(Yokohama Stadium)
- Home of The BayStars -
| Stadium Name | Yokohama Stadium
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| Location | Yokohama Park, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
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| Opened | April 1, 1978
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| Capacity | 30,000
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| Dimensions | LF308, LC365, CF387, RC365, RF308
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| Surface | Artificial Turf
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| Club | Yokohama BayStars
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| League | Central League
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Ticket prices
(Japanese Yen) | S seat 5,500; FA seat 4,500; FB seat 4,000; A seat 4,000; B Seat 3,500; Outfield reserved 2,200; General Admission 2,500 adults, 800 children; Bleachers 1,800 adults, 500 children
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| Getting there | 2 minuites walk from JR or Subway Kannai Station.
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A Place Once Called Lou Gehrig Stadium
Right after the end of the Pacific War, late in the summer of 1945, Japan went under occupation of the Allied Powers. GHQ put the Yokohama Park Stadium into requisition and renamed it to "Lou Gehrig Stadium" in memory of 1934 MLB All-Stars' visit to this stadium.
During 1934 November tour, MLB All-Stars played 17 games versus Japanese baseball team. They completly beat Japan at Jingu, Yokohama, Koshien and other ballparks. Babe Ruth blasted 12, Lou Gehrig hit 8 homers, as a result they won a whole 17 games.
If you are at the bleachers of Yokohama Stadium, you can find a memorial relief of Babe Ruth beside the right foul pole and that of Lou Gehrig at the left stand.
Yokohama Park is a baseball related place with historic associations in other means. In 1896 Yokohama Athletic Club, formed by foreign residents in Yokohama, and Daiichi High School played the first international baseball game here. The first night game in Japan's baseball history, Giants vs Dragons, was also played at Gehrig Stadium in 1948.
But Yokohama had never had its own pro baseball club until Yokohama Stadium, a state-of-the-art at that time, was built at Yokohama Park in 1978. It is the first multi purpose stadium with movable seats, and second artificial turf stadium in Japan. "Y" shaped lighting towers are eye-catching feature of this stadium.
Nowadyas some of those features became so obsolite that they intend to build Yokohama Dome and move the Bay Stars there. However, who wants any more domed statium in Japan, I wonder?
Yokohama Bay Stars
My father took me out to the ballgame, I can't clearly remember when, maybe in 1967 or 1968. On that day, at Kawasaki Stadium, my hateful Giants beat the Whales with 4-1 score, nevertheless my first ballpark experience was lots of fun for me.
In 1978, the Whales moved 5 miles west to Yokohama when new Yokohama Stadium was built. Aferwards Kawasaki Stadium was closed in 2000.
Kazuhiro Sasaki, the Mariners' closer and 2000 AL Rookie of the Year, played with the Bay Stars for ten years. In 1998 Sasaki was named MVP and he took the BayStars to the first Japan Series Championship since 1960.
| Franchise Established | November 22, 1949
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| Club Changes | Taiyo Whales (1950-1952), Taiyo Shochiku Robins (1953-1954), Taiyo Whales (1955-1977), Yokohama Taiyo Whales (1978-1992), Yokohama Bay Stars (1993- )
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| League Titles | '60, '98
(Years in bald indicate Japan Series Champions)
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| 2007 Attendance | 1,231,997 (Ave. 17,111), 5th in PL
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| Team Song | "Atsuki Hoshitachi-yo" (Exciting Stars)
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| Parent Company | Tokyo Broadcasting System
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Ballpark Rating
2 riceballs
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All Photos Copyright (C) 1998-2008 Takeshi Kubota. All rights reserved.
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