The Zen of Bobby V

Japanese people really love their baseball.

All baseball fans know this on some level, but I really came to understand it while sitting on a ski-lift on Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima, while struggling to have a conversation with an older Japanese gentleman who was very eager to show off his English skills. They were limited.

Eventually, Sip and I somehow figure out that the man is a huge baseball fan and we spent the remaining 5 minutes on the ski-lift naming Japanese players in America – each time eliciting a tremendous laugh from the man. Needless to say, Tsuyoshi Shinjo elicited the heartiest chuckle of them all.

All this is to say, Japanese people really love their baseball.

And so, when you watch ESPN's fantastic new documentary (look out Rhymes, I'm coming after your gig), "The Zen of Bobby V," appreciate that none of the Japanese craziness featured in the movie is the least bit shocking if you've actually been to the country.

Don't believe that a Japanese guy goes to every single Chiba Lotte Marines game shirtless and freaking out because "before baseball, I had nothing important in my life"? I'll raise you 20 screaming Japanese people thrilled to death that they are at a Jimmy Eat World concert with 3 Americans and an Irish dude.

In one scene, we see batting practice before the game. The home plate umpire is also practicing. No, wait. Not only is the home plate umpire practicing, but another umpire is practicing behind the home plate umpire and a third umpire supervisor is overseeing the entire practice. Moises Alou would have no cause for arguing a third strike in Japanese baseball.

"The Zen of Bobby V" captures Japanese culture to a T. It's much more about Japan than Bobby V, but he serves as a tremendous prism to observe the differences between American and Japanese culture. Certainly can't imagine Mets fans dancing crazily while chanting over and over, "Wil-lie Randolph. With him, together we can make our dreams come true."

The movie starts off with a quick montage of Bobby's life pre-Japan. Of course including the moment in his life that he will forever be remembered for… sneaking back into the Mets dugout with glasses and an eye-black mustache.

From that point on, it's classic Bobby V. Most importantly, you see a man who is brilliant with tremendously strong beliefs and also a complete emotional roller-coaster (some might say trainwreck).

After a winning streak, we seem him running through a sprinkler in a Japanese garden as if he's a 10-year-old. Regressing in age to about 8, he then runs inside the mouth of a dragon statue and pretends to be startled by the roar emitted by a speaker inside the dragon's mouth.

After a losing streak, he snaps one-word answers to his wife's questions like, well, an 8-year-old.

From a baseball standpoint, it was pretty interesting to hear how interested Bobby was in the then-Devil Rays job – "that's a fucking challenge." Don't think there's any avoiding the fact that the only eventuality that could cause me to pull a Bressman and change fan allegiances would be Bobby going to the Rays.

One disappointment: Really could have gone for a lot more Benny Agbayani. Certainly nobody but a Mets fan would have this criticism, but was a really cool blast from the past to see him taking some BP cuts and joking back and forth with Bobby V.

You gotta love that big Hawaiian. Seeing him in Japan brings back fond memories of his game-winner vs. the Cubs back in 2000. Those were the days.

- Nails