Route 66

Saturday, September 15, 2012 (Friday, September 14 in the US).

I was off work and watching a live broadcast of a major league game at home (in Tokyo, Japan). The game was between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at the Texas Rangers' home stadium. The starting pitchers were Yu Darvish for the Rangers and Hisashi Iwakuma for the Mariners, and it was a match between two Japanese pitchers.

The Rangers were batting in the bottom of the eighth inning with the Rangers leading 2-1. The leadoff batter, Elvis Andrus, hit a double. Then, to my surprise, the sound of Elvis Presley was heard throughout the stadium. The song was "ALL SHOOK UP."

CD including "All SHOOK UP"(RCA/SONY)

This double marked the start of the Rangers' fierce attack, and they scored four runs in one go. And with two outs and the bases loaded, it was once again Elvis Andrus who stepped up to bat. When he hit a triple to clear the bases, Elvis Presley's "ALL SHOOK UP" was played again.

It was then that I learned for the first time that when Elvis Andrus did a great job, they would play Elvis Presley's singing voice. And I was impressed that it was such a cool and fun thing to do.

By the way, the lyrics of "ALL SHOOK UP" talk about a man who is distracted because he longs for a woman. Doesn't that seem a bit inappropriate for Elvis Andrus's success?  As an avid Elvis Presley fan, should I choose a better song and convey it to the Rangers?  But I decided not to interfere like that. Regardless of the lyrics, I realized that "ALL SHOOK UP" is a very catchy song.

In fact, I once sent a nosy email to a baseball team about the music during a game. Let me tell you the story.

Yoshihisa Hirano is a Japanese pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for three years from 2018 to 2020. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, based in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, for the first two years, and the Seattle Mariners for his final year.

During his time with the Diamondbacks, Hirano was neither a starting pitcher nor a closer. He played a relatively unspectacular role as a relief pitcher connecting the starting pitcher and the closer, but he performed brilliantly. He even set a new team record of 26 consecutive games without giving up a run. There was something that made me think about Hirano.

In the United States, there is a lively classic song called "Route 66," which has become a rhythm and blues standard. I wanted this classic song to be played loudly in the stadium when Hirano pitched with a lively style and held the opposing team scoreless during his time with the Diamondbacks. There are three reasons for this.

CD including "Route 66" (Blue Moon Imports)

1) Because Hirano's uniform number was 66.

2) Route 66, which stretches for about 4,000 km from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica near Los Angeles, California, was one of the most iconic roads in the United States. However, after World War II, when the interstate highway system was developed, it began to decline, and in 1985 it was officially abandoned. However, parts of it have been preserved, and there are still many fans who travel along the road that was once Route 66 (I am one of them). For these fans, the upbeat song "Route 66," which is about this road, is irresistibly appealing.

3) Route 66 also passes through Arizona. And the lyrics of the classic song "Route 66" mention three cities in Arizona through which Route 66 passes. One of them, Flagstaff, has ties to Japan. Percival Lowell, the famous astronomer who built the famous Lowell Observatory in this city, was also known as a Japanologist. He visited Japan many times in the late 1800s and wrote many books about Japan. There is a monument in Lowell's honor in Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, where he stopped off on his travels. Furthermore, when I visited Lowell Observatory about 30 years ago, I was happy to see the memorial monument donated by Anamizu Town.

I sent an email to the Diamondbacks' official website about this, requesting that they play "Route 66" whenever Hirano takes the mound and plays well, but there was no response. What a shame!

But I don't have any ill feelings towards the Diamondbacks. If the Diamondbacks were to respond to every single email from fans with suggestions and requests like mine, they would never have enough time. And my suggestions and requests may have been too intrusive.

Still, it's a shame!

( If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)