Michael Westbay heads up the JapanBall ticketing service where his knowledge of Japanese, baseball, and computer science helps him provide superior concierge-level service and customer care to our ticket customers.

After graduating from San Diego State University, with a degree in Computer Science, and being the first to attain a minor in Japanese from the university, Michael joined a Japanese software company in Tokyo.

Mostly working with databases, he merged his passion for baseball into a Japanese baseball player registry that has evolved over the years to be the core of an information system feeding MLB teams with Japanese and Korean baseball data.


Bob Bavasi is a principal with Bavasi Sports Partners.

Bob and his wife Margaret, both attorneys-at-law, were founders, owners, and operators of the Everett AquaSox, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They went on to start the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox, a summer college team, and the Horizon Air Summer Series, a summer-long competition among select summer college teams.

As former Chair of the Board of both the Washington State Community Colleges and the Washington State Tourism and Economic Development Board, his involvement in education, tourism, and baseball has taken him to Japan for many years.  

Born out of his interest in Japan comes JapanBall.com and its related JapanBallTravel.com, both now operated by Shane Barclay.  


Reviews

We've neither hinted at nor asked anyone to write on our behalf. All these comments and plenty more, I'm delighted to say, came from spontaneous letters or e-mails. We are grateful for these comments and work hard to live up to their sentiments.

The tickets were waiting for us at the front desk, and we had no problem getting to the Dome next evening.

It was a beautiful time in Tokyo. Beautiful weather and the peak of the cherry blossom bloom.Thank you again for giving us a grand finale!

Kristy from Seattle

Back from Japan and wanted to thank you.  My wife and I had a wonderful time.  The game was fun, but the atmosphere at the game was terrific.  The cheering never ended and, what with the cheerleaders and beer girls, the action never ended.

Major League Baseball could take a few lessons from the Japanese on how to keep the crowd entertained.

Peter from Honolulu
Everything was fantastic!

The game was a blowout for the Giants, but with three homers for the home team, the home crowd was into it.  We had a great view and the experience was so enjoyable.

The whole process of ordering tickets, having them delivered, and getting to the game all went so smoothly that it was a truly unique experience.

With the excellent communication that you had with me, I did not doubt that the tickets would be here when I arrived at my hotel.  I was not disappointed.

Becky from London, UK
Just wanted to let you know the tickets arrived, we got there and enjoyed the game.  We don’t claim to be baseball experts and have only seen a handful of games in the US, but we had a great time.

The crowd chants and the balloons were something.  

Jim from Cambridge, UK 
It was a BLAST!  Everything we expected and then some.  It was good to see the game at the beginning of our trip because it let our boys follow the Tigers, their newly adopted team, through the rest of our trip.

Thanks for such marvelous seats.  We loved it. 

Patty from San Francisco
Thank you and Wayne for the tickets.

My family and I had a great time.  As a former season ticket holder for the Cubs and now the Brewers, I'll tell you that my family and I have never had a better time at a game.  

The crowd was amiable, and the food was excellent - it even beat Miller Park brats!

The play was outstanding. I've not seen players so fundamentally sound, even compared to Major Leaguers.  I learned a few things I can offer to my team of 12-year-olds that I coach on how to play the game with hustle and enthusiasm.

David from Milwaukee
Everything went well, but I'll be honest with you, I was nervous about buying tickets overseas and then having them delivered to the hotel, but everything went well.

The tickets arrived on the day you said they would.  The directions to the ballpark were perfect.  I had a great time all around.

Thank you very for helping get everything together.

John from Boise

Just wanted you to know how much we appreciated the tickets we purchased from you for two baseball games and sumo for our trip.

The seats were great, and we thoroughly enjoyed all the events.

The tickets were waiting for us at hotel check-in, and everything was in order.

Thanks for providing an efficient and reliable service.  I've sent your information along to our booking agent and my travel agency as well.

Warm regards,

Susan from Brisbane, Australia

This was my third time in Japan, but my first baseball game.

I loved the enthusiasm of the crowd for both teams, though there is no way visiting fans could pull off such organized and loud cheering at Yankee Stadium. 

The seats were at field level and gave us a great view of the action. 

And some things are the same in Japan and North America: Beer is about $8 at baseball games! 

Gabriel from Montreal, Canada  

I had my apprehensions when I first emailed you and sent you the funds, essentially blind.

But after reading your bona fides at www.JapanBall.com and www.BavasiSports.com, I found that the process and the results exceeded my expectations.

The tickets were delivered to our hotel as promised, with some change, and the seats were fabulous. The atmosphere at the game was exciting and entertaining.

Scott from San Francisco


We had a great time at the game and all the excitement that goes along with it. 

We were particularly fascinated with the girls serving beer from kegs on their back! 

We figured out the train to the ballpark with no problem. 

Thanks again for your help.

Helen from Tokyo 

As you promised, the crowd was a big piece of the action.  The visiting Hiroshima cheering section was most impressive and entertaining. 

The mechanics worked well. 

The tickets were delivered to our hotel first thing on Thursday morning for our Friday game.  Wayne refunded a portion of our payment since they ended up being a little less costly than expected.  We had no problem finding the stadium. 

An excellent and exciting time for us.  Your help made it quite easy.

Jonathan from Los Angeles 

Just got home.  Everything went fine.

Tickets were waiting for us at the hotel when we arrived.  Great seats, great game and no problems at all.

Everyone thought it was one of the best parts of the whole trip.

Kelly from Boston 

 

Okay, this is probably enough to give you a feel for the comments we've received.