The Phillie Phanatic is a green, lovable trickster who woos the crowd with his antics; whether it be having fake arguments with the umpires, warming up in the bullpen, trying to arrest a Mets player, or riding his ATV over a New York Yankees dummy in front of their dugout…

It was July 6 and the Carp were taking on the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, a team nearly as bad as the Carp, who’ve lost more than half their games this year. This was one game the Carp had a chance to win. And given the Japanese people’s deep devotion to baseball, especially in Hiroshima, I figured this was one experience I shouldn’t miss while I’m in Japan.