Iwas wrong about being the lone Jays fan here. A man named Sin, decked out in a Houston Astros jersey and hat, was on hand, supporting George Springer.

If you have the chance to see a Japanese baseball game, you have to take it. In the Nippon Professional Baseball League, the high-energy baseball experience is an alt-reality of what MLB could be.

Passionate fans wear face paint and scream individualized songs they know all the words to for each of their home team’s players, complete with horns; and in the style of a European soccer game, they carve out safe spaces in the stadiums for supporters of the opposing team. At the end of each game, the home team comes back out and bows to the fans in each section.

Multiple kinds of mascots perform on-field skits surrounded by cheerleaders, and

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