The End of the Year

Well it was a great run, but we were blanked 8-0 in some unfortunate circumstances due to bad weather. The game started from the bottom of the 3rd, with them up to bat with bases loaded, and leading 6-0. The umpires should have stopped the last game in the 2nd inning, maybe even before it started. Rain was inevitable for the entire day, yet, JABA umpires don't get paid if there's a rainout, so they try to push the game out. So the circumstances didn't help our chances.

Teruclinic got two runs in the bottom of the 7th to push the game to 8-0, which enables the game to end after the 7th inning in a tournament game. It was a great season for a first season for Aniya. I have no idea what's going to happen next year. The team has offered their desire in having me come back for next year as a starter. I'm just praying for these guys to come to church and hear the Gospel. Please continue to pray.

God bless you,

rob

Game On

The 2nd game of the RBC Tournament with be held at Akama Stadium on Saturday the 26th. The game will start at 845 in the morning. This game is a continuation from the previous rain out. The game will leave off in the top of the 3rd inning with bases loaded and Teruclinic leading 6-0. During the previous game, the weather was so bad that the ground turned to mud. Even the 3rd and 1st base lines were without visibility. It was crazy! They got three runs off a foul ball, and two grounders that literally got stuck in the mud. In Japan, the rain has to be literally drenching people for them to actually stop the game. In this one, the mud had become so thick, that the pitcher was sliding all over the place when he landed to deliver the ball to home plate. Unfair? Well, God knows! He's in control. I'm looking for another cool miracle from Him! We'll have 7 clean innings to try and comeback in this one. Plenty of chances! I won't be pitching in this one.

Please pray that the Lord does a miracle, and He also heals my middle finger on my pitching hand. I've been having problems with cracks under my fingernail.

God is good! Jesus, lead us in victory I pray! In Jesus name, Amen!

God bless you,

Thanks for your prayers and support.

rob

Rained out!

The game was rained out in the 3rd inning. Unfortunately, I left the game after the first inning with a crack in my middle finger nail. We were down 6-0 with bases loaded when the game was called. The game has been rescheduled for the 23th or the 26th. Please stay tuned! We still need a miracle from the Lord to come back in this one!

rob

Teruclinic game: RBC Tourny game 2

This Saturday at 830am at Urasoe Stadium, we will play Teruclinic from the Naha area for the second round of the RBC tournament. Teruclinic was one of my former teams from back in 2008. I practiced with them for about 4 months before moving on to play for the Rangers in Wakayama. They are a great group of guys who love to play the game. Teruclinic is a sports medicine/rehabilitation center for sports injuries. They are also known for performing elbow and shoulder surgeries for baseball players on island. Many of the guys work for the company and play for the club team. They're a tough team to beat!

Well, I'll be the one getting the nod for this one. This is my third start all-time since living in Japan. Previously, I'm 0-2. Also, this might be my last game in Japan. Not sure what the future has for baseball, but it's always best o leave it up to the Lord! He is in control! This is why we are here in game 2, because of the Lord's blessing! What a miracle that we won the first game! I'm excited.

Please pray for the teams as I just continue to show them the light of Christ! Jesus is Lord! Trust in Him! He will never let you down!

Amen!

All for Jesus!

rob

We Won!

I still cant believe it! We defeated Okikoku 3-2 in the first game of the RBC tournament at Cellular Stadium in Naha. Our pitcher Mitsuru pitched a complete game, giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits. The game was tied 2-2 in th bottom of the 9th, when our led-off hitter stroked a triple over the left fielders head. This lead to the next two batters being intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs and the winning run only 90 feet away. If we didn't score, I was gong to come into the game in the top of the 10th. I threw 120 pitches from the 2nd inning to the 9th. Our pitcher just settled down after allowing 2 runs in the first inning and our team got their first hit in the bottom of the 8th. Interesting! A sacrifice fly allowed the runner to score and for us to secure the victory.

All glory to God! It was a miracle indeed! I was super blessed!

Next game will be at Urasoe Baseball Stadium where the Yakult Swallows have spring training. I will start the game against TeruClinic.

Game starts at 830.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

God bless,

rob

RBC Tournament

This is our first and last tournament of the year. The game will be held at the Au Cellular Stadium in Naha on Saturday the 29th. Our game starts at 130 vs Okinawa International University. If we win this game, we will play the winner between Teruclinic and Bigkaihatsu next Saturday Nov. 5th. If we win that game, then we will play in the finals versus Okiden or Enagic. At this point, it will be an absolutely miracle of God for us to win it all. We have so many holes in our team, yet, we have such great chemistry as a whole. Coming into this tournament, we are the lowest ranking team in Okinawa. I've been praying for the impossible to become possible, all for the glory of God! It will be a fun time otherwise. If you have time, please come out and cheer us on.

God bless you and please pray that these guys see Jesus through baseball!!!

rob

Ryukyu University Game

Well, the Okidai game was called because of the rain. This Saturday will be our last practice game before the start of the tournament. The game will be played at the Ryudai field in Ginowan. Game starts at 1.

God bless,

rob

Okidai Game

We have a game today versus Okidai(Okinawa University), if the weather holds up. It's been pretty rainy out here that last few days. Also, on the 29th, the RBC tournament will be held at the new Au Cellular Stadium in Naha. This is the home to the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB during spring training. First game: Okinawa International University.

Praise the Lord! I'm excited! More post to come before them.

rob

The Okinawan baseball Magazine

Our team was featured in the Okinawa Magazine this month, as a new pick-up team added to the league. The pictures are quite hilarious, considering the fact that none of us had our original uniforms when the pictures were taken in June, only these uniforms from the previous team. I've had the opportunity to invite these guys to church. Some of the players are married with kids. Please pray that the Lord stirs their hearts to come to church on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night!

Praise the Lord for what He's doing through baseball.

God bless,

rob

Meio University Game

On the 24th on Saturday, we will be playing the University of Meio from Nago. The game will be held at Kadena Stadium starting at 2 o'clock. Please come out if you have some time and would like to check out a Japanese style baseball game.

Please continue to pray for all the baseball players throughout Japan. Everywhere you look, there is always a kid wearing a uniform, either walking to practice, or walking home from practice. Baseball is huge in Japan. It's especially big here in Okinawa.

Pray that they may know Jesus through baseball!!

God bless.

rob

A step closer

Here's a short clip of one of the innings during a practice game on Saturday.

Enjoy the Japanese voices in the background.

God bless,

rob

Ehime Mandarin Pirates Coaching Staff

It's not everyday that you get the opportunity to show your stuff to a professional baseball coaching staff. This is a picture of the head coach, Hoshino-san(former player and one of the coaches for the Rakuten Golden Eagles), pitching coach(former Yakult Swallows pitcher), and the head of the players development.

It was cool just meeting these guys and having the opportunity to just be there. This was part of Rika and my trip to visit family in Ehime. We were able to get in contact with them and ask them for a chance to workout with them.

God bless,

rob

First game of the year

We lost the first game of the season 8-3. Okinawa International University is the strongest University in Okinawa. They had a lot of well timely hits. Basically 2 doubles and the rest singles. I pitched 4 innings. 3 scoreless until the 3rd. Two errors cost us 2 runs, yet they capitalized and scored 6 runs in the third. My control was right on, and I only walked one batter. I put too many pitches right in the zone. My max was 139km(86 mph).

This was the first time I'd pitched to live batters in a game in one full year. I was blessed with the ability to throw strikes. That was the key. Next outing, I'll be mixing in more off-speed pitches. Pitching is all about destroying timing. I learn that for my former coach Don Sneddon at Santa Ana College.

God is in control. We have a big double header coming up at Akama Stadium in Onna-Son on September 24th.

Praise the Lord! He is faithful!

rob

Okikoku Practice Game

We have our first game for Aniya on Saturday the 20th at 9 am versus Okinawa International University.

I was blessed to get the nod as the starting pitcher. I haven't pitched against a hitter in a live game since last September.

May the Lord be glorified through baseball!

Pitching in Ehime

When my wife and I were in Ehime, we were able to visit with an independent pro team called the Ehime Mandarin Pirates. I was able to talk to them about a workout before I left just to see what the team was like. I was so blessed. They allowed me to throw a short bullpen. Afterward, we talked with the manager and a few of the coaches. It was a good opportunity to show my pitching and hear how they run the team.

A few of the guys on the team remembered me from my days playing for the Rangers in Wakayama.

God is good. Pray for the players and staff of the Mandarin Pirates. In Jesus' Name!

rob

Aniya Tryout

Nishihara Marine City Aniya is holding a tryout on Saturday May 28th. This was the flyer that the manager gave to us guys to give to local shops for advertisement. Also, there was an ad last week in the Ryuku Shimpo newspaper about the new coaching staff and tryout. I won't be trying out for this one. The team had invited me to join the team, which is a blessing! Prayerfully, the Lord will bring some new guys He wants to minister to. I will be going to the tryout after work to check out what's going on. Looking forward to a great season with a new team!

God bless you!

rob

Nishihara Marine City Aniya

Recently, I received an e-mail from one of my baseball contacts about potentially training together. Justin Krause, a military dependent and semi-pro baseball player here in Okinawa, started working out with me every Thursday and Saturday at 630 in the morning over at Okinawa International University. It's great to see someone with a lot of zeal to play the game of baseball! Justin is only 20 years old. He introduced me back to my old team, Aniya. Aniya baseball now has a new sponsor from a golf company located in the heart of Nishihara. Nishihara is very close to Ginowan, which makes traveling easy for me. So, I started working out with the guys every Tuesday and Thursday night. Here we are at the indoor training facility in Nishihara City.

Please continue to pray for what the Lord wants to do. There are a few American guys on this team, and I believe the Lord wants to speak to their hearts. It's great being with the Japanese ball players again! These guys are always cheerful! I'm praying the Lord will give them true everlasting cheer.

Please pray for Nishihara Marine City Aniya players and coaches!

God bless,

In His timing,

rob

Uncle Rico?

So I have become an Uncle Rico! Well, I've always been an Uncle Rico. If you are familiar with the Napoleon Dynamite movie, you would remember the story of his Uncle Rico throwing footballs by himself, and filming it at the same time. There's a University baseball field near my house. Early in the mornings, a few years back, I would go there a throw off a mound into a back screen. I had nobody to play catch with, and I still don't, so I throw a bucket off balls off a mound. Afterwards, I do plenty of sprints and agility workouts. It's actually a great workout and a wonderful time spending with the Lord! I don't know what the future holds for baseball, but I definitely have the desire to play again. I'm just keeping fresh and staying ready for that call, if the Lord wills!

Here is a little video of my mechanics. Please drop me a message. If you know a lot about pitching, give me some advice and what I might be doing wrong in my delivery. I would be blessed to hear from you!

Thanks for checking out this field of dreams! Hope you had a good laugh at my Uncle Rico impersonation!

God bless,

rob

Beginning of the End?

The tryout for Enagic went well. I threw a 30 pitch bullpen as the manager watched. I felt pretty good, but the Lord just has different plans. The manager informed me that they were going to do an overall assessment of my pitching performance, and then give me a heads up that following Friday. For two days I sought the Lord for His will in this situation. Did the Lord want me to play for Enagic this year? Does He want me to play for another team? Has the door of playing baseball in Okinawa shut? Those were the many things I was praying and seeking after the Lord about. That following Friday, I received the answer I knew was coming. Enagic had just informed me that there were too many pitchers, and too many of them were years younger than myself. I won't be playing for Enagic anymore. The last two years have been such a great ride! God has really blessed me with the opportunity to play baseball for a company team, and not work for the company. I just played baseball, and was paid to play! Exciting! We'll see what will happen next. There are no other company teams here in Okinawa that I could play for, but, some club teams have shown interest. Please pray as the Lord leads. I still have such a desire to share Christ with the baseball players in Japan while I still can! Soon, my body won't let me physically play anymore! I've been seeing the signs of those physical ailments, but, they're not completely here yet!

Prayerfully, the Lord will direct me into another uniform, and give me another group of guys to share His love with! Praise the Lord!

Thanks for tuning in again! Be blessed! In His Name!

rob #30(#44)