Rounding Third

The Season’s Best Baseball Books

Opening Days Around The World

Okinawa Cellular Stadium in Naha, Japan

MLB All Stars travel from Osaka to Tokyo for the middle stretch of the All Star Series. The Tokyo Dome, aka 'The Big Egg', is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants and the location of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

   The MLB All-Stars, fresh off their 9-8 victory over the Hanshin-Yomiuri squad in an exhibition matchup Tuesday, head to nearby Kyocera Dome in Osaka Wednesday for the first official game of the Japan All Star Series. The MLB stars will be leaving behind the best baseball experience Japanese baseball has to offer for arguably the worst.

Known more for its resemblance to a silver spaceship in the middle of the city than an actual functioning ballpark, Kyocera opened in 1997 and is the official home of the Orix Buffaloes and their disgruntled fans. Following the merger of the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix Blue Wave in 2006 to form the Orix Buffaloes, many of the Blue Wave fans complain about the commute from Kobe to Osaka and often stay at home. Leaving the games played their less livelier than those played elsewhere in the league.

A bizarre design might be the highlight of the Osaka Dome, because once you are inside, you will not see this as much different than the Rogers Centre in Toronto, sans the stadium seating layout in the dugouts.