Hit Home Run! Mr. Slugger!

 

Around 1990, I was a university student in Nagoya. I had a part-time job as a vendor in a ballpark. I sold liquor and snacks. I called, “Sake and snacks! Sake and snacks!”

I walked around the spectators. I was a young man, so I didn’t care about the weight of the goods or the difficulty of climbing up and down the steps.

By the way, I was a drama club member when I was in high school. Generally, members in a high school drama club work on vocal exercises a lot because we perform plays in huge gymnasiums. Hence, my voice is louder than the other vendors’.

One day, one old gentleman showed me a Japanese big boy (a 10,000-yen bill, almost 100 US dollars) and said, “If the slugger in the batter’s box now hits home run, I will buy all of the goods you have. You can keep the change!”

I was very excited. Even if I sold all the goods I had, it was far less than 100 US dollars. My daily wage was less than 100 US dollars, so it could be a big bonus. The old gentleman wanted me to cheer the slugger with my well-trained voice.

“Mr. Ochiai! Hit home run!”

The slugger’s name was Ochiai. He was one of the best sluggers in Japanese baseball history. Unfortunately, he made an out in an RBI situation.

Was my cheer too weak?

Anyway, I didn’t get the big boy, so I went back to my usual business. If Ochiai hit a home run, the old gentleman might buy all the goods I had, then he might give the goods to the other spectators. What a cool gentleman!

If you are a rich baseball fan, why don’t you try to enjoy watching a game this way?

However, even a legendary slugger might still not hit a home run in an RBI situation.

 

Picture by Palto