
comeback in the standings. A miserable start to
the season led to the firing of the team’s manager,
but since then the Lions have clawed their
way back into contention and have an outside
shot at sneaking into the playoff picture with a
month’s worth of games left to play.
Lions fans have a photo-worthy seventhinning
stretch tradition, when the fans all release
balloons while loudly singing the team’s
fight song. Also, stick around after the game
on certain days for a chance to go down onto
the field to run the bases, play catch or practice
fielding—Wednesday is “Women’s Night,”
Thursday is “Salaryman Night” and weekends
are “Family Days.” Stay away during the dog
days of summer, though, as the heat and humidity
tend to stagnate under the roof’s bubble,
turning the stands into a sweatbox.
Tickets are cheap and so are the concessions:
a ¥500 beer is the best deal among the
five Kanto teams. Notable Lions alumni include
pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who dominated
the NPB during the early 2000s before finding
success in the North American major leagues.
SEIBUKYUJO-MAE
MAKE A DAY OUT OF IT:
Pay no mind to the unflattering “Dasaitama” (“tacky
Saitama”) nickname with which the prefecture has
been tagged. There’s plenty of green and water
around: pack yourself a picnic, take a stroll or a dip
in the scenic lakes Tama or Sayama, and frolic in the
parks to your heart’s content.
UPCOMING HOME SCHEDULE:
Sep 13-15 vs. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles,
Sep 16-17 vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters,
Sep 19-21 vs. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Oct 2 vs.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
©Seibu Lions
Before summer winds down completely, do as
the Tokyoites do: go support the Kanto Five at
the ol’ ball game!
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