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Ex-Blue Jays fan fave Kawasaki still playing — and dancing — at age 43

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Nov 7 2024, 7:04 pm
Ex-Blue Jays fan fave Kawasaki still playing — and dancing — at age 43

Nothing appears to have changed with former Toronto Blue Jays infielder and fan favourite Munenori Kawasaki.

Despite not having played with the Blue Jays since 2015, Kawasaki is often still brought up by fans for his hilarious and fun-loving personality. Aside from a funny clip of him and his broadcast crew during this year’s World Series, however, not much has been heard from him as of late. Until today, that is.

A tweet is beginning to circulate amongst Blue Jays fans that shows Kawasaki, who is now 43, dancing with cheerleaders in front of fans during a baseball game. As it turns out, he is playing for the Tochigi Golden Braves in the Route Inn BCL, known formerly as the Baseball Challenge League.

Kawasaki is having plenty of success, too, hitting a blistering .346 on the season.

These types of antics are exactly what Blue Jays fans remember Kawasaki for. While he was by no means the most talented of players to play in Toronto, he became an icon throughout his three seasons with the organization thanks to his infectious humour.

After parting ways with the Blue Jays organization following the 2015 season, Kawasaki went on to have stints with the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs before heading back to Japan to continue his playing career in 2017. He spent one season in the NPB and another in the CPBL before latching on with the Golden Braves in 2020.

While Blue Jays fans certainly miss seeing and hearing from Kawasaki on a regular basis, that may eventually change. He visited a Canadian Embassy earlier this year and reportedly implied that he may want to work in a TV role in Canada at some point in the future.

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