Speaker 1: The Dodgers made it back from Tokyo, returned home to
Speaker 1: Dodgers Stadium, and are just two days away from embarking
Speaker 1: on their first road trip in North America. The man
Speaker 1: that puts it all together is the director of travel
Speaker 1: for the Dodgers, Scott Akasaki. Scott, thanks a lot for
Speaker 1: the time, and what a whirlwind of a time it's been.
Speaker 2: Well, it's been absolutely awesome, Dave. Going back to last year,
Speaker 2: what a great year obviously October. You can't ever duplicate that.
Speaker 2: Maybe we can. I don't know, but you know, it's
Speaker 2: been It's been a lot of fun, certainly to go
Speaker 2: back to Japan, come back to La have these great
Speaker 2: couple of days here to start the season. So looking
Speaker 2: forward to what this year has for us.
Speaker 1: You have Japanese blood in that Akasaki name. What was
Speaker 1: it like for you to go back to Tokyo with
Speaker 1: Shohyotani and the Dodgers, Dave.
Speaker 2: I appreciate you asking that question, and I don't want
Speaker 2: to get too deep here, but there was a time
Speaker 2: when in our nation's history when Japanese Americans weren't really
Speaker 2: viewed in the same level, especially during World War Two.
Speaker 2: So my parents My grandparents were involved in that, my
Speaker 2: aunts and uncles, so certainly that's never been lost upon
Speaker 2: me and my family's history. So to be able to
Speaker 2: go back to Japan and with the Dodgers and having
Speaker 2: the collection of stars that we have Japanese and otherwise
Speaker 2: was absolutely amazing. And to go from like the World
Speaker 2: War two experience to the modern day has been for
Speaker 2: me personally tremendously moving.
Speaker 1: How did you get a group of two hundred people
Speaker 1: traveling players, coaches, front office from Arizona to Tokyo, get
Speaker 1: them seamlessly as acclimated, and then also find a way
Speaker 1: to get them back after a game was played in Tokyo, Japan.
Speaker 1: Take us through what an undertaking that was?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, I think Dave a lot of the
Speaker 2: folks who went to Tokyo went to Seoul last year,
Speaker 2: so they knew the schedule, how to adjust to sleep,
Speaker 2: what they were going to feel like, the visa process,
Speaker 2: sort of the different nature of everything, the food, the
Speaker 2: gaps in time. So I think having the Soul experience
Speaker 2: was really great as an orientation for the Tokyo experience.
Speaker 2: So I think everyone who went to Soeoul was very
Speaker 2: well prepared for Tokyo, and they knew exactly what they
Speaker 2: wanted to do. And I hope everybody who went on
Speaker 2: the trip maximized their time and had a great experience
Speaker 2: over there.
Speaker 1: But for Scott Akasaki, who's organizing this trip to get
Speaker 1: the world champion Dodgers to Tokyo seamlessly through customs and
Speaker 1: a foreign airport, there is the variable of the unknown
Speaker 1: for you. How did you make it so smooth for everybody?
Speaker 2: Well, Dave, you asked that question, and you're giving me
Speaker 2: a lot of credit, but I certainly can't take that credit. Certainly,
Speaker 2: the folks at Major League Baseball who organize the trip
Speaker 2: for the Dodgers and Cubs, played a huge role. The
Speaker 2: team that we have here, al garciaan Security, Alex Torres
Speaker 2: the equipment side, and Markazai and Baseball operations really were
Speaker 2: instrumental in getting this trip off the ground. Patricia Romero
Speaker 2: and family programs, everybody was all synced up. Of course,
Speaker 2: our front office is aligned, so Andrew Brandon, their leadership.
Speaker 2: Of course, the coaching staff, everybody is. When we needed
Speaker 2: information to get all the stuff we needed to get like,
Speaker 2: it came very quickly because everyone wanted to have a
Speaker 2: great time in Japan.
Speaker 1: You've been part of the Dodger organization for over twenty
Speaker 1: years now, You've seen a lot. What's it like in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five for you to be where you're at
Speaker 1: right now and not just being with a baseball team,
Speaker 1: but basically being with a rock band going around the
Speaker 1: country and the world. Was sho Heo Tani?
Speaker 2: You know, Dave, not only it's at the time with
Speaker 2: the Dodgers, but you know, I was born and raised
Speaker 2: in Los Angeles, so to see the city and how
Speaker 2: energized the city is and how energy, how people are
Speaker 2: excited about the Dodgers is absolutely fantastic. And so yes,
Speaker 2: sho Heo Tani, the best player on the planet. To
Speaker 2: be able to travel the United States and internationally with
Speaker 2: him is certainly amazing. But what a great group of guys,
Speaker 2: you know, show Hey, everybody is absolutely awesome.
Speaker 1: All right, Scott, thanks a lot for the time. Congratulations
Speaker 1: on being able to get the Dodgers to and from Tokyo,
Speaker 1: Japan with a lot of help, and congratulations on being
Speaker 1: the Dodgers director of travel for a second World Series championship.
Speaker 2: Thank you very much to appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 1: There he goes. Dodgers Director of Travel Scott Akasaki has
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