(Photos by Mark Langill/LA Dodgers)

LOS ANGELES (March 15, 2012) — The non-profit group Ashinaga brought a group of student runners from the Tohoku region of Japan to Los Angeles to run the L.A. Marathon, including two children that were orphaned by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan a year ago.

The group was treated to a tour of Dodger Stadium Thursday, complete with lunch courtesy of the Dodgers before running the L.A. Marathon this weekend to raise funds to build an orphanage in Japan.

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By Mary Tan
AAP Staff Writer

ST. PAUL, Minn. — When 12,000 runners take to the streets of Minneapolis and Saint Paul for the 30th annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon October 3, there will be one participant who will surely stick out. She’s a big fluffy pink pig named Mudonna, the official mascot of the Saint Paul Saints baseball team.

But what some folks won’t know, is that underneath all that fur will be 39-year-old Seigo Masubuchi, a Japanese native who’s determined to help those in his homeland after an earthquake and tsunami ravaged Japan a few months ago.  He’ll run the marathon and help his cause at the same time.

“I want to help Japan recover from the disaster. There’s still so much recovery work that’s needed. I love to run and I love to socialize so this is the perfect thing to do, “said Masubuchi recently.

Seigo Masubuchi (Photo by Kyle Hanson)

Originally from Tokyo, Masubuchi immigrated to the United States 18 years ago to attend the University of Minnesota, where he studied speech communications, journalism and international business.

The Saint Paul resident is running the marathon to raise money for two specific Japanese organizations — the Tokiwagi Gakuen High School in Sendai, Japan and the Convoy of Hope, which has been installing refrigerators, faucets, washers and dryers and other appliances to temporary government shelters. Tokiwagi Gauken High School students have a connection to Minnesota. Its girls’ soccer teams regularly compete in the USA Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament in Blaine.

Masubuchi has run almost 30 marathons in the past ten years. He has run all of his marathons with no costume and has completed them in under three hours. He is so fast, he has qualified for the coveted Boston Marathon multiple times. But this will be the first time he has ever run in a pig suit, which he believes will help garner attention for his fund raising goals.

The 39-year-old has also made this challenge a personal goal. He wants to beat the current mascot record of running a marathon. To do that, he has to beat Jefferson the Dog (Peter Donato), who ran the Toronto marathon last fall in 4:15:03. “I really want to try to set a world record and I think I can do it!”

For the past several weeks he has been doing training runs in the costume. This past weekend he ran 16 miles with friends who helped carry water bottles. During the race he will also be running with pacers, who will keep him going when the going gets tough.  They will carry extra water and make sure he doesn’t fall behind his time goal.

“I am hoping and praying for cold weather,” he said. “But it will be a challenge no matter what the weather.”

The costume does add a sizable amount to his body weight, but he’s done alterations such as making the legs lighter and punching holes in the head for ventilation.  Masubuchi even had a special vest made for the costume for his training runs, which explains why he is running around his Highland Park neighborhood as a pig.

He admits to getting a lot of stares, especially when going up and down Summit Avenue. The attention has brought in donations but he’s hoping to raise even more money if he can beat the current world record.

When not running around as Mudonna, the marathoner is Director of International Development and a game day entertainer for the Saint Paul Saints. In July, Masubuchi approached the team’s management to help him collect donations. They jumped on board and helped their employee come up with different donation levels and incentives, so he could raise money during Saints games as well.

Even if he doesn’t make the goal, Masubuchi says he can still say he had fun trying.  “The main thing about doing this is the camaraderie.  I am very social and make friends fast.  I love to run with others and help others.  It will be fun seeing the reaction of folks to me running in a pig costume.”

One thing is for sure, he’ll be the fastest pig in the marathon. You can still donate to Masubuchi’s campaign for Japan. Donations are being accepted at http://saintsbaseball.com/funisgood/runforrecovery.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo, front-right, with players from his old high school in tainin, taiwan at dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last week to watch a game and meet the players. (Photo by Jon SooHoo/LA dodgers)

LOS ANGELES — Hong- Chih Kuo and the Dodgers hosted youth players from the same Tainin, Taiwan high school that Dodger pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo attended. He went on to become the fourth Taiwan- born player to make it to Major League Baseball in the United Stated. The team was in Los Angeles to represent Taiwan in the 2011 Palomino League Baseball World Series at the MLB

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., 16 Japanese youth baseball and softball players, and four coaches participating in the U.S. Department of State’s first international sports exchange with Japan, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on August 9, 2011. [State Department photo/ Public Domain

WASHINGTON (August 9, 2011) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday met with Japan Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki; Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., 16 Japanese youth baseball and softball players, and four coaches participating in the U.S. Department of State’s first international sports exchange with Japan.

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By BOB SAN
AAP columnist & contributing writer

Many Minnesota baseball fans will be traveling to Cooperstown, New York, the weekend of July 22 to 25, 2011, to attend the Induction ceremony of the great Bert Blyleven into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Now a commentator for Minnesota Twins baseball games, Blyleven was a professional baseball pitcher who played many seasons of his long career with the Minnesota Twins.

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The Japan America Society of Minnesota invites all its friends and members to Target Field on July 5th to enjoy a Minnesota Twins baseball game. The game starts at 7:10 pm with the Twins versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Tickets will be available through the JASM office by phone, email, or online for the price of $28 each. A limited number of tickets are available, so please reserve early. Attendees are encourages to wear their Japanese baseball, Minnesota Twins, or JASM apparel to show your support for this great sport, the home team, and experience the great American and Japanese pass time. www.mn-japan.org

LOS ANGELES (May 18, 2011) – The Dodgers have announced a renewed partnership with the Taiwan Tourism Bureau for the 2011 season.

Now in its third consecutive year as a Dodger partner, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau held a news conference in the Dugout Club May 18, at Dodger Stadium where the Hong-Chih Kuo bobblehead scheduled for June 14 during the game against Cincinnati was unveiled and Taiwan Community Night scheduled for the August 13 game versus Houston was announced.

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The Minnesota Twins professional baseball organization announced last week that the club has reached an agreement on signing terms with infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, a star infielder with the Chiba Lotte Marines organization of Japan’s Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball.

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Hiroki Kuroda (MLB photo)

LOS ANGELES (November 15, 2010) – The Los Angeles Dodgers today signed right-handed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year contract.  General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

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LOS ANGELES (August 27, 2010) – The Los Angeles Dodgers will honor photographer Jon SooHoo, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary with the team, on Friday as he throws out the ceremonial first pitch at the evening’s game against the San Francisco Giants. The evening’s festivities will include an in-game video tribute to SooHoo’s 25 years with the team, the longest-tenured photographer in Dodger franchise history. He will receive gifts from the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles as a token of their appreciation for his hard work and dedication.

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