VANCOUVER BRITISH COLUMBIA SUMMER 1941 THE ASAHI BASEBALL TEAM HAD FANS ALL OVER VANCOUVER BUT FOR US THEY WERE THE HOME TEAM THE PRIDE OF POWELL STREET THE CHAMPIONS OF THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY CHOP SUEY
BASEBALL WAS MORE THAN A SPORT TO US IT WAS LITERALLY THE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD WHERE WE WERE EQUAL TO EVERYONE ELSE Asahi THE ASAHI WERE MORE THAN A BASEBALL TEAM THEY WERE HEROES WHO TOOK US AWAY FROM IT ALL THEY HELPED US FORGET OUR TROUBLES EVEN IF JUST FOR ONE AFTERNOON
THE ASAHI PLAYERS WERE SMALLER THAN AVERAGE AND COULDN'T HIT AS WELL AS OTHERS IN THE LEAGUE SO INSTEAD OF TRYING TO OUTHIT THEIR OPPONENTS THEY SCORED RUNS BY BUNTING AND SACRIFICING THE BATTER WOULD TAP THE BALL WITHOUT SWINGING MAKING THE BALL SO HARD TO FIELD THAT THE RUNNER WOULD BE ABLE TO ADVANCE THEY WOULD THEN STEAL BASES SNEAKING FROM ONE BASE TO ANOTHER STEALTHILY SWIFTLY METHODICALLY ALL THE WAY HOME THEY CALLED THIS STRATEGY BRAIN BALL
IN WHAT WOULD BE THEIR LAST SEASON EVER THE ASAHI WERE KNOCKED OUT DURING THE SEMIFINALS Asahi Asahi Asahi Asahi Asahi Asahi Asahi Asahi Asahi IT WAS A SHOCK TO THEIR FANS AND A SURPRISE TO THE TEAM THAT HAD DOMINATED THE LEAGUE AND WERE THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS MY FATHER CALLED IT A BAD OMEN
