Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Jason Sterman talks 'Homecoming: The Tokyo Series' on Japan's baseball bond
20 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is 'Homecoming: The Tokyo Series' about?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody. Midday's Tindall 2. On Chicago Sports Radio, 104.3 The Score.
Seeing, like, a slow base attempt. Hit and runs. As someone who grew up in the 90s, watching baseball threw me back to that era where it felt like it was a complete team, where the lineup was constructed to build off of each other and those small ball elements. Getting to experience the uniqueness, that element to those games with the cheering and chanting is so cool.
That was Cubs reporter for the Tribune, Megan Montemaro, in a new film coming out, Homecoming, the Tokyo series, a cinematic journey told through the people in passion who fuel the game in Japan. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. I'm one of the many who think that we didn't get to see enough of the Cubs' trip to Tokyo, and it sounds like this might help.
The director and producer of that film is joining us now via our hotline. His name is Jason Sturman. He is also kind enough to join us on Twitch, twitch.tv slash TheScoreChicago. Thanks for coming on.
Thank you for having me.
So that was something that we talked, Jason, a lot about last year was the visuals seem so great.
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Chapter 2: How does baseball culture in Japan differ from the U.S.?
We saw a lot of stuff posted on social media by people like Taylor McGregor, the Cubs field reporter. But we didn't see a lot of content when you consider what this trip meant to Major League Baseball, both the Dodgers and the Cubs. And so for you to help bring this to people when they didn't get to see a lot of what went on in those trips, I think is a really big deal.
Oh, well, I mean, the opportunity presented itself by obviously the games being played. But I wanted to take an opportunity to kind of go explore baseball culture and tradition in Japan. I mean, we're all lucky enough to see players like Dota and Seiya play, as well as obviously like Otani and Yamamoto and Roki and the other Japanese players in the league.
But I think the thing that's interesting, to me at least, is... We see them at their peak when they're here. Where is it that they come from? And using the Tokyo series last year as kind of an entry point into kind of going and exploring that question was the goal with this film.
And looking at this, I'm just curious, like what your starting point was, because obviously you have the idea for this. How scripted was this in terms of how you thought it would play out versus what actually happened when the cameras start rolling?
So we knew there was obviously going to be these games played, right? The Dodgers and the Cubs played two games. There was also four exhibition games. Each team, the Cubs and the Dodgers, both played two Nippon teams. So we knew what was on the schedule. Outside of that, it was really designed to allow for us to discover characters along the way.
And so while we enter through the Tokyo Dome and the Tokyo series, where that leads us over the course of the film is...
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Chapter 3: What unique experiences did Jason Sterman have while filming?
We go and explore what Little League is like in Osaka. We go and explore what fandom is like in Northern Japan. We see the people who make bats in the Mizuno factory. We also see people who are refurbishing baseball mitts for kids and adults in a small area of Tokyo.
One of the things that was really great, I think, and this does tie directly into the Cubs, the Cubs organization was great at letting us tag along with some of the things that they were doing off the field.
And so we went with Derek Lee and Kusuke Fukudome along with Clark to a local elementary school just as like a meet and greet so that kid there could both see Fukudome, someone who came from Japan and went and played in Chicago, but also Derek Lee who spent time in Japan and now had come back. So those experiences are really, I think, rewarding moments.
for not only the kid, but audiences to see those reactions.
That's very cool, the Kosuke Fukudome part of it, because it hits home here. He played for both the Cubs and the White Sox. The other guy I wanted to ask you about as well, Jason, is Pete Crowe Armstrong, PCA, as he's known around here, seemed to build a really nice relationship with some of the fans in Japan. Is there anything on PCA about
Moreover, we know that the Japanese fans love their guys, the Seiya Suzuki, Shota Imanaga, Sasaki, Otani, on and on and on. But what is their relationship with and their fandom like for American players like PCA?
The interesting thing that I ultimately found is that obviously by following these Japanese players as they go to whatever team they may end up playing, that creates exposure for them to the other players on those teams. And so PCA is someone who got called out by some local Japanese people. That's a player that they were most interested in seeing how he performed on the field in person.
I think that that's kind of the beauty of allowing baseball to be this universal kind of translator, if you will. The Japanese people may not speak English and the English speakers may not speak Japanese, but they all speak the language of baseball. So that became the kind of unifying factor.
We're talking to Jason Sturman, the director and producer of Homecoming, the Tokyo series, a feature documentary made in partnership with MLB. It is in theaters, but only on February 23rd and 24th if you want to check it out. And what was what was what most moving to you maybe about about what you observed?
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Chapter 4: How are Japanese baseball fans different from American fans?
And they speak really elegantly about the way of, you know, these items carry a story. It's important to have these things passed down and be able to, you know,
give back to another to another generation and i think to a certain extent that field very much you know aligned with the game of baseball as well maybe as an extension to that and talking about the differences in our countries what what is to you jason the difference between having done all of this the difference between american baseball fans and japanese baseball fans
I'll speak first from what I watched and experienced with the Japanese baseball fans. The closest thing that I can relate being in the stands and watching the way Japanese baseball fans approach a game is the way that we experience college football fans. There is a spirited, ritualistic nature to the way that they watch games down to the chanting and bands in the stands.
And you have them competing against one another because you have away fans and home fans in the same stadium. There is a... There is a chant when a player gets up to bat. There's a chant when a player gets on base. There's a chant when a player scores. All of those are both individualized for the player and specific to the team.
That's not something that I'm used to seeing when I go to a baseball game here in the U.S. And so I think that there's this more lively and spirited connection on a deep level where they feel as if they're an extension of their team when they're sitting and watching their games.
Jason, I know that obviously the Dodgers have a huge footprint in Japan when it comes to their popularity because of guys like Roki Sasaki, Shohei Otani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But what was the level of Cubs popularity that you got to observe?
Honestly, it was surprising because it was way more than I expected. I think when you go into something like this, the expectation, and we're all used to seeing, you know, Otani everywhere. And when you get to Japan, he's everywhere there as well. But there is a deep love. And I think that, quite honestly, I think Kusuke Fukudomi is one of those players that has created like this bridge.
There was people who became aware of the Chicago Cubs early on and that fandom stuck with them. Yeah. Seiya and Shota have a very, very strong fan base there, and you hear a lot of people talk about them being fans not only of the Cubs, but obviously of those players. And we also met a lot of people who traveled from Chicago who went to those games.
I was really, really surprised how many Americans in Cubs uniforms and Cubs hats that you would see walking around Tokyo Dome. We stopped and talked to a lot of people, and they all made the trip because they wanted to see their team perform and cheer for the players that are on the Cubs that are returning home.
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Chapter 5: What role do mascots play in Japanese baseball culture?
Okay, so you mentioned you hung out with Clark the Cub. How was he received? What did the people think of Clark?
i think quite honestly clark may have stolen the show the one thing that um japanese every japanese baseball team has is a mascot and so they are very very welcoming to to any any mascot so i think you know you'll you'll see it a little bit in the film but um i think the kids were really excited when when derrick lee and fukudome showed up but they really lost it when clark came out so um and everywhere clark went it was this thing it's like people wanted to take photos
people wanting to be in his peripheral. Clark very much, I think, came out with a whole new fan base.
That tracks. That definitely tracks. We're talking with Jason Sturman, the director and producer of Homecoming, the Tokyo series, a feature documentary made in partnership with Major League Baseball. Going back to the 2025 Tokyo series between the Dodgers and the Cubs, here's my question, because I've already seen where it's shown here and around the area on both Monday and Tuesday.
Those are the only two days it'll be in the theater. Do we have a streaming plan yet for this documentary after those days, or what's the plan for how people can see this?
It's something, if it's in the works, if you're not able to make it out, there will be opportunity to be able to see it in the future and streaming. But I also think, look, if it's playing near you and you have the opportunity, this is the film that was also designed to be seen in a theater with other people.
And to a certain extent, it's also, it feels like it's sharing the same thing of being in a baseball stadium. It's great. watch it at home but it it is also sometimes a little bit more elevated and special when you're seeing it in person so we tried to design it that way both from a visual and like a sound standpoint that is is really fitting for a theatrical setting
I was just thinking about another thing, Jason, about the Japanese baseball fans. If I remember correctly, last year during the Cubs, because you mentioned the chanting part and that they get loud during these games, but they're so respectful, too, at the same time. They didn't do that against the Cubs last year, right? Because they were respecting American traditions.
A hundred percent. It's interesting. Like you didn't get necessarily the chanting and the, it's, it's called Owen Don in Japan, but like the, the bands and the, and the, and the ritual is to kind of like chance during the Cubs and the Dodgers games, but you did see it when in the exhibition games.
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Chapter 6: How did the Cubs' popularity manifest during the Tokyo series?
Different parts of the world value things more than we do. I'm not saying we don't value Clark the Cub. Sounds like he is a pop star there, though.
Well, let's be honest. Clark is a friend of the show. So, you know, I was curious because Clark knows all of us. Well, who else knows Clark?
He's worldwide. Good for Clark. Clark's got an international audience.
Who's more Mr. Worldwide? Clark the cover pitbull.
That's a great, I mean, Dolly. I don't know what to say other than that.
Okay, so when we brought up halftime, Marshall, you seem to be cooking on something. Are you ready to unleash it?
What are you cooking over there, Marsh? I will let you know after the break. Oh, he wasn't ready, Layla.
Oh, I'm so sorry. He wasn't ready. I have a story, too. So we'll talk amongst ourselves. Dealer's Choice is next.
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