Sports

Little League Team Departs for Japan as "Baseball Ambassadors"

The San Francisco Giants gave the boys a farewell they will never forget on Thursday

A little league team from San Mateo is boarding a plane for Japan this morning with a mixture of excitement and nerves.

The team of 18 preteen boys, along with eight chaperones and coaches, are flying from San Francisco International Airport to Osaka, where they will catch a bullet train to Toyonaka. Scott Rodrick, a father of one of the players, said the boys were not the only ones with butterflies in their stomachs this morning at the airport.

"I'm standing in a sea of tearful but happy parents," he said. The boys are heading overseas as part of a cultural exchange program between sister cities, San Mateo and Toyonaka.

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The baseball team exchange has been going on for the past 32 years, with each city alternating as host every other year, organizers said. The boys will play six games against a Japanese little league team, although coach Danny Harris said that the trip is more focused on learning about a new culture than the competition.

The boys will be staying at the homes of their Japanese opponents -- many of whom speak little to no English, he said. The team has spent the last nine months taking monthly culture classes that covered basic phrases, geography, and chopstick skills.

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The San Francisco Giants gave the boys a farewell they will never forget on Thursday, Rodrick said. Just before the 2010 world champions played the Phillies, the little league team took to the field at AT&T Park and each boy was able to meet one of his heroes.

"The sendoff by the Giants was truly incredible," Rodrick said. "For my son, it's like an out-of-body experience to run out on the field, let alone meet a Giant."

This year's trip was in danger of being canceled after Japan's devastating earthquakes and tsunamis, which left many parents concerned about safety, but Rodrick said their Japanese counterparts allayed their fears.

"The Japanese (organizers) would never want to put us in danger. If they were at all concerned with their homes they would have requested to postpone the trip," Harris said.

Team members and their parents have raised more than $60,000 to pay for the trip, and Harris said that whatever money is left over will be donated to aid disaster victims.

--- Bay City News


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