The intai jiai (retirement game) is a significant event in Japanese pro baseball for long-time star players about to hang up their spikes and call it a career. It usually occurs at the end of a season after it has been announced the player is leaving the game and after league standings have been decided.
His home team crowd turns out to honor him and watch him make that final plate appearance or toss that last pitch and, where possible, the opposing team will bring in a veteran pitcher to face a retiring hitter or send up a batter who has faced an outgoing pitcher on numerous occasions. It is always an emotional happening for the player and the fans.
While there will not be such fanfare, another uniformed ballpark worker will be leaving the scene after a four-year career at Lions games at Seibu Prince Dome. Beer girl Misato Orikasa, 22, will be serving up her last cups of suds this week as the Lions play their final games of the 2016 season.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.