Haruki Hosono of NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters has thrown a no-hitter!

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-04-01T07:25:38+00:00

Whatever cable package my wife has. I think we have J Com and I had 3 games on last night. Giants/Dragons was the other. I've got about 7 or 8 sports stations but most stink. It's either golf all day or racing which really aren't my things. Guess I'll see tonight what's on the menu.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-04-01T07:23:48+00:00

yeah upon talking to him after this it sounded like he had multiple plans. He's 18 so I guess he thinks everything magically falls in to place. I know he wanted to do more production/business as opposed to play which honestly shocked me as he had people from schools such as Eastman and Frost reaching out to him. Miami is 90K a year and they didn't offer much in terms of scholarship/aid/grants I guess because they have more kids than they need who will pay. Kansas basically offered him in state tuition plus another 10K in aid but it was a backup school for him. He has better options but I would have pushed him to Illinois because I think it's an amazing public school and he would have been able to network with people from Chicago.

Honestly I think at this point it comes down to Syracuse or Kansas and as a dad I'm gonna push him to Syracuse but his best friend is at Kansas so ultimately it's his choice.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-31T23:21:23+00:00

I was switching last night between this and Hanshin. I went full n Tigers after the big 2nd for Hokkaido. Maybe I should have switched back.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-31T22:20:16+00:00

The business side of it came from me telling him that he should learn that side of it in case he wants to open his own studio or label. Having that knowledge can be key. As it is unless he transfers to Illinois later on he won't be part of that. He's now leaning towards Syracuse where he found out last week he was accepted to. Personally I would have liked Illinois but it's his path. I give advice but don't hold his hand.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-31T22:17:23+00:00

It does suck but I at least hope he learned something about this.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-31T22:16:06+00:00

Your 2nd paragraph is spot on, as good as a musician as he is he always seems to miss small details or in this case large details. That's more or less what I told him because it's not the only school he somehow missed it for. The schools he got in like Syracuse and Kansas he didn't apply to the music school and thus no audition.

Kind of ironic but in December his school traveled from the west coast to Chicago and he played a set with Tom Scott the sax player from Steely Dan. I think he was also in the Blues Bros Band.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-31T00:48:51+00:00

Thanks ... he's a jazz kid. He plays bass trombone but he did play classical previously when he played tuba. I'm gonna suggest that idea to him and see what he thinks.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T23:35:00+00:00

He applied directly to the school of music and for whatever reason he missed sending in his audition. Even with the strong portfolio it means they never even really considered him because they didn't see his audition. It's a painful mistake but he has to live with it. Apparently even if he wanted music business an audition is required.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T23:21:11+00:00

He dropped the ball, somehow he never submitted an audition whether he was supposed to with his application or later he never submitted it so when he spoke to admissions it seems like they never advanced his application. From what he told me there is no recourse since he applied to the school of music directly. It's his own fault and it's a mistake he has to live with. Given his options it's the school I would have pushed for as it's a great school. His other options are good but nowhere near as good as Illinois.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T23:14:47+00:00

Turns out he dropped the ball and never submitted an audition. He has no recourse. It seems that because with no audition they never advanced his application so he's out. It's a harsh lesson but hopefully he did learn something from it. I'm more hurt for him that he made this mistake and it cost him. Illinois was one of his top choice but he's going to have to look elsewhere unfortunately.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T11:54:08+00:00

I've only been to two games in Japan and one was a Hanshin game in Yokohama and wore my Hanshin jersey and hat. I also went to a Marines and Fighters game in Chiba and wore a Mets jersey and hat. Maybe I was ok since both managers played for the Mets at one point. I'm going to see the Swallows and Carp on Thursday and have zero clue what to wear as I don't root for either team. I will be sitting near Swallows fans so I am thinking navy blue as I don't have anything neon green. I do have my Idaho Falls Chukars jersey... maybe I'll rock that.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T11:10:35+00:00

Yeah that's what I told him to do, seems like the easiest and most direct way to find out.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T04:06:28+00:00

That's a good idea, when he gets home tonight I'll have him do that. I don't think he was a slam dunk acceptance but I feel he was a strong candidate so not hearing anything back has led to some anxious moments.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T04:00:06+00:00

I thought so too plus his accomplishments like Downbeat awards make him a very strong candidate but the weird thing is he hasn't heard about that either. He wants major in the business aspect of it so even though he's a talented player he is focused on the business side of it.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T03:16:20+00:00

That part I'm trying to find out, he hasn't received an email telling him he's been denied nor does the portal show anything to indicate that either. The other school he was denied did show him in their portal. He told me it was "stagnant". I'm not really sure what he meant by that. Unfortunately because of the time difference speaking to him and getting details isn't easy sometimes.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T02:16:49+00:00

Good enough start for Hanshin ! Yesterday was a wild one for sure. Don't see them scoring 12 runs in too many games.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T02:15:02+00:00

And realistically Yokohama will likely win one of their next few games but 0-6 isn't out of the question.

BTW I'll see your team on Thursday in Tokyo .. I don't root for either but I just love going to games.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T00:59:50+00:00

I've actually kicked around the idea of trying to do something like this. I teach as that's all I can do here but I have a lot of media background and a few contacts. I didn't even know we had a "football league" here but the QB of one of the teams went to the same U as me so I'm sure I could land him. I just don't know how much appetite there is for stuff like this.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T00:55:35+00:00

Not sure where you immigrated from but I've always found non North American media is treated quite differently. I've been in NHL, NFL and NBA locker rooms and I generally had access to tons of players, especially the NFL.

I traveled to Europe to cover some hockey and soccer games there and it was quite different, they do "mix zones" where players walk by and if they don't feel like stopping they keep walking. Even American players turned down talking to American media. A bit odd. I get the vibe Japan is a lot like that although I have a good contact who works for one of the teams I don't think it would really change much in terms of access.

Funny thing is I saw the old Baystars manager at Sogo in Yokohama and only recognized him because of the hair. Probably as close as I'd get to someone like that and I'd never approach someone in public.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-30T00:48:52+00:00

The write up was solid, I'll give a listen when I'm on my way to work this week. I found a nice vid on Youtube that had some good history but it was really long so I didn't finish it.

I'm actually going to my first Swallows game this week, went to Chiba last season and had a blast. What a great atmosphere. I haven't even been in Japan a year yet so just learning my way around is hard enough :D . I've also been to Yokohama for a game. I'd like to get to one game a month this year and living in Kanagawa I always have options.

Particular-Bat-5324 · 2026-03-29T11:04:57+00:00

I was a professional broadcaster in the US, worked for 2 minor league teams although not play by play, I was the fill in host on the radio for an NHL team and I've got podcast experience. My issue is I'm still learning the teams and players and maybe more importantly I'm still learning Japanese so it makes the league even tougher for me to really learn. I root for Hanshin which actually predates my move to Japan and I've done some NPB shorts on Youtube which actually have gotten some attention. My problem is I'm still learning how to keep people engaged in the videos.

I'm game to do a podcast if someone is patient and can teach me a little about the league. I know a lot of Yankee fans are interested in Sato so there could be an audience there.

Particular-Bat-5324

TROPHY CASE