Spring training is well underway in Japan and the Chiba Lotte Marines are down in Okinawa preparing for the 2009 baseball season with Bobby Valentine at the helm.  The team has said that this year’s campaign will be Bobby’s last year with the team, much to the disappointment of many fans who adore the man and what he has done for Japanese baseball.

If you have a chance to take in a game at Chiba Marine Stadium this year be sure to look for the shrine to Bobby Valentine located near the main stadium entrance.

Devoted fans stand patiently in line for a chance to pay their respects to the man who brought the Marines their first Japan Series win in 2005.  Camera phones click away as fans pose for pictures alongside the life-sized bust of Bobby Valentine in front of a miniature torii and shrine flanked on either side by the team mascots and team flags waving in the breeze. Some fans can be found looking into his eyes while placing their hands in the imprints of his and others, like the young man pictured on the right, solemnly shake his hand.

Read about Bobby’s adventures throughout the 2009 season in Japan on his blog “Bobby’s Way“.

Access information about Spring Training in Japan to find out how you can see preseason and regular season games at various venues as early as February 28th or World Baseball Classic games starting on March 5th at Tokyo Dome.

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