New England JET alums help Japan Society of Boston welcome Bobby Valentine to Fenway Park
Cultural Outreach, JETAA Chapters 
Comments Off on New England JET alums help Japan Society of Boston welcome Bobby Valentine to Fenway Park
New England JETAA’s Jason Currier (Fukui-ken, 2007-09) recently attended the Japan Society of Boston’s welcome reception for Bobby Valentine at Fenway Park and was kind enough to write a little something for JETwit about the experience:
A few things I learned about new Boston Red Sox (and former Lotte Marines) manager Bobby Valentine last week at a Japan Society of Boston reception welcoming him to Boston:
- He had a shrine built in his honor called Bobby Jinja.
- He prefers the Olympics over the World Baseball Classic as the international venue for baseball, but believes it should be played in a dome during the Winter Olympics, so it won’t conflict with the baseball season.
- He wants Japanese-style baseball fight songs to catch on in Boston.
How else can you introduce someone like Bobby? He is an incredibly engaging and funny speaker, has legions of adoring fans in Japan after managing Lotte to their first Japan Series victory in over 30 years in 2005, is well known for his charity work, and is the only manager known to sneak back into a dugout wearing a disguise after getting ejected from a game.
The Japan Society of Boston welcome reception for Bobby V. was held inside the EMC Club at Fenway Park, and also featured speakers such as Larry Lucchino, President and CEO of the Red Sox, and Takeshi Hikihara, the Consul General of Japan in Boston. It was emceed by Peter Grilli, President of the Japan Society of Boston. The event brought together many Japan Society members, New England JET Alumni Association members, and baseball fans alike.
Bobby (Boston’s newest “Japanese” import) talked about a wide range of topics. He answered questions from the audience on everything from recent moves the Red Sox made, what he missed most about Japan (the orderliness, the hospitality of the Japanese people, the food), and if experience managing in Japan will help him manage Japanese players in Boston (maybe, every player’s personality is different).
Bobby closed out his talk with coloring in the eye of a daruma doll, wishing for the success of the Red Sox in 2012. With less than two weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, and most of New England trying to forget the, ahem, “unfortunate event” of Sunday, February 5th, all we can say is ganbatte Bobi—!
Bobby Valentine prepares to color in the eye of the daruma, held by Japan Society of Boston President Peter Grilli
***************
A message fro Fenway's center field scoreboard welcoming Bobby V.
Comments are closed.