The 84th Intercity Baseball Tournament (hosted by The Mainichi Newspapers and the Japan Baseball Federation) opened last Friday night (the 12th) at Tokyo Dome. Fierce games worthy of the summer baseball festival got underway right away, and the stands were wrapped in excitement= photo upper left.
Among regulars and newcomers alike, many companies again fielded multiple teams this year. JR entered four teams — East Japan (Tokyo), Tokai (Nagoya), Kyushu (Kitakyushu), and Hokkaido (Sapporo). NTT fielded East Japan (Tokyo) and West Japan (Osaka). Mitsubishi Heavy Industries entered Nagoya and Yokohama as a pair. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal also sent two teams — Kashima (Kashima City) and Kazusa Magic (Kimitsu City).
By the second game on the 16th, 24 teams had played and half were gone. Both Mitsubishi Heavy Industries teams cleared the first round; JR's East Japan and Hokkaido won while Kyushu fell. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal's Kashima
lost, but Kazusa Magic advanced. The disappointment was NTT. Group companies NTT Business Associate and NTT Data are tenants in Palaceside Building, so we were rooting for them, but West Japan suffered a painful walk-off loss to defending champion JX-ENEOS in the opener, and East Japan fell 1-2 to Toho Gas (Nagoya) (photo upper right shows NTT East Japan supporters carrying a portable shrine). Ugh — both close losses, so frustrating. Single-elimination is tough, luck of the draw included.(;´дゞ´)
A product fair featuring local specialties from around the country is also running at the venue (through the 21st, 10:00–18:00). Fukushima Prefecture has no team in the tournament, but vendors from Fukushima are participating to support agriculture in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, selling soybeans, peaches, horse-leather wallets, small accessory cases, and more.
The tournament has only just begun. Hot battles continue through the 23rd. Do come and watch.