The fans at Jingu Stadium do not know what they are seeing yet. There is no indication something special is about to happen, and it will be months before anyone realizes they saw a small part of history. It is a normal, chilly night like any other early in a baseball season.
The fans are mostly pulling for the hometown Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They're wearing masks as dictated by COVID-19 measures and bundled in thick jackets, gloves and hats as demanded by the cold of an April night outdoors.
Most erupt when Munetaka Murakami homers to give Swallows fans something to cheer about in a game the DeNA BayStars were leading 3-0. There was nothing else particularly impactful about the homer, though, beyond the obvious power it took for the lefty slugger to drive the ball beyond the wall in left center.
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