Since the Red Sox players are taking their time to learn Japanese with the addition of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hidkei “Darkman” Okajima, I figured it would be nice if we here in Red Sox Nation took the time to learn a few baseball related words in Japanese as taken from the Hartford Courant. If your not a Red Sox fan, these words will still be nice to know because Dice-K Mania may hit your town or your team may have a Japanese import playing for them.
In Japan, “jigoku ni ochiro jiantsu” means “Go to hell, Giants,” heard at other Central League parks because the Yomiuri Giants have long been kings in Japan. Things to know:
banto: bunt
batta: batter
fauro: a foul ball
foa boru: four ball; a walk
furu besu: bases loaded
furu kaunto: full count
gaijin or gaikokujin: foreigner, foreign player
gurobu: glove
herumetto: batting helmet
homuran: home run
kantoku: manager
kyujo: stadium
rukii: rookie
sanshin: strikeout
sayonara homuran: winning home run
sebu: a save
shinpan: umpires
shusupuritto finga fasuto boru: a split finger fastball
suraida: a slider
sutoraiku: a strike
sutoreto: straight ball, fastball
wairudo pitchi: wild pitch
yusho: victory
If you would like to see your name in Japanese, click here. This is what my name looks like: