Ah, Golden Week, when the weather is warm and windy, the koi nobori carp streamers are flying and Japan's ballparks are full with spectators from Showa Day on Thursday through Children's Day on May 5. I have said it before; if every week was Golden Week, Japanese pro baseball would never have an attendance problem.
This week also marks a point roughly five weeks into the schedule where trends have been established by teams and individual players, indicating what kind of a season they are going to have.
Former Hankyu Braves and Daiei Hawks (1983-1992) slugger and Pacific League MVP Boomer Wells used to say, "If I have 10 home runs by Golden Week, I know I'm doing OK."
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