Hello Kitty project draws new fans to the stadium
Since the debut of pitcher Hideo Nomo, who paved the way for Japanese players, the success of the next generation of players in the major leagues has been remarkable. From 2016 to the current 2019 season, pitcher Kenta Maeda was on the Los Angeles Dodgers team. Between Nomo and Maeda, pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii, Masao Kida, Takashi Saito, and Hiroki Kuroda all played at Dodger Stadium, and Yu Darvish, who is currently with the Chicago Cubs, was on the team in 2017. However, what is not widely known is that behind the spotlight on the players, Japanese staff have been supporting them. One such person is Yayoi Sato, the team's Global Partnerships Manager.
Yayoi is currently a manager in the corporate sales department, but when he started working for the Dodgers in 2003, he was assigned to the Asia department, which scouted players from Asia. The year 2003 coincided with the time when pitchers Nomo and Ishii were in the starting rotation. After working in the Asia department for a year, Yayoi left the Dodgers to work on a different job. However, in 2008, when pitcher Kuroda joined the team, the team asked him to return, and he began working as a scout in the Asia department again. After that, when the Asia department was dissolved in 2013, he was transferred to his current department, but he says he still gets calls for work related to Japan.
I first met Yayoi in February 2019 at Dodger Stadium. When I asked her about the rewards of working for the team, she replied, "It was playing in the World Series for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018. The last time they won was in 1988, so it's been 31 years already. There are many staff members who have never seen the Dodgers play in a World Series, so I'm glad I got to experience that excitement." When I asked her, she recalled that her entire life was in a tennis club recognized by Keio University during her university days. Yayoi herself is a true sports girl.
Yayoi's deep love for the Dodgers is palpable, but that love has also produced some great results. One example of this was when she came up with and implemented a collaboration project with Hello Kitty as a way to bring back attendance at Dodger Stadium, which had been struggling for a while. When ticket sales dropped for a time, Yayoi turned her attention to Hello Kitty, which appeals to women and children, as a way to not only bring back fans who had drifted away, but also to attract new fans. She then released a limited edition of 10,000 ticket packages that included Hello Kitty items, which sold out in an instant. "Our goal was to get people who came to watch baseball because of Hello Kitty to become repeat customers," she said, and her aim was a perfect success.
Building a bridge between the US and Japan in the world of sports
So what was the trigger that Yayoi, who is now an indispensable member of the Dodgers, went to America? The first time she lived in America was when she studied abroad in her second year of high school. However, the treatment she received was different from what she had been promised, and Yayoi took action. "I was dissatisfied because my relationship with my host family did not go well. The treatment was completely different from what the study abroad institution had explained to me. So I tried my best to communicate in English in order to get my requests across." She continued to work hard without being discouraged by adversity, and as a result, by the end of her 10-month study abroad period, she was no longer having any trouble expressing herself in English.
After that, she went to university in Japan and got a job at an art-related company. After quitting the company, she went to America by herself and traveled alone for three months, returned to Japan once, and continued for another three months. After working as an interpreter for the construction project of Tokyo DisneySea, she visited Los Angeles to meet an American man she had met through that work. It was 2001. Two days after she arrived, the unprecedented September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. Yayoi stayed in America and married the man. Unfortunately, they went their separate ways after that, but that incident was a turning point for Yayoi.
After moving to the US, she worked for a Japanese apparel trading company in Los Angeles for a while. Then, when she heard about the Dodgers' recruitment for people who could speak Japanese, she applied. "The second test after the interview was very unique. I was asked to work at a desk in the Asia department room that existed at the time. That department worked as a team, so I think they wanted me to check what the atmosphere was like by being there." She passed not only the interview, but also the second test, which involved a kind of work simulation, and successfully passed the interview with the top management, becoming a Dodgers employee.
When he joined the company, pitcher Nomo was on the Dodgers roster. However, he says, "I've known Nomo for a long time since he retired. He's currently working with Junior All Japan (NOMO Japan), and every year he organizes an American tour for selected junior high school students from all over the country. He sometimes arranges games at Dodger Stadium and tours."
She also recalls that the Dodgers had approached Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, about joining the major leagues, something Ohtani had been interested in since high school. "In the end, at the last minute he joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters (instead of the major leagues). Five years have passed since then, and he is finally coming to the major leagues, and of course the Dodgers put their name forward to acquire Ohtani. I prepared the Japanese materials for him and was also present at the presentation. In the end, he went to the Angels in the American League, but as a fellow Japanese, I now support Ohtani, who had a great career and won the Rookie of the Year award, with a motherly feeling (laughs)."
Finally, when asked "Will you continue working for the Dodgers forever?", Yayoi answered with a smile, "Even if I leave the Dodgers in the future, I want to continue working for a long time to be a bridge between Japan and America in the field of sports." As someone who has achieved positive results from all circumstances, I think she will surely find new motivation and move forward whether in the Dodgers or in another environment.
© 2019 Keiko Fukuda
