Go Ham Fighters!

1. TWO!-OH!-OH!-OH! CLAP!-CLAP!-CLAP!CLAP!CLAP! Posted: November 02, 2009 at 12:11 PM (#3374577)

Go Ham Fighters!

Boy, I really hope that handle becomes moot in the next few days.

Anybody know of a way to watch the Japanese series online? I'd be most interested in something like a torrent site...

Yu Darvish, future Yankee in 2015

Nippon Ham Fighters is the greatest name in professional sports.

Nippon Ham Fighters is the greatest name in professional sports.

I found out recently that they are merely sponsored by a company called Nippon Ham, and the nickname is apparently not to suggest that they are fighting hams, which I had long hoped. I mean, I guess technically they are fighting on the side of ham, which is still better than fighting ham, but being fighters made out of ham would trump all the other possibilities.

Also, from TFA:

The roar only got louder when former Nippon Ham star [Tsuyoshi] Shinjo made his appearance.

With his unnaturally white teeth gleaming, hair teased and dark sunglasses perched on his face, the heavily tanned former outfield maestro looked more like a movie star than a baseball player.

Shinjo! There's a name I haven't heard in a while. I see he's still trying to keep the Giants from winning games. Still, I'm glad he's back in the World Series. (Sort of.)

My natural impulse is to root for the Giants here. But aren't the Yomiuri Giants the NPB equivalent of the Yankees? That changes things. And I cannot in good conscience root against deliciousness. Go, you noble Pork Warriors.

I went to a Fighters game in '03 when they still played in Tokyo. Their stadium was minor league, esp. compared to the Tokyo Dome (where the Giants play). A win for the Fighters would be pretty sweet for the guys who played in Tokyo when the Fighters were second-class citizens.

Aren't there about 4 or 5 teams in the Tokyo area?

I found out recently that...

Shush you! Next you'll be spilling the beans on Santa...

In all seriousness, I don't know how many posts I've seen on this site on this subject - they echo the disappointment (and bemusement) I felt when I learned the truth as a lad.

But aren't the Yomiuri Giants the NPB equivalent of the Yankees?

Much moreso - the Giants are evil (though, I like the unis).

EDIT: Depending on how you define Tokyo area - yeah. 2 in Tokyo, one in Chiba, one in Yokohama, one in Tokorozawa. Also, the Fighters themselves play some games in the Tokyo Dome (far from Sapporo).

"Yu Darvish?"
"Does it show?"

Boy, I really hope that handle becomes moot in the next few days.

I've gotten a lot more mileage out of it than I expected considering I'm dealing with a team that prints its own money to buy whoever they want and buy out all their bad contracts they don't want any more.

Got another handle picked out and ready to go in the unfortunate event that I would have to retire the current one.

Anybody know of a way to watch the Japanese series online? I'd be most interested in something like a torrent site...

Tried Justin.tv? There was also another one that I always forget that people here watched the WBC on...

Fight, Fight, Fighters!

Anybody know of a way to watch the Japanese series online? I'd be most interested in something like a torrent site...

I'm sure who can see the game on Wii not sure about Nintemdo DS though

I found out recently that they are merely sponsored by a company called Nippon Ham, and the nickname is apparently not to suggest that they are fighting hams, which I had long hoped. I mean, I guess technically they are fighting on the side of ham, which is still better than fighting ham, but being fighters made out of ham would trump all the other possibilities.

It's great and hilarious either way. Why fight ham, it's delicious? Who the hell is ham fighting, steak?

The Giants are WORSE than the Yankees, here is what Wikipedia says about the Giants' popularity in Japan:

Due to the Yomiuri company's vast influence in Japan as a major media conglomerate, the Giants are successfully marketed to the Japanese people as "Japan's Team." In fact, for some years the Giants' uniforms had "Tokyo" on the jersey instead of "Yomiuri" or "Giants," seeming to imply that the Giants represent the vast metropolis and geopolitical center of Japan, even though the Yakult Swallows are also based in Tokyo and three other teams play in the Greater Tokyo Area. This bandwagon appeal has been compared with the marketability of the New York Yankees and Manchester United, except that support for the Giants nearly exceeds 50% of those polled, while in the United States and England, support is judged to be between 30 to 40 percent for the New York Yankees and Manchester United, respectively. Correspondingly, fans of other professional baseball teams in Japan are often openly derisive and contemptuous of the Giants' bandwagon marketing tactics, and an "anti-Giants" movement exists in protest of the near hegemony established by the Yomiuri Giants.[1]

It has also long been alleged that the Giants rely on underhanded tactics to recruit the best players, involving bribes to players and amateur coaches, or using their influence on the governing council of Japanese professional baseball to pass rules that favors their recruiting efforts. This may be one explanation for the Giants' abundance of success in league play.[1]

Ironically in 2009 the Giants played the Japan national baseball team in a warm up friendly before the World Baseball Classic.

The Yomiuri Group owns the most daily-circulated paper in the world (the Yomiuri Shimbun), a daily sports Newspaper, various magazines, and the Nippon Television Network. Basically they own the equivalent of the USA Today, a paper version of ESPN.com, and CBS.

Due to the Yomiuri company's vast influence in Japan as a major media conglomerate, the Giants are successfully marketed to the Japanese people as "Japan's Team.

So, you're telling me that the Giants are really analogous to the...:::gag::: COWBOYS? This is worse than I thought!

A win for the Fighters would be pretty sweet for the guys who played in Tokyo when the Fighters were second-class citizens.

The Fighters have had a great run since they moved to Sapporo; they've played in three of the last four Japan Series, winning it in 2006. The other two were against the Dragons, though, and I agree that it would be sweet to beat the Giants. An added bonus is that their long-time star, Michihiro Ogasawara, became a free agent after the 2006 season, and signed with the Giants, and I'm sure they would love to beat him...

Is it true that Fighters were the only team interested in Yu Darvish when he was drafted? That seems insane.

Is it true that Fighters were the only team interested in Yu Darvish when he was drafted? That seems insane.

Not really, no. Darvish was coveted by several Japanese teams, but the wierd Japanese draft system makes it seem like teams were not interested. Much of the talent in Japan is signed from industrial league teams rather than high school or college teams, and teams that make pre-draft arrangements with a player from an industrial league team forfeit their first round choice in that year's draft. The year Darvish was drafted, Nippon Ham was one of only four teams that didn't make such a pre-draft agreement, so only four teams had a first-round draft choice, and Darvish went #1.

I found out recently that they are merely sponsored by a company called Nippon Ham, and the nickname is apparently not to suggest that they are fighting hams, which I had long hoped. I mean, I guess technically they are fighting on the side of ham, which is still better than fighting ham, but being fighters made out of ham would trump all the other possibilities.

It's great and hilarious either way. Why fight ham, it's delicious? Who the hell is ham fighting, steak?

It gets even better -- their former mascot (now retired, unfortunately) was (to quote Wikipedia):

Fighty ...a bright pink pterodactyl, whose head resembled a giant leg of ham.

Fighty

I went to a Fighters game in '03 when they still played in Tokyo. Their stadium was minor league, esp. compared to the Tokyo Dome (where the Giants play). A win for the Fighters would be pretty sweet for the guys who played in Tokyo when the Fighters were second-class citizens.

In 2003, the Fighters and Giants played in the same park, the Tokyo Dome. That was the case since the Tokyo Dome opened. The Fighters moved up to Sapporo the next season.

It's possible that you saw the Fighters playing a game at a neutral site or perhaps they were on the road at Chiba Lotte Marine Stadium, which is just a little north of Tokyo.

I've seen the Fighters play in person five times, twice at the Tokyo Dome and three times at the Sapporo Dome, including the 2006 Pacific League "Climax Series" ending game.

Once the Fighters moved up to Sapporo, they adopted a much more sophisticated marketing campaign. They added Hokkaido to the name to remind fans that they are the only team for Japan's northern island.

If the Fighters can pull of a win in the Japan Series over the Giants, it would be quite an upset as the Giants appear to have a big edge with Darvish only pitching at reduced strength. (He might start a Game 7, but I wouldn't count on it.)

I think the Fighters should get bonus points for winning a championship with Trey Hillman running the team.

It's possible that you saw the Fighters playing a game at a neutral site or perhaps they were on the road at Chiba Lotte Marine Stadium, which is just a little north of Tokyo.

Bah. I got the Yakult Swallows and the Fighters mixed up. The stadium I'm thinkin gof is Jingu Stadium, right near Meiji Park/Shrine. Looks like they still play there.