116-694: Hanshin Koshien Stadium ( 阪神甲子園球場 , Hanshin Kōshien Kyūjō ) , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium , is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya , Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments , and opened on 1 August 1924. It was the largest stadium in Asia at the time it was completed, with a capacity of 55,000. The name Kōshien ( 甲子園 ) comes from Wood Rat of
232-469: A cantilevered upper deck seating area that hung out over the lower seating area. Although it did not use reinforced concrete in its construction, Baker Bowl is considered the first of the jewel box parks. The first to use reinforced concrete was Shibe Park , which opened in 1909, also in Philadelphia. The upper decks were typically held up by steel pillars that obstructed the view from some seats in
348-505: A Thousand" , composed by Gustav Mahler , was used in episode fourteen. "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisō" ( 涼宮ハルヒの激奏 , "The Extravagance of Haruhi Suzumiya" ) was a live concert event held at Omiya Sonic City on March 18, 2007, that featured songs from the anime sung by the voice actors, which was also featured in episode 15 of Lucky Star . The DVD of the concert was released on July 27, 2007. On April 29, 2009 Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensō ( 涼宮ハルヒの弦奏 , The Symphony of Haruhi Suzumiya )
464-509: A bag of soil from Koshien Stadium. In Angel Beats! Hinata says he was part of a baseball team that was aiming to play in Koshien. In Silver Spoon , Ichiro Komaba is determined to get his baseball team to Koshien to go pro and make money for his family farm. In an episode of the Netflix anime series Devilman Crybaby it is featured as the arena for a track and field event. It is
580-713: A bond as a band of misfits. Written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito , the light novels alternate between full-length novels and collections of short stories and novellas that initially appeared in The Sneaker , a seinen novel magazine published by the Japanese publishing company Kadokawa Shoten . Kadokawa Shoten published 11 volumes from June 6, 2003, to May 25, 2011. In an official guidebook titled The Observation of Haruhi Suzumiya published in June 2011, Tanigawa mentioned in an interview that he had finalized
696-534: A certain way each day of the week to actively searching for supernatural phenomena and figures. One day, Kyon accidentally plants in Haruhi's head the idea for her to start a club to engage in her eccentricities, so she establishes a club called the "SOS Brigade" ( SOS団 , Esu-Ō-Esu Dan ) , short for " S preading excitement all O ver the world with Haruhi S uzumiya Brigade" ( 世界を大いに盛り上げるための涼宮ハルヒの団 , S ekai o Ō ini Moriageru Tame no S uzumiya Haruhi no Dan ) (In
812-413: A chain-link fence. Beyond the infield and between the foul lines is a large grass outfield, generally twice the depth of the infield. The playing field is bordered by fences of varying heights. The infield fences are in foul territory, and a ball hit over them is not a home run; consequently, they are often lower than the outfield fences to provide a better view for spectators. Sometimes, the outfield fence
928-400: A concrete plan surfaced for improvement of the complete baseball ground facilities. Construction began during the off-season of 2008 while the stadium continued to be used for baseball. Later stages followed during the off-season, and the large-scale construction was completed in 2010. The main points of the plan are as follows: The stadium has four seating price ranges. The top seats are
1044-546: A diamond. The infield is a rigidly structured diamond of dirt and grass containing the three bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. The space between the bases and home is normally a grass surface, save for the dirt mound in the center. Some ballparks have grass or artificial turf between the bases, and dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Others, such as Koshien Stadium in Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan, have an infield of entirely dirt. Two white lines extend from
1160-532: A few which are oriented just slightly west of straight north. (Left-handed pitchers are called "southpaws", and indeed the pitcher's left hand is toward the south in the usual park layout, and this has often been cited as the source of the appellation. But this is most likely a false etymology , or partly so, as "southpaw" for left-handers has been in use since at least the mid 19th century, and applied to boxers.) Today, in Major League Baseball ,
1276-503: A minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field, and 400 feet (120 m) to center. (Rule 1.04, Note(a)). This rule was passed to avoid situations like the Los Angeles Coliseum , which was 251 ft (77 m). down the left field line. However, with the opening of Baltimore's Camden Yards (1992), the "minimum distance" rule began to be ignored. One factor may be that
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#17327720467611392-429: A multi-tiered seating area, a grandstand , surrounds the infield. How far this seating extends down the baselines or around the foul poles varies from park to park. In minor league parks, the grandstands are notably smaller, proportional to expected sizes of crowds compared with the major leagues. The seating beyond the outfield fence generally differs from the grandstand, though some multi-purpose or jewel box parks have
1508-476: A record 513,000 first pressing for light novels. As of 2017, 20 million copies of all versions of the light novels and manga volumes internationally are in print. In December 2006 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime adaptation was the most popular anime series in Japan at that time according to Newtype USA magazine. The first two volumes had sold 70,000 and 90,000 units respectively as of August 2006. It
1624-479: A rugby venue in New Zealand with an ETFE roof allowing grass to be grown indoors, or NFL stadiums like State Farm Stadium and Allegiant Stadium , which allow the grass field to be grown outside and then rolled indoors for games), the first generation of indoor parks predated such abilities. Since there was not enough light to grow grass, artificial turf is installed, and this affected the game. Artificial turf
1740-478: A similar boom. One of the first major league ballparks to be called a "stadium" was actually the Polo Grounds, which was temporarily renamed Brush Stadium from its reconstruction in 1911 until the death of owner John T. Brush in the 1920s. By then, the most famous baseball "stadium" of them all had been constructed: Yankee Stadium . From that point until the retro building boom of the 1990s, the suffix "Stadium"
1856-532: A video game for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PSP titled The Reminiscence of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの追想 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsuisō ) on May 12, 2011. The game is a sequel to The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya , taking place shortly afterward. The PS3 and PSP versions sold a combined 33,784 copies in their first four days of sales. Characters from the Haruhi Suzumiya series also appear in
1972-469: A younger target audience than the original novels. Though mostly consisting of straight adaptations of the light novels, the manga also included 13 new stories scattered throughout, each one chapter long, and most of them spinning off of one of the light novel stories. On April 17, 2008 Yen Press announced that they had acquired the license for the North American release of the first four volumes of
2088-504: Is based on the anime version of the series and was released on July 5, 2006, by Lantis . The second volume was released on September 21, 2006, while a third was released on December 21, 2006. A drama CD titled Sound Around , based on the anime adaptation, was released on January 24, 2007, by Lantis . Six video games have been produced based on the series. Namco Bandai Games released an adventure game , The Promise of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの約束 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku ) , for
2204-456: Is currently licensed by Crunchyroll . Kyon is a sardonic, witty student at North High School in Nishinomiya who once sought to have an extraordinary life, but after deeming the notion childish, now seeks little more than a normal life. At school, however, he ends up befriending Haruhi Suzumiya , an eccentric schoolgirl that sits behind him in class who is constantly seeking to make life more interesting for herself, ranging from doing her hair
2320-408: Is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part based on the placement of bases, and the outfield is where dimensions can vary widely from ballpark to ballpark. A larger ballpark may also be called a baseball stadium because it shares characteristics of other stadiums . A baseball field can be referred to as
2436-476: Is harder, and thus a ball hit on the ground moves faster and bounces higher. This, coupled with the usually dull white or gray roofs that could camouflage a fly ball, causing what Twins fans called a "dome-field advantage". A park of note is Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The park was designed with a large tower that loomed over top. Cables came down from the top of the tower to connect to the large oval center of
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#17327720467612552-431: Is in a bad mood, and each of the organizations believes that should Haruhi learn of her powers or be put in a bad enough mood, it could destroy the entire universe. As such, the three club members, together with Kyon, work to keep life happy for Haruhi to prevent such an apocalyptic scenario under the guise of being part of the S.O.S. Brigade, as well as combating external threats that seek to exploit Haruhi, all while forming
2668-417: Is little consistency in the choice between "Field" and "Park". For example, Houston's Minute Maid Park was originally named "Enron Field". Seating area design of stadiums is affected by many variables, including required capacity, audience access, and road traffic. Early ballparks like Elysian Fields were a far distance from the city center. Each game was an event, and fans traveled by public transit to watch
2784-423: Is little space between the field and the street beyond. Some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to 60 feet (18 m), whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome , when set up for baseball, had a 23-foot (7.0 m) right field "fence" that was actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded up football seats. It
2900-431: Is made higher in certain areas to compensate for close proximity to the batter. In many parks, the field is surrounded by an area roughly 10 feet (3.0 m) wide made of dirt or rubberized track surface called a " warning track ". In the 1937 refurbishment of the original Yankee Stadium , a running track that ran the perimeter of the field was incorporated into the field of play as the first warning track. MLB formalized
3016-437: Is the catcher's box, where the catcher and the home plate umpire stand. Next to the first and third base are two coaches' boxes, where the first and third base coaches guide the baserunners, generally with gestures or shouts. As the baserunner faces away from the outfield when running from second base to third, they cannot see where the ball is and must look to the third base coach on whether to run, stop, or slide. Farther from
3132-542: The Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series in Shōnen Ace . The first one, by Makoto Mizuno, ran from May to December 2004 issues and was partially compiled in one volume published in August 2004. It was considerably different from the light novels, having little input from the original author. The second series, illustrated by Gaku Tsugano, ran from November 2005 and to November 2013 issues, having been published in 20 volumes, with
3248-629: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , which instead of a rigid masonry roof was covered by inflatable fiberglass sheeting, held up by air pressure. A drawback to this design, at least in Minnesota's severe winter climate, was revealed when the dome collapsed three times in its first three years of operation due to accumulated snow. The Tokyo Dome has a similar roof; due to Tokyo's considerably milder winter climate, that stadium has not had
3364-571: The Kingdome , whose formal name was "King County Domed Stadium", and the Metrodome, for which the Minneapolis highway signs directed the driver to "Metrodome Stadium". The retro era of the 1990s and early 2000s saw some venues return to using "park" in a stadium's name, even in domed structures such as T-Mobile Park and American Family Field (which opened with the name Miller Park). There
3480-618: The Oakland Coliseum being the last one in use. The Athletics moved out of Oakland Coliseum in 2024 and have temporairy moves into West Sacramento 's Sutter Health Park for three seasons as a new dedicated facility of their own is built in Las Vegas. Their former co-tenants, the NFL Oakland Raiders , moved to Las Vegas in 2020 & into Allegiant Stadium . Note: To reduce redundancy, this table does not list
3596-599: The PlayStation Portable (PSP) on December 20, 2007. Banpresto released another adventure game available for the PlayStation 2 on January 31, 2008, called The Perplexity of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの戸惑 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi ) . It was the 95th best-selling game in Japan in 2008, selling 139,425 copies. The third game was developed by Kadokawa Shoten for the Wii , The Excitement of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの激動 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekidō ) . It
Koshien Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-554: The crossover PSP video game, Nendoroid Generation , by Namco Bandai Games, Good Smile Company and Banpresto . In December 2006, Bandai Entertainment registered the website asosbrigade.com . On December 22, 2006, the website opened with a live action presentation video resembling a fan-made production featuring Haruka Inoue and Akiyo Yamamoto in the roles of Mikuru Asahina and Yuki Nagato, with Haruhi Suzumiya being played by Patricia Ja Lee . The video (in Japanese) confirmed
3828-458: The second Yankee Stadium , built 2009, used the same dimensions as the original Yankee Stadium . The heights of the fences can also vary greatly, the most famous example being the 37-foot (11 m)-high Green Monster in Fenway Park 's left field. Such tall fences are often used to stop easy home runs in a section of the ballpark where the distances from home are shorter, or where there
3944-751: The sexagenary cycle system. The year of the stadium's founding, 1924, was the first year kōshi ( 甲子 ) in the cycle. The design of the stadium was heavily influenced by the Polo Grounds in New York City. In 1936 it became the home stadium for the Osaka Tigers (current Hanshin Tigers), now with the Central League . On 14 February 1964, Hanshin , the Tigers' owners, was appended to
4060-509: The ASOS Dance Contest held on Friday and the winner would have the chance to dance on stage with the guests of honor. Ever since the event was announced, advance ticket sales for pre-registered attendees have caused AX officials to cut down on the number of tickets sold due to the overwhelming number of advance tickets sold (despite the event being free of charge to attend). In 2010, a new set of videos were introduced to announce
4176-524: The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers ( JASRAC ) to request that YouTube remove clips claimed to be under the copyright of their members. Business journalist Tadashi Sudo attributed the anime series' success towards coming out during a time when the Internet streaming market was new and being able to take advantage of it. An example described was how Nico Nico Douga
4292-432: The Japanese animation studio Kyoto Animation and directed by Tatsuya Ishihara , contained 14 episodes which aired in Japan between April 2 and July 2, 2006. It was originally aired in a nonlinear order , with the prologue and first seven chapters of the first novel intermixed with chapters from some of the later novels. The "next episode" previews feature two different episode numberings: one number from Haruhi, who numbers
4408-527: The May 2012 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Altima Ace magazine on April 18, 2012 and the fourth and last chapter was released in the November 2012 issue on October 18, 2012, the final issue of Altima Ace . The chapters were compiled in the ninth volume of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan . The anime adaptation of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu ) , produced by
4524-608: The Metrodome's snow-related issues. Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Haruhi Suzumiya ( Japanese : 涼宮ハルヒ , Hepburn : Suzumiya Haruhi ) is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito . It was first published in 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan with the novel The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya , and has since been followed by 11 additional novel volumes, an anime television series adaptation produced by Kyoto Animation , four manga series, an animated film , two original net animation series and several video games . After
4640-586: The October 2008 issue of the Shōnen Ace magazine. The two series were streamed in Japanese and with English subtitles on Kadokawa's YouTube channel between February 13 and May 15, 2009. All the voice actors of the original anime reprised their roles in both series. The first DVD of the series was released in Japan on May 29, 2009, with a release on Blu-ray Disc on August 27, 2010. The series has been licensed by Bandai Entertainment and has been dubbed by Bang Zoom! Entertainment for DVD release. The first volume
4756-491: The Tigers to postpone conflicting home games. It also hosts Japan's American college football national championship game, the Koshien Bowl . Legendary baseball player Babe Ruth played an exhibition game at Koshien on his Japan tour in 1934. There is a plaque at the stadium commemorating the event. The Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995 affected Kōshien. Cracks appeared and part of the stands collapsed. In July 2004,
Koshien Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-528: The altered timeline established in the fourth light novel, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya , where Yuki Nagato is an accident-prone video game addict as opposed to the shy bookworm of the altered timeline and the laconic alien of the original timeline. Yuki-chan has also been licensed in North America by Yen Press. Another spin-off manga by Puyo, titled The Intrigues of Koizumi Itsuki-kun ( 古泉一樹くんの陰謀 , Koizumi Itsuki-kun no Inbō ) , launched in
4988-534: The anime adaptation airing in 2006, publishing company Kadokawa Shoten received offers for licensing the novels and their adaptations. The novels are licensed for English language release in the United States by Little, Brown and Company , for young readers by Yen Press and the anime adaptation was licensed for North American distribution by Kadokawa Pictures USA division which then sub-licensed production and distribution to Bandai Entertainment . The anime
5104-429: The bases: an urban location, with plenty of parking and public transportation available. The first professional baseball venues were large wooden ballparks with seats mounted on wood platforms. Although known for being constructed out of wood, they featured iron columns for better support. Some included one tier of inclined seating, topped with either a flat roof or, in some instances, a small upper tier. The outfield
5220-497: The broadcast and started showing English-subtitled episodes. The second season features the controversial "Endless Eight" story arc, in which the members of the SOS Brigade are stuck in a time loop which lasts for eight episodes, each of which is practically identical. Bandai Entertainment licensed the re-broadcast in 2010 and released a complete collection in North America on September 14, 2010. Manga Entertainment released
5336-893: The category "Best TV Anime Series" and Aya Hirano won the "Voice Acting Award." Its spin-offs, The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyorōn Churuya-san , won the Network award at the 14th Animation Kobe Awards. At Anime Expo 2008, the series received several awards by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. Sugita won an award for Best Voice Actor (Japanese), Hirano for Best Voice Actress (Japanese), Kaeko Sakamoto for Best Casting Director, Shoko Ikeda for Best Character Design, Haruhi Suzumiya for Best Character Design, and "Hare Hare Yukai" for Best Original Song. The anime series became an Internet phenomenon in Japan, Asia, and English-speaking countries . Over 2,000 clips of
5452-826: The constraints of actual city blocks, often resulting in significantly asymmetrical outfield dimensions and large outfield walls to prevent easy home runs. Notable examples included League Park in Cleveland, which had a 40-foot (12 m)-tall wall in right field, and the Green Monster , the 37-foot (11 m)-tall left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston. Notable exceptions include Shibe Park and Comiskey Park , which were built on rectangular city blocks that were large enough to accommodate symmetrical left and right fields. Other sports, such as soccer and football , were often played at these sites (Yankee Stadium, for example,
5568-509: The earliest baseball stadiums that incorporated this type of design was Cleveland Stadium (built 1932), which featured an oval grandstand that was more friendly to goal-centered sports like football. A park built to suit all sports well, which was co-owned by the teams or the city, seemed advantageous to all, especially because it was less expensive to maintain one stadium rather than two. Some parks that were originally built for one sport were renovated to accommodate multiple sports. The shape of
5684-518: The early ballparks. With the beginnings of professional baseball, the ballfield became part of a complex including fixed spectator seating areas, and an enclosure to restrict access to paying customers, as with a fairgrounds. The name "Grounds" began to be attached to ballparks, starting with the Union Grounds in 1862. The suffixes "Field" and "Park" were still used, but many professional ballparks were "Grounds". The last major league "Grounds"
5800-410: The elements. Besides the drawbacks of the cantilever design, there were other issues with these parks. With few exceptions, seating was angled to face the center of the field of play, rather than home plate. The furthest seats in these parks were 500 feet (150 m) or more from the plate. The capacities of these stadiums were larger than previous baseball stadiums. Typical game attendance did not fill
5916-402: The ending theme is "Atogaki no Yō na Mono" ( あとがきのようなもの , "Something Like an Afterword") , both performed by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuko Goto, Tomokazu Sugita and Daisuke Ono . A single of the two songs was released on April 20, 2009. Three singles accompanying the other spin-off ONA series, Nyoro-n Churuya-san , were released, featuring songs sung by Yuki Matsuoka . The first novel of
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#17327720467616032-466: The episode "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part 5"), Haruhi's explanation of why she searches for the supernatural involves a baseball game she viewed with her family in Koshien. The stadium appears as a stage in the fighting game The King of Fighters '97 , crowded and adapted for the KOF tournament, with the fighters standing on a catwalk-like structure. In Nodame Cantabile , the heroine Megumi Noda kept
6148-409: The episodes in chronological order, and one number from Kyon, who numbered them in broadcast order. The DVD releases start with "Episode 00" and are then shown in chronological order, with Yuki narrating the "next episode" previews. The anime was licensed and distributed by Bandai Entertainment over four DVDs released between May and November 2007. A complete box set was released on July 29, 2008. It
6264-497: The fans had difficulty seeing over the football benches. This was evident in the movable seating sections in RFK Stadium. The first ten rows of the football configuration were practically at field level, and fans in those sections often stood up on their seats to get a better view. Other stadiums overcame this simply by covering those seats, not bothering to sell them. Despite being cost-effective, these problems eventually caused
6380-453: The field. Like its English relative, cricket , there is significant flexibility in the shape and size of the rest of the playing area. Baseball leagues may specify a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Generally, the higher the skill level, the deeper the minimum dimensions must be, to prevent an excess of home runs. In the major leagues, a rule was passed in 1958 that compelled any new fields built after that point to have
6496-601: The first indoor sports stadium ever built, was built to escape the hot and very humid climate of Houston and the Kingdome was built to escape Seattle's constant fall and winter rains. In Japan, domed stadiums were built to escape frequently rainy climates, as well as extreme snowfall in Sapporo. There is little to no natural light in these parks, necessitating the use of one of the most distinguishing aspects of an indoor park: artificial turf. While technology now allows for grass to be used in indoor venues (see Forsyth Barr Stadium ,
6612-399: The foul poles and did not completely enclose the field. Plans were made to enclose the grandstand and build a dome, but engineers discovered that the structure could not handle the load of the proposed dome. Thus, the area behind the outfield fence remained open. One major innovation of the multi-purpose parks was the cantilevered upper deck. In earlier ballparks, the columns used to support
6728-426: The game. With the growth of professional leagues, and consequent growth in the quantity of games, each game became less of an event, and fan convenience became more important. Many professional ballparks were built either near the city center, or in working-class neighborhoods, based on the expected economic level of the average fan. Consequently, the classic ballparks typically had little space for automobiles, as it
6844-415: The grandstand surround the entire field. This area could contain inexpensive bleacher seats, smaller grandstands, or simply inclined seating. In local ballparks, there are often simply a set or two of aluminum bleachers on the first-base and third-base sides. Distinctive from "goal games" such as football and basketball , which have fixed-size playing areas, the infield is the only rigidly laid-out part of
6960-501: The green seats (sold in season tickets) directly behind home plate and under the Ginsan roof. These seats are entirely covered and corporate. The seats in the infield are colored green on the first base side and the third base side under the Ginsan roof and called "Ivy Seat". Both sides are ¥ 4,000. The outfield benches along the lines are called the " Alps " and they are ¥2,500. The outfield seats are ¥1,900. As with all Japanese stadiums,
7076-429: The home plate area, aligned with the first and third bases. These are the foul lines or base lines , usually differentiated by referring to them as the first base line, or the third base line. If a ball hit by the batter lands outside of the space between these two lines or rolls out of this space before reaching first or third base, the ball is "foul" (meaning it is dead and the play is over). If it lands between or on
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#17327720467617192-539: The home stadium for Osaka Tempters in Gurazeni . Koshien Stadium is a two-minute walk from Koshien Station on the Hanshin Main Line . There is no parking lot at the stadium. Regular television commercials during game broadcasts encourage the public to use public transportation. Baseball park A ballpark , or baseball park , is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field
7308-681: The home supporters sit in right field and the away supporters in left field. However, even if the opponents are the Yomiuri Giants , the away supporters rarely constitute more than one section high up in left field. On most nights the stadium is jam-packed with cramped seating. Due to its reputation as the main stage of high school baseball, Koshien plays a big part in many baseball manga series, including Touch , Cross Game and H2 by Mitsuru Adachi and in other author's works like Higuchi Asa's Ōkiku Furikabutte and Rookies by Masanori Morita and Ace of Diamond by Yuji Terajima. It
7424-440: The indoor stadiums of the multi-purpose era in this section. *A baseball-only ballpark converted to a multi-purpose stadium. **A football-only stadium converted to a multi-purpose stadium. ‡ denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark An important type of ballpark is the indoor park . These parks are covered with a fixed roof, usually a hard concrete dome. The reasons to build indoor parks are varied. The Astrodome ,
7540-401: The infield on either side are the dugouts, where the teams and coaches sit when they're not on the field. They are named such because, at the professional levels, this seating is below the level of the playing field to not block the view from prime spectator seating locations. In amateur parks, the dugouts may be above-ground wooden or CMU structures with seating inside, or simply benches behind
7656-550: The last on May 1, 2019. Yen Press licensed the Haruhi-chan manga series for an English release in North America and released the first volume on October 26, 2010 and the last on May 26, 2020. Another four-panel parody manga, Nyorōn Churuya-san by Eretto (Utsura Uraraka), was originally a dōjinshi starring a smoked cheese -loving, super deformed version of Tsuruya, published in three volumes (released in August 2006, February 2007, and October 2007) before being serialized in
7772-414: The last one, Oriole Park V, burning down in 1944. The earliest ballparks built or rebuilt of reinforced concrete , brick, and steel are now known as the jewel box ballparks or classic parks . Two-tiered grandstands became much more prevalent in this era, as well. The Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895, was the first to use steel and brick as the primary construction materials and included
7888-436: The lines, it is "fair". At the end of the lines are two foul poles, which help the umpires judge whether a ball is fair or foul. These "foul poles" are actually in fair territory, so a ball that hits them on the fly is a home run (if hit on the bounce, it is instead an automatic double). On either side of home plate are the two batter's boxes (left-handed and right-handed.) This is where the batter stands when at bat. Behind home
8004-518: The lower level. However, because of the supports used, the upper decks could come very close to the field. The two-tiered design was the standard for decades, until the New York Yankees built Yankee Stadium . To accommodate the large crowds Babe Ruth drew, Yankee Stadium was built with three tiers. This became the new standard until some recently built parks reverted to two, including PNC Park in 2001. Most jewel box parks were built to fit
8120-537: The magazine Comp Ace between November 2008 and October 2009 issues and being released in one bound volume. Another manga, The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan ( 長門有希ちゃんの消失 , Nagato Yuki-chan no Shōshitsu ) , also by Puyo, was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace between the July 2009 and September 2016 issues and was compiled into ten tankōbon volumes. It is set in an alternate universe of
8236-664: The most famous examples is the original Yankee Stadium, whose odd-shaped plot of land caused right field to be over 100 feet (30 m) shorter than left, although this difference lessened over time. The rectangular Polo Grounds had extremely short distance down the lines, 258 ft (79 m). to right and 280 ft (85 m). to left. In contrast, the deepest part of center field was nearly 500 ft (150 m). from home plate. Older ballparks, such as Fenway Park , were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their original dimensions. Also, new parks have sometimes received special dispensation to deviate from these rules. For instance,
8352-482: The name of Koshien Stadium. In addition to the annual National High School Baseball Championship , played in August, the stadium hosts the annual National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in March, a smaller, invitational tournament. Both tournaments are generally known simply as Kōshien . The high school tournaments are given a higher priority, with any tournament games that need to be rescheduled forcing
8468-487: The old Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., part of center field had to be built around a cluster of apartment houses and the result was a rather large angular indentation in the left-center field fence. Now, these variations are mostly influenced by the specifications and whims of the designers. New "retro" parks, which try to recapture the feel of the jewel box parks, are often designed to have these quirks. Baseball
8584-552: The parks generally depended on the original use. Ballparks that were renovated to accommodate football, like Candlestick Park and Anaheim Stadium , were usually asymmetrically shaped. Football stadiums that were renovated to accommodate baseball, like Sun Life Stadium and Mile High Stadium , were usually of a rectangular shape, though Mile High actually started its life in 1948 as a Minor League Baseball park known as Bears Stadium. Parks that were built to serve both were usually circular and completely enclosed on all sides. These were
8700-495: The parks that gained multi-purpose parks the reputation as bland cookie-cutter structures. The first of these parks was DC Stadium (renamed RFK Stadium in 1969) in the District of Columbia . RFK is unique in that it hosted two different baseball teams , and that it was the first to originally be intended for multiple sports. A notable variant among the cookie-cutter stadia was Shea Stadium . Its grandstand extended just beyond
8816-451: The parks to become unfashionable. The multi-purpose architecture reached a climax when Toronto's SkyDome (now Rogers Centre ) opened in 1989. It had state-of-the-art amenities including a retractable roof, hotel, and a restaurant behind the outfield from where patrons could view the games. Rogers Centre was renovated into a baseball only stadium from 2022 to 2024. There are no more purely open-air multi-purpose parks still in use today, with
8932-435: The playing field running toward the north or east or some direction between. Major League Baseball Rule 1.04 states that it is "desirable" (but not required) that the central axis run east-northeast (about 22 degrees north of east). This is to prevent the setting sun from being in the batter's eyes. In practice, major league parks vary up to about 90 degrees from east-northeast in either direction, but none face west, except for
9048-1127: The plot for at least one more volume in the series. A short story was published in a special one-time revival issue of The Sneaker on October 31, 2018. A 12th novel, The Intuition of Haruhi Suzumiya , was announced in August 2020 for release in Japan on November 25, after a 9-year break from publishing. The novels are licensed for release in North America by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Yen Press . The novels will be reprinted under Yen Press's Yen On imprint. They are also available in Taiwan , Hong Kong and mainland China by Kadokawa Media ; in South Korea by Daiwon CI ; in Spain and Argentina by Editorial Ivrea ; in Italy by Edizioni BD; in Thailand by Bongkoch Books; and in Vietnam by IPM. Kadokawa Shoten published two manga adaptations of
9164-412: The quaint, "retro" look of Camden Yards, with its irregular measurements, proved to be very popular, along with a traditionalist backlash against the symmetrical, multi-purpose, "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Since the opening of Camden Yards, many other "retro" stadiums have been built, each with asymmetrical fences. These distances vary from park to park, and can even change drastically in the same park. One of
9280-401: The roof. This oval center was supposed to be lifted by the cables, opening the park up if the weather was pleasant. However, the mechanism never worked correctly, and what was supposed to be a retractable roof was initially not used, then used for only a short period of time, and later replaced with a permanently fixed roof, making the stadium a strictly indoor facility. Another notable park was
9396-592: The school's official paperwork Kyon renamed it " S upport the Student Body by O verworking to Make the World a Better Place Student S ervice Brigade") to investigate mysterious events, while roping Kyon into being a member himself. Haruhi soon recruits three additional members: the laconic bibliophile Yuki Nagato , the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina , and the unflappable transfer student Itsuki Koizumi . Over time, these members soon reveal themselves to Kyon to be
9512-635: The season in a 4-disc DVD box set, including the Haruhi-chan mini-episodes, in the UK on July 4, 2011. Following the 2012 closure of Bandai Entertainment, Funimation announced at Otakon 2014 that they had licensed the anime television series. Following Sony 's acquisition of Crunchyroll , the series was moved to Crunchyroll. Two spinoff original net animation series based on the parody manga The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan ( 涼宮ハルヒちゃんの憂鬱 , Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yūutsu ) by Puyo and Nyoro~n Churuya-san ( にょろーん☆ちゅるやさん ) by Eretto were announced in
9628-399: The second manga series, promising the manga would not be censored. An official parody four-panel comic strip titled The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan by Puyo started serialization in Shōnen Ace on July 26, 2007, and in The Sneaker on August 30, 2007. It ended on December 26, 2018, and was compiled in twelve volumes. The first bound volume was released on May 26, 2008, and
9744-589: The second season of English dubbed episodes. These featured Cristina Vee in the role of Haruhi, Karrie Shirou in the role of Mikuru, and Gina Lee (episode 1) / Alice in the role of Yuki. The 2006 anime has two opening themes: " The Mikuru Legend of Love " ( 恋のミクル伝説 , "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" ) , performed by Yuko Goto and used as the opening of episode one (sometimes called episode zero), and " It's an Adventure, Right? Right? " ( 冒険でしょでしょ? , "Bōken Desho Desho?" ) performed by Aya Hirano and used in episodes two through fourteen. The main ending theme of
9860-422: The second season, though this was not confirmed by Kadokawa at the time. The first new episode, "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" ( 笹の葉ラプソディ , Sasa no Ha Rapusodi ) , was aired on May 21, 2009, as the eighth episode of the re-broadcast. Unlike the original run, the re-broadcast was shown in chronological order, with new episodes intermixed with the old ones. Episodes were later shown on Kadokawa's YouTube channel after
9976-513: The series and user-created parodies and homages were posted to video sharing websites such as YouTube and the Japanese video-sharing website Nico Nico Douga . One particular homage is the recreation of the dance choreography in the ending animation of the theme song, " Hare Hare Yukai ", which generated so much public interest that it was credited for establishing the cover dance genre on Nico Nico Douga and YouTube . The popularity of these clips (and those of other popular Japanese series) led
10092-495: The series was " Hare Hare Yukai " ( ハレ晴レユカイ , lit. "Sunny Sunny Delight") performed by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara and Goto which spanned the first thirteen episodes, with the fourteenth episode ending with an extended version of "It's an Adventure, Right? Right?". For the new episodes of the 2009 re-airing, the opening theme is "Super Driver" by Hirano, and the ending theme is "Stop!" ( 止マレ! , "Tomare!" ) performed by Hirano, Chihara and Goto. The single for "Super Driver"
10208-578: The series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was awarded the Grand Prize in the eighth annual Sneaker Awards—only the third Grand Prize given out in the Award's history. The series has become a huge success for light novels in Japan, selling over 4,300,000 copies in September 2007 and surpassed 8,000,000 copies when the tenth and eleventh volumes were released in May 2011 after the limited editions set
10324-683: The specifics of the licensing arrangement. After a few days a subtitled version of the video replaced the original on the site, translating the Japanese licensing announcement into English. The website linked to a blog on the social networking website MySpace , which entered the list of the top 50 most viewed MySpace pages within 24 hours. On May 30, 2007, the SOS Brigade Invasion Tour was announced for Anime Expo 2007 on June 30. Aya Hirano , Yuko Goto , and Minori Chihara were part of this event "being flown in directly from Japan". Anime Expo attendees were able to participate in
10440-401: The stadiums. Due to the rectangular shape needed for football or soccer, outfield dimensions were generally symmetrical, and even seats at field level down the lines could be far from the action. Multi-purpose stadiums also posed issues for their non-baseball tenants. The "cookie-cutters" with swiveling, field-level sections proved problematic. Because the front rows were too close to the field,
10556-468: The stands. In Citi Field and Oracle Park , part of the right field fence juts unevenly into the outfield as if the builders were trying to create an unpredictable ricochet effect for balls hit against it. Some "retro" parks, such as Globe Life Park in Arlington , throw in a sudden and small inward turn (often referred to as a jog) just to give a little quirkiness to the design. Milwaukee's Miller Park
10672-417: The suburbs and bought cars, the lack of parking became an important issue. Some ballparks remedied this problem through the construction of parking garages in the vicinity, or building new ballparks with ample parking. Others built ballparks in the suburbs, typically with large parking areas. The ballpark/stadium thus became an "island" in an "ocean" of parking space. The modern "retro" trend seeks to cover all
10788-479: The transfer of powers was a direct result of Kyon choosing to lock his mind when he once believed in Aliens, Time Travelers, and Espers, leaving him in denial. Kyon's god like powers that he once possessed that are now within Haruhi grants her the ability to create and destroy the fabric of reality on a whim. Haruhi's powers activate without her knowledge whenever she wills really hard for something to happen and when she
10904-461: The types of extraordinary characters that Haruhi seeks: Yuki is an alien interface sent by a hive mind ; Mikuru is a time traveler sent from the future; and Itsuki is an esper that works for a secret society. Each of them have been sent by their respective organizations to observe Haruhi, who is unaware that she masters the powers of a god , that was mostly and unknowingly passed down to her by Kyon after they first met in high school. The cause of
11020-427: The upper decks obstructed the view from some seats in the lower deck. In the new design, the upper decks were extended upwards and the columns were removed. However, even though the extension counterbalanced some of the weight, the upper decks could no longer extend as close to the field and had to be moved back. Also, the roofs could no longer be as large, and often only covered the top 15 or so rows. This exposed fans to
11136-434: The warning track as a requirement in 1949. Beyond the outfield fence in professional parks is an area called the batter's eye . To ensure the batter can see the white ball, the batter's eye contains no seating and is darker in color. The batter's eye area can be anything from a dark wall to a grassy slope. Most major league ballparks are oriented with the central axis (home plate through second base through center field) of
11252-917: The wooden stands aged and dried. Many parks caught fire, and some were leveled completely. This problem, along with the popularization of baseball and expectations for long-term use of the parks were major factors that drove the transition to the new standard materials for ballparks: steel and concrete. Some famous wooden parks, such as the Polo Grounds III in New York and National League Park in Philadelphia, burned and were rebuilt with fire-resistant materials (Polo Grounds IV and Baker Bowl). Others were simply abandoned in favor of new structures built elsewhere. These new fire-resistant parks often lasted for many decades, and (retrospectively) came to be known as "jewel boxes". There are no more professional ballparks in existence left with this architectural trend, with
11368-455: Was adapted from the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel of the same name and released in Japanese theaters on February 6, 2010. It was announced via a teaser shown at the end of the 2009 re-airing of the anime. This film has also been licensed by Bandai Entertainment , who released it for the North American market on September 20, 2011. A series of radio dramas have been released. The first volume, titled SOS Dan Radio Shibu Bangai Hen CD Vol.1 ,
11484-409: Was announced in a full-page advertisement of Asahi Shimbun on July 7, 2007, in Japan. Promotional videos included a live action sequence, inspired by the "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" chapter from the third novel The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya , depicting Haruhi and Kyon breaking into a school shown by footage taken from surveillance cameras. On December 18, 2007, the anime's official website, haruhi.tv,
11600-399: Was bordered by tall walls or fences covered in advertisements, much like today's minor league parks. These advertisements were sometimes fronted with bleacher seats, or "bleaching boards". Wood, while prone to decomposition, was a relatively inexpensive material. However, the use of wood as the primary material presented a major problem, especially as baseball continued to thrive. Over time,
11716-464: Was broadcast in Italy on Rai 4 between October 24, 2010, and February 6, 2011. Each of the North American releases offered a limited edition collector's set featuring the English dub DVD in chronological order, a subbed-only disc containing the episodes in broadcast order, and an official CD release of the opening, ending, and insert songs appearing in the show. The second season of the anime series
11832-782: Was designed to accommodate football). In contrast to the later multi-purpose parks, the seats were generally angled in a configuration suitable for baseball. The "retro" ballparks built in the 1990s and beyond are an attempt to capture the feel of the jewel box parks. The only jewel box parks still used by Major League Baseball are Fenway Park and Wrigley Field . From the 1960s until the arrival of retro parks in 1992, baseball built many multi-purpose ballparks . Also derisively known as "concrete donuts", "cookie-cutters", or "giant ashtrays", they were usually tall and circular or square structures made entirely of, usually bare, reinforced concrete. The parks were built to hold baseball, but also were able to host other sports, such as football and soccer. One of
11948-454: Was designed, with the help of former player Robin Yount , to promote extra base hits . Originally (mostly in the old jewel box parks) these variations resulted from the shape of the property where the park was constructed. If there was a street beyond left field, the distance to the left field fence would be shorter, and if the distance was too short, the fence would be higher. For example, in
12064-510: Was established around the same time the anime series debuted, and they were able to capitalize off each other's success. The popularity of the series made Aya Hirano one of the earliest examples of the " idol voice actor" crossover in the late 2000s. Haruhi, Yuki, and Mikuru (voiced by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, and Yūko Gotō), along with Japanese drama actor Toma Ikuta , made their first Japanese ad appearance in promoting Lotte Acuo Gum in March 2010. The non-chronological broadcast order of
12180-441: Was expected that most fans would take mass transit to the games, a situation that still prevails at Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field , for example. Some early ballparks, such as Brooklyn's Eastern Park , were abandoned because the trolley lines did not go out far enough and the team was not performing well enough for people to tolerate the inconvenience. As fans became more affluent, and especially as they moved to
12296-617: Was fifth in IGN 's "Top Ten Anime of 2007" feature. A 2006 online poll of Japan's top 100 favorite animated television series of all time, conducted by TV Asahi , placed the series in fourth place. By the end of 2007 the seventh installment of the series sold 45,000 units. The anime adaptation won the Animation Kobe Award for TV Feature in 2006. At the Sixth Annual Tokyo Anime Awards, the series won
12412-603: Was held in Tokyo with music by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Philip Chu as conductor. The event featured songs and background music from the anime arranged with a classic twist. A CD of the concert was released on June 24, 2009. The main theme song for the spin-off ONA series, "The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya" is "Ima Made no Arasuji" ( いままでのあらすじ , "A Summary of the Story Up to Now") while
12528-408: Was often called a "baggie" or "Hefty bag". Some ballparks have irregularly shaped fences. Ballparks may have round swooping fences or rigidly angled fences, or possibly a significant change in direction or irregular angle. For example, the center field stands and the left field stands at Fenway Park meet at an uneven angle, creating an indentation (called "the triangle") that angles sharply back into
12644-455: Was originally played in open fields or public parks. The genesis of modern baseball is conventionally connected with Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey , a large public park where the businessmen of New York City gathered from time to time to play organized baseball games and cricket matches, starting around the mid-1840s. The name "Field" or "Park" was typically attached to the names of
12760-689: Was released on January 22, 2009. The fourth game, published by Sega for the Wii, was The Parallel of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの並列 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Heiretsu ) . It was released on March 26, 2009, with the fifth game ( The Series of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの直列 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Chokuretsu ) ), also by Sega, released for the Nintendo DS on May 28, 2009. In February 2010 Kadokawa Shoten released The Day of Sagittarius III in Japanese and English in Apple's App Store . Namco Bandai Games released
12876-801: Was released on July 22, 2009, while the single for "Stop!" was released on August 26, 2009. "It's an Adventure, Right? Right?" was used as the opening theme of the film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya . The film's theme song is "Yasashii Bōkyaku" ( 優しい忘却 , lit. "Tender Oblivion") by Chihara. Among the insert songs used were " God Knows... " and " Lost My Music " performed by Haruhi Suzumiya (Aya Hirano / Wendee Lee ) in episode twelve. Segments of Symphony No. 4 in F Minor composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , Symphony No. 7 in C Major, "Leningrad" composed by Dmitri Shostakovich , and Daphnis et Chloé composed by Maurice Ravel were used in episode eleven, while Symphony No. 8 in E♭ Major, "Symphony of
12992-503: Was released on October 5, 2010. As with the original TV anime, the two series have been re-licensed by Funimation . An anime adaptation of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan by Satelight began airing in April 2015 and is licensed by Funimation, who began streaming a broadcast dub version in May 2015. An animated film by Kyoto Animation titled The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya ( 涼宮ハルヒの消失 , Suzumiya Haruhi no Shōshitsu )
13108-498: Was replaced by a fake 404 error with five form-input fields , a reference to the pivotal date in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya , the fourth volume in the light novel series. A re-broadcast of the first series began in April 2009. Following a comment by Teletama , one of the broadcasting stations, that the 2009 broadcast would be 28 episodes long, there was speculation that the re-broadcast would be followed by
13224-528: Was talked about in Major where Koshien is the aim of all high school baseball teams to play there. The park plays a part, in name, in the anime Princess Nine . The events of the two-hour Detective Conan special episode " Miracle at Koshien Ball Park! The Defiants Face the Dark Demon " take place in the stadium. In the light novel and anime adaptation of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (specifically
13340-435: Was the Polo Grounds in New York City, which was razed in 1964. The term " stadium " has been used since ancient times, typically for a running track and its seating area. As college football gained in popularity, the smaller college playing fields and running tracks (which also frequently had the suffix "Field") gave way to large stadiums, many of them built during the sport's "boom" of the 1920s. Major league baseball enjoyed
13456-491: Was used for almost every new major league venue, and was sometimes applied to the old ones, such as Shibe Park , which was renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954. The suffix "Dome" was also used for the indoor stadiums constructed from the 1960s onward. The official names of those arenas also often included the word "Stadium", such as the Houston Astrodome , whose formal name was "Harris County Domed Stadium" in 1965;
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