Ballpark de Tsukamaete!
The Catcher in the Ballpark!

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There weren't any reviews for this manga when I read it so I guess I'll be the first one.

Right now there are only 19 chapters available but everything about them made me want more.

The story centers around a stereotypical Japanese salaryman who likes going to the ballpark after a long days work. At the stadium he meets a nice gyaru beer vender named Ruriko who enjoys keeping him company and polite conversations. The two eventually develop a rapport and hang out together, cheering on the local baseball team while the salaryman buys beers and bento boxes from her. There are also side stories ... that center around the other venders, manager, security guards, regular ballpark patrons, and ever the team mascot!

I really enjoyed the panels for this manga. The characters are drawn perfect to fit the sports-based storyline. Ruriko and the salaryman are perfectly depicted as the stereotypical average Japanese workers. There's nothing too plain or exaggerated about them. The sports action is very well drawn, to the point where sometimes it felt like you could hear the crack of the bat, fans cheering, and general noise of stadium life.

I'm not sure that it would be fair to talk too much about the characters since there are only 19 chapters available at the moment, so not much character development has happened just yet. I can only guess how the comradery between Ruriko and the salaryman will progress, but exactly what kind of friendship they will develop is to be known. I'll surely be sticking around to find out.

All together, Catcher in the Ballpark! was an wonderful read. You get the sense of being in a ballpark stadium along with a the story of two relatable average everyday people just trying to enjoy life. I'm keen to find out what happens in this manga.

6.8/10


I love and hate this manga depending on the chapter. Well, let’s start off on the positives: The dynamic between the salary man mc and the fmc is incredibly wholesome, and the characters are pretty well-developed/written. However, that’s as far as it goes because the plot is pretty scattered, as each chapter could be one-shots, so the plot line isn’t centered, so virtually no development occurs. To further note on the one-shot-like chapters, some of them are really great (mostly the ones with the two main characters) while the rest of them are either mediocre or complete, boring filler. If the manga focused on the ... dynamic of the main cast instead of introducing a new character each chapter, getting off-topic, then it would’ve been a well-executed and wholesome slice of life romance manga; however, because the author loves writing side stories, the manga falls in a love-hate relationship with readers.


Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired & A Huang Teizan Original)
10 – God’s penmanship
9 – Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 – Instant bookmark
7 – Entertaining
6 – Good to pass time
5 – Why are you reading this?
4 – Bad.
3 – Typical garbage.
2 – My head hurts.
1 – Retirement is a thought.
0 – “Did they even give you a story?!”