Just before the first pitch of the Hiroshima Carp¡¯s season opener against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on March 31, a familiar tune emanated from the visitor¡¯s section in left field at Jingu Stadium.
It was the cheer song Carp fans used to sing for Takahiro Arai, a Hiroshima-born star slugger who retired in 2018 and was in the dugout for his first game as the team¡¯s manager.
If the fans were belting out the tune back then as a way to welcome a favorite son back into the fold, singing it now, after the All-Star break, might serve as a way to welcome the team back into the pennant race for the first time in four years.
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