Chaos and Kanji is the blog where I write about my adventures through Japan!

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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

No Cards for These Jerseys

Licensed professional baseball jerseys aren't cheap in the US, but in Japan anything with an official logo - for anything, including random pointless mascots - come at a premium.

The local thrift shop usually has a small selection of baseball jerseys worn by the fan club members or just fans, but they seem to run $20 or more.

So when I saw these two for under $5 each, I pounced.
The Seibu Lions are the "local" team, so it's no surprise there's a jersey here. I debated for a while between this modern one with screen-printed logos and a white jersey with a stitched logo across the front. This jersey just felt more crisp.
And no pile of used fan jerseys is complete without one of the Yomiuri Giants. This one has a shoulder logo for the Giants' 80th Anniversary, and like the Lions jersey has screen-printed graphics.

The cool thing is that despite being only size "Large" I can fit in both tops. I have a baby in my belly right now but if I drop some weight they won't look so bad on... assuming I wear them. Maybe I'll go grab another one to wear around.

This gives me three Japanese baseball jerseys, as I bought a Hanshin Tigers top to wear as a Halloween costume a couple years ago. So, I guess you could say, three down, nine to go. Wouldn't it be nice to have jerseys for all twelve teams?

4 comments:

  1. I've managed to snag an Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes white home jersey with Tuffy's name & number on the back. I really want to get one of the black road jerseys with OSAKA across the front. They always go for about $50 more than I'm willing to spend.

    I really wish there was an affordable outlet for custom reproductions of Japanese jerseys.

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  2. I don't see much along the lines of really old jerseys, and not much Osaka stuff (other than Hanshin) in Tokyo. If I find a cheap road Tuffy jersey I'll snag it for you. But that would probably be for the fan club or fans, like these, not game replica.

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  3. I picked up a Hanshin Tigers jersey a few years ago on clearance from a Japanese website. I tried looking it up to give you a link, but they must have went out of business. Just noticed that New Era has produced an NPB line... I'd love to add a few of those to my collection. But... they are super duper expensive.

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  4. I see the New Era stuff here in the stores. It's just as costly in Japan. I have been really lazy about getting to flea markets and such in Tokyo the past couple years, but I do want to check some out. I tend to find at least a couple neat things each time, and sometimes I come across jerseys or hats.

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