Young Japanese Baseball Players Take Home Special Prize: Dirt

High school baseball players in Japan, some in their final year, missed their 2020 play season because of COVID-19 cancellations.

But the players have not been forgotten, at least not by Japanese professional baseball. The famed Hanshin Tigers team is honoring² about 50,000 young baseball players with a gift to remember their lost season: a small amount of dirt.

But, that dirt comes from Koshien Stadium, a beloved³ playing field in a country that is filled with fans of the nation's most popular sport.

Koshien is in Nishinomiya, Hyogo state. Every year, more than 3,000 teams battle through local and state competitions in an effort that ends at Koshien, the championship of high school baseball. Many famous Japanese professionals have played on the field there, including Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Matsui.

Losing at Koshien hurts, of course. But, there is a great tradition that helps ease⁴ the pain. Every time a team loses, each member gathers a handful⁵ of dirt from the field to take back home and keep forever.

On a recent day, however, it was a few Hanshin Tigers players digging up dirt at Koshien, which is also home to that professional team.

The Tigers are putting the dirt into clear balls to be attached to key chains. Then, the team will send them to the thousands of high school baseball players.

Across the ball, are the words: "2020 102nd Koshien" and images of a ball, bats and the sports center. The key chains are set to ship in August, when the championship usually begins.

Hibiki Kawamato is a player for Iwamichisuikan High School in the western state of Shimane. He told the Associated Press he was excited about getting the gift, as The Tigers are his favorite team.

The game means so much to him. "When I get a hit when the team really needs it, I get praised by everyone," he said. "I'm going to play baseball till I die."

Akihiko Tanimoto is a social studies teacher who works⁶ with the team. He said the players were still working out hard, and the cancellation¹ served as a lesson to not quit in the face of difficulties.

"Koshien was our goal, but it was not the purpose of why we play high school baseball, which is about not giving up until it's over," he said in a telephone interview.

The school has made it to the Koshien summer tournament 10 times.

The history of the dirt-gathering tradition is not fully⁷ known. But it dates back many years.

The winning team also gathers dirt, but later, after the final award ceremony.

Many Tigers players have come through the Koshien championship series. They understood the pain when the dream of play there was stolen.

"We all pondered⁸ what we could do for them, and I think it holds special meaning that we did this for them together as a team," said outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. He took part in the Koshien tournament while at PL Gakuen high school.

"I want them all to stay optimistic," said Fukudome, formerly⁹ of the Chicago Cubs¹⁰, Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

key chain(s) – n. a small metal chain, often attached to a metal ring and a decoration, that you use to hold keys together

excited – adj. feeling or showing happiness and enthusiasm¹¹

ponder(ed) – v. to think about something carefully for a period of time

optimistic – adj. expecting good things to happen or something to be successful

1 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

2 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

3 beloved   

adj./n.受爱戴的，敬爱的；爱人，被心爱的人

参考例句：

• She longs for the early return of her beloved.她盼着心上人早日归来。
• She is Tom's beloved wife.她是汤姆的爱妻。

4 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

5 handful   

n.一把；少量，少数，一小撮

参考例句：

• We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人，但是只到了几个人。
• He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 pondered   

考虑( ponder的过去式和过去分词 )； 深思熟虑； 沉思； 琢磨

参考例句：

• She pondered over his words. 她反复琢磨他的话。
• She pondered his marriage proposal for weeks. 几个星期以来她认真地考虑着他的求婚。

9 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

10 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 enthusiasm   

n.热情，激情；巨大兴趣；热衷的事物

参考例句：

• We set about our task at once with great enthusiasm.我们立刻兴致勃勃地干起来。
• A team which is full of enthusiasm is more likely to win.情绪高涨的球队更可能获胜。