Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Jason Sterman talks 'Homecoming: The Tokyo Series' on Japan's baseball bond

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote were joined by director Jason Sterman to discuss the film “Homecoming: The Tokyo Series.”

Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's Tyndal 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 1043, the score. Seeing like the stolen base attempts, hit and runs, as someone who grew up in the 90s watching baseball, like 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 in those small ball elements, getting into experience the uniqueness, that element to those games with the cheering and chanting is so cool. That was Cubs reporter for the Tribune,

Megan Montemarro, 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 Grotie on 104-3, the score. And 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 The Score, Chicago. 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 seemed so great. 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 Saya play,

as well as obviously like Dutani 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 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 camera started rolling?

So we knew there was obviously going to be the game played, right? The daughters and the Cubs played two games. There was also four exhibition games, each team, the Cubs and the Dodgers both played two Nipon 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 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 company organization was great of letting us tag along with some of the things that they were doing off the field. And so we went with Derek Lee and Kuske Fukodome, along with Clark, to a local elementary school, just as like a meet and greet so that kid there could both see Fukadome, 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 for not only the kid, but audiences deceive those reactions. That's very cool, the Koske Fukedome 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, seem to build a really nice relationship with some of the fans in Japan. Is there anything on PCA? Moreover, what is the – we know that the Japanese fans love their guys, the Say of Suzuki, Shodeimanaga, 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 Sterman, 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 you know you mentioned all these different levels of the appreciation for baseball in japan and to cover the stars like show hey otani for example or shoda imanaga what meant the most to you out of what you saw the thing that meant the most to me and the thing that was i think the most eye-opening and surprising was seeing how baseball is taught to eight and nine-year-olds when they enter little league um i think we we look at, you know, the Otani's and Shodas and the way that they approach the game. And I think that when we watch them play, there's a certain kind of, I want to say like respectful nature, but everyone respects the game. But I think that there's just something that's a little bit different. Even, you know, I boil it down to like the very simple, like the Otani tipping his hat to the opposing manager.

That feels like something that's very unique to Otani. But when you watch and see the way that baseball is taught to kids in Little League, you can very easily see how this. is something that is not unique just to an individual player. It's the way that they approach it from a cultural standpoint. They are trying to build more respectful members of society, and baseball players play the role in that. Jason, I'm curious because of the way that this was supposed to talk about the differences and similarities between American baseball and Japanese baseball.

You just kind of touched on it when you talk about the Little League and the way things were taught. Was there something that you took away from this, and you're like, I wish more people knew about this in America? I wish that there was a better understanding, which I think the film will be a little eye-opening to many people, about the especially devotion to craft as it relates to baseball, right? I think there's a bit of access when it comes to, I think,

the American way of looking at sports and also just, like, I think consumption in general, right? Like, we're really quick to go to the sporting goods store and buy a new bat or buy a new glove or whatever may be at a time. and the way the Japanese craft people, both on a larger, more commercial level with a company like Mizuno, who is doing a mass production of their goods,

down to, again, like, there's three guys who have a small shop whose whole goal is devoted to basically bringing new life into baseball mitts. Like, that is their entire business. And they speak really elegantly about the way of, you know, these items carry a story. It's important to have these things.

things passed down and be able to, you know, give back to another, to another generation. And I think to a certain extent, that feels 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 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 sand.

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 up to bat there's a chant when a player gets on base or the 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 see when i go to a baseball game here in the here in the u.s. And so I think that there's this more like the lively and security 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, Shohey, Otani, Yoshinobo and Yamamoto. But what was the level of Cubs popularity that you got to observe? Honestly, it was surprising. I think 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, 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 Kuske Fukumomi is one of those players that has created like this bridge. There was people who became aware of the Chicago clubs early on and that fandom stuck with them. Sayah and Shoda 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 Cub uniforms and Cubs hats that you would see walking around Tokyo. and we stopped and talked to a lot of people. And, like, 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. And I think that's very, that really welcome from a Japanese fan base as well, knowing that there's fans from the U.S. willing to also travel to Japan to go see those players. 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 every Japanese baseball team has is a mascot. And so they are very, very welcoming to any, any mascot. So I think, you know, you'll see it a little bit in the film. But I think the kids were really excited when Derek Lee and Fukadome showed up, but they really lost it when Clark came out.

So, and everywhere Clark went, it was this thing. It's like people wanting to take photos. People wanted 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 Sterman, 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 Cups. 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 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 to watch it at home, but it is also sometimes a little bit more relevant and special when you're seen it in person. So we tried to design it that way, both from a visual and like a sound standpoint, that 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? Like they were because they were respecting American traditions. 100%. It's interesting. You didn't get necessarily the chanting and the, it's called Owendon in Japan, but like the bands and the ritualists to kind of like chants during the Cubs and the Dodgers games, but you did see it in the exhibition games. So they were doing it when the Cubs played the Yomiuri Giants, which is the Tokyo Nipon team and the Hanchen Tigers, which is the team from Osaka. Both of those fan bases were incredibly spirited and very much sticking to their normal way, their normal way of operating. Well, Jason, this has been a lot of fun to talk to you and also get a look at this film. One more time for people who want to see it in theaters on the 23rd and the 24th only,

Homecoming the Tokyo Series, a cinematic journey told through the people and passion who fuel the game in Japan. This has been a lot of fun to catch up with you, and thanks for bringing this to people. Thanks, Jason. Well, thank you for having me. That's Jason Sterman, who is directing and producing that film. I think that's great because as we've discussed, we didn't get to see a lot of, I think, what went on, and it's nice to get another look at it

and on these different levels. I like that Clark the Cubs has found celebrity in Japan. It's like, it reminds me like David Hasselhoff. The singing didn't go over in America, but he went to Germany and he was a pop star. The Germans love David Hassel. I know, as I'm saying, like 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 like 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 I'm like well who else knows Clark's worldwide good for Clark yeah he's an international audience who's more Mr. Worldwide Clark the cover pit bull that's a great

I mean dolly I don't know what to say other than that okay so when we brought up half time Marshall you 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 later I'm so sorry he wasn't ready I have a story too so we'll talk amongst ourselves dealers choices next.