See A Baseball Star Enter The Stadium On A Flying Motorcycle
A legendary Japanese baseball player made a dramatic entrance in a recent game, and you can't get more dramatic than a flying motorcycle.
This article is more than 2 years old
In Japan, the highest level of baseball is the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league. Known locally as Puro Yakyū, its roots can be traced back to the formation of the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club which was founded in 1934. After some historical shuffling of sports organizations over the decades, the NPB was created in 1950. Made up of two leagues with six teams each, the season culminates in the annual Japan Series championship play-off series of games. While the sport doesn’t really make international headlines, the appearance of a flying motorcycle at a game got everyone’s attention.
Making his managerial debut with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, former Met Tsuyoshi “Big Boss” Shinjo entered the stadium on an amazing flying motorcycle. The sight was nothing short of exhilarating as he maneuvered the air cushion vehicle. Adding to the theatrics, a spotlight followed him across the field as climatic music echoed over the stadium’s sound system. He was dressed in white pants and a red jacket, along with a tinted face helmet.
Check out the viral video of the flying motorcycle entrance below:
The 50-year-old Shinjo eventually landed the flying motorcycle smoothly on the field. He then removed his helmet and jacket, revealing the Nippon-Ham Fighters team uniform, and strutted across the diamond. While his entrance won over the excited crowd, the Fighters’ first game ended in a 4-0 loss to the Saitama Seibu Lions. Sadly, the team now drops to 0-4 for the season, reports The New York Post.
Before the flying motorcycle, Shinjo was the first Japanese-born player to appear in a World Series. He enjoyed a stint in Major League Baseball during his playing career, suiting up for the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants between 2001 and 2003. After three seasons in the majors, Shinjo was demoted to Triple-A. He eventually returned to Japan and won his first and only Japan Series title in his final game as a professional player.
Shinjo is quite popular in his native Japan. The former ballplayer makes frequent television appearances and has his own fashion line. He also won the Japanese version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2004. Given his background, the cool entrance on a flying motorcycle was rather fitting. According to India Times, the extraordinary machine was an XTURISMO Limited Edition hoverbike. It is manufactured by a Japan-based company, called A.L.I. Technologies.
The XTurismo Limited Edition flying motorcycle comes equipped with a conventional engine and four battery-powered motors and promises to fly for 40 minutes at up to 62 mph. Backed by industrial heavyweights like Mitsubishi Electric and Kyocera, A.L.I. Technologies started taking orders for the bike after it was announced last year. During the event, the bike went on a demo flight a few feet off the ground at a race track near Mount Fuji. The company plans to deliver the limited-edition run of 200 vehicles to customers by the first half of 2023. The price is currently set at $682,000, reports Nikkei Asia.
