A Colonel of Truth Concerning Japanese Baseball

Since arriving in Japan, I have come to realize that baseball is an incredibly popular sport throughout Japan. While American Major League Baseball has always been known as the home for the best players the world has to offer, Japanese baseball has improved with more competitive play, intense rivalries, and a large amount of players leaving the country to play professionally in the United States. Unfortunately, like everything, there is a dark side. The following paragraphs will detail baseball’s tangled relationship to the occult, the emergence of this sinister characteristic in Japanese baseball, as well the Colonel who found himself in the middle of all of it.

The “curse” first found its way into American baseball as a means to rationally explain the failure of a particular team to win the championship. The Boston Red Sox were unable to win the World Series for 86 years due to their trading of Babe Ruth (considered the greatest player in history) in 1920. The Chicago White Sox were also not capable of a championship victory for 86 years due to the team throwing the 1919 World Series. Finally, The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 due to the fact that the team was cursed by William Sianis, just after he and his pet goat were ejected from a game. Naturally, the Japanese looked to the United States with a wary eye. They knew that if curses could strike American baseball, it could also possibly attack Japanese teams. Rumors circulated that Japanese baseball officials even considered the banning of goats from all sporting events as a means for stifling any potential curse. Many believed that these draconian tactics were a means of permanently isolating the phenomenon safely in the United States. Unfortunately, the curse had other ways to deliver its unique brand of destruction. In 1971, the Japanese government allowed Kentucky Fried Chicken to open restaurants within its borders. Japanese baseball would never be the same.

The year 1985 would be an amazing year for the Hanshin Tigers. The team based out of Osaka, was playing solid baseball thanks in part to star first baseman, American Randy Bass. When the team made it to the Japan Series, Tiger fans held their breath as the team beat the Seibu Lions 4 games to 2. Tiger fans were justifiably elated and decided to celebrate at a canal in Osaka’s famous Dotonbori district. While the events of that day are now clouded in mystery and intrigue, a common consensus about what happened has emerged. In the euphoria following the victory, the fans decided that anyone who resembled a player from the Tigers should jump into the canal. When it came for someone who looked like Randy Bass to jump into the water, the fans realized that they were unable to find anyone who appeared American. It was at this moment, that a statue of Colonel Harlan Sanders attracted the eye of the fans. Agreeing that since the Colonel (like Randy Bass) had facial hair and was American; the fans hastily ripped the statue out of the ground and threw it into the canal.

Ever since the Colonel sunk into the muddy waters, the Hanshin Tigers have never again won a championship. Many fans believe that only after the statue is recovered, will the Tigers ever win again. As a result, expeditions have gone searching for the Colonel, but to no avail. Many KFC restaurants now bolt their Colonel statues to the ground in order to discourage a repeat of the original catastrophe. Despite the seemingly ominous fate for the Tigers, their does seem to be a glimmer of hope. In 2003 and 2005 the team returned to the championship game, only to lose on both occasions. Many have wondered if perhaps the Colonel may forgive the team and allow them another victory in the Japan Series. Still others believe that the Colonel will never excuse the team or its fans. They believe that until the statue is recovered, he will continue his war against the Tigers, utilizing his original recipe for their failure.