TOKYO — Seiya Suzuki was too young and not yet into baseball when the Chicago Cubs last played at the Tokyo Dome 25 years ago.
But the memory of being in the ballpark in 2004 watching Japanese great Hideki Matsui slug a home run for the New York Yankees still resonates with the 30-year-old Suzuki. He understands the impact the Cubs’ two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers could have on the next generation of baseball-loving kids in Japan.
“I feel like if the kids can watch it and they can see that we’re all playing baseball having fun, and if we can leave an impression like that, that’d be great,” Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry.
All eyes were on Suzuki and Shota Imanaga during Friday’s workout at the Tokyo Dome in front of an estimated 10,000 fans. The Cubs’ Japanese stars held a welcome party for their teammates, coaches and staff Thursday night at the Kanda Myojin Shrine.
“It makes me very happy seeing my teammates, especially at the party, take a lot of interest in Japanese culture and just enjoy the whole thing,” Imanaga said through Stanberry.
The memorable night highlighted Japanese culture, from a cleansing ritual before entering the temple to a large tuna that players cut open for the meal to a performance by samurai warriors to end the night.
“This is a once in a lifetime trip, so I feel like you’ve gotta dive into everything in the culture,” said Justin Turner, enjoying the experience with his wife Kourtney, who took four years of Japanese in high school.
“You can just see how proud they are of showcasing their country and where they’re from. And they put on quite a show.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Porter Hodge and Matthew Boyd were selected to be part of the tuna cutting.
“Some of the players participated in that, which was scary for a second with players with knives in their hands,” manager Craig Counsell noted with a smile. “But other than that, it was great.”
Crow-Armstrong wasn’t expecting such a big knife, but “I thought my form was pretty decent.”
“Didn’t make it all the way through the first cut, but I definitely think I did better than Porter, that’s all that matters,” Crow-Armstrong said, grinning.
The acclimation process for Japanese players transitioning from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball can be challenging beyond adjusting to a new league. The cultural and language barriers require an adjustment, something Suzuki and Imanaga both experienced after joining the Cubs. This trip has given their teammates a glimpse of what they have experienced playing in the U.S.
“I don’t think I gave them enough credit at first or even really thought about how hard it actually is,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But that’s kind of the fun part about it for me is, and we’re only here for a much smaller sample size, but having to struggle a little bit is fun and kind of learning along the way. … I have a whole different perspective now, for sure.”
The major-league season is a grind, one that has started earlier than usual for the Cubs with this trip to Japan. Counsell invoked the Japanese word “kizuna” which refers to an enduring bond between people. Suzuki’s and Imanaga’s party to kick off the trip is merely the beginning of what the team hopes is the start of a journey that ends in the postseason.
“It’s when you have the relationships that are so good and you trust every guy in the room, and you can say whatever you need to say to guys to hold each other accountable and to make sure everyone’s doing the right thing, make sure everyone’s going about it the right way, make sure everyone’s pulling on the same end of the rope,” Turner said.
“I’ve been on some teams that everyone was really cool and close and nice, but it just didn’t translate to winning. It’s about getting to know each other, trusting every single guy in that room, knowing that there’s one goal in mind every single night, and that’s to win a baseball game. So trips like this can certainly kick start that.”
