The black bear that scrambled off into the ditch on University Way Friday morning was the centre of attention for the Toshiba-Japan Brave Areus baseball team.
While rain pelted down from the heavens, the Japanese players were still talking about their wildlife encounter during batting practice Friday afternoon, under the weatherproof confines of the Northern Sport Centre.
Japanese outfielder Kaziyuki Moriyama wanted advice on what he should do to ward off a bear and was relieved to learn bear attacks on humans are extremely rare in Canada. That's even less likely to happen to Moriyama at Citizen Field, where the champions of Japan's Inter-City Baseball Series will meet Cuba tonight at 7 p.m. in their opening game at the World Baseball Challenge.
"In Japan, people say if you meet a bear you should pretend to die, is that true?" asked Kaziyuki.
Moriyama, a 26-year-old from Tokyo, is looking forward to seeing more of what nature has to offer in Prince George if the team's baseball schedule will allow it. First and foremost, he wants to prove Toshiba has what it takes to win the WBC tournament.
"I just want to show the world that the Japanese team is the best and that we have the most fun of any team," said Moriyama, through interpreter Asuka King. "I know that Cuba is a good team but Japan just has to believe we are the best team and we can win. I know Cuba is a very big team [physically] but baseball is a mind game."
The Toshiba team has been around since 1958 and has won two All-Japan Inter Company Series titles, with seven Inter-City championships. Part of an 80-team organization, also known as the industrial league, Toshiba was a bit of a surprise winner of the 2010 championship in August. As a reward, they won the right to represent Japan at the WBC in Prince George for the next nine days.
In Japan, the industrial league is second in calibre only to Nippon Professional Baseball. The Brave Areus play mostly tournament games and had a 21-9 record in Japan as of the schedule break on July 1.
Coach Kudo Kenji said Toshiba's success hinges on its pitching and defence. Righthander Takashi Fujita was the MVP of Industrial League and he might draw the starting assignment against the Cubans tonight. Takashi played for Japan's national team at the 2010 Asian Games and helped them win the bronze medal. Other aces on the staff are righties Yuuki Egarashi and Yudai Noda, and closer Kazuo Kido. Outfielder Ryuta Matsunaga is considered the team's top hitter, while shortstop Ryoichi Adachi is a funnel for making sharp plays in the infield will also be a tough out at the plate.
The Toshiba team is made up of players from various parts of Japan, including areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami in March. Outfielder Takahiro Kuroba is from Fukushima, where the crippled nuclear plant is located, and the disaster shut down the baseball season for one month. Tonight is Japanese theme night at Citizen Field, and donations will be collected to support disaster relief efforts.
All outdoor practices and the scheduled night game between Cuba and the Beijing Tigers were postponed to Monday night because of the rain Friday.
"I am glad this [Northern Sport Centre] building is here because in Japan, not many companies own a building this huge," said Kenji. "We would be indoors in a smaller building if it was raining like this in Japan."
