BASEBALL : Talkin’ Baseball: Language Barrier Won’t Bother Japanese Youth Team

Japanese-English dictionaries will be the most popular reading material at the 14th annual Friendship Series, seven exhibition games between Pony Baseball teams from Japan and the Southland.

Nineteen players and three coaches selected from teams in Tokyo, Sapporo, Edogawa, Chiba and Kyoto, Japan will compete at six sites beginning Saturday in Temple City. The players, who are 13 and 14 years old, will reside with local players and coaches during their 15-day stay.

Other exhibition games will be played in Simi Valley on Sunday, Newbury Park on Tuesday, Newhall on Aug. 21, Camarillo on Aug. 22 and Los Alamitos in Orange County on Aug. 26.

Milt Du Bane, 72, of Canoga Park, began the exchange program in 1974. A team from Southern California alternates traveling every year with a team from Japan.

“I thought it would be good to get Pony League started in Asia,” Du Bane said. “We had teams in Canada, Venezuela and Mexico but nothing in the Orient.”

Since the program began, Pony Baseball has spread to Korea, China and the Philippines. Du Bane, who has been active in Pony Baseball for 33 years, had little trouble interesting the baseball-crazed Japanese. The biggest problem has been the language barrier.

“There has been a problem, but they bring their dictionaries with them,” he said. “And pantomime is a great thing. Kids come here, go into homes and 10 minutes later they’re communicating.

“The last few years it has really become a cultural exchange. Our kids stay in homes and Japanese inns.”

Tastes of American culture this week will include visits to Dodger Stadium and Disneyland.

“But we can’t ever reciprocate for what they do for us,” Du Bane said. “Last year they gave the kids a parade in downtown Tokyo and played the game in the home park of the Tokyo Giants.”

Information: 818-887-8804.