Players should get power-ups each time they pass one, too. Last autumn saw the 40th Anniversary of everyone’s favorite plumber who was transported into a world of mushrooms and turtles. Yes, Super Mar

Players should get power-ups each time they pass one, too.

Last autumn saw the 40th Anniversary of everyone’s favorite plumber who was transported into a world of mushrooms and turtles. Yes, Super Mario Bros. was a game so ahead of its time that it took Hollywood decades to figure out how to make a decent movie adaptation of it.

And over the years, Mario has dabbled in just about every recreational pursuit known to man, from go-karting and golf to tennis and officiating boxing matches. You can count baseball among that long list of hobbies, and now Mario will be taking those talents to the real world at several Nippon Professional Baseball games this year.

Nintendo will be sponsoring games held at the home fields belonging to each of the 12 teams in NPB from 29 April to 21 June. As with other sports stadium takeovers by pop culture franchises, you can expect ballparks to be all decked out in Super Mario and Nintendo decorations.

The centerpiece of these decorations are official question-block bases that will be used in each of the special games. In doing so, this will be the first time in history that all 12 teams will use originally designed bases in official games.

The players won’t get to hog all the fun either. At each game, a lottery will be held for parents and children in attendance to be able to run the question-block bases at a special event after the games.

Also, each game will see Mario himself throw the ceremonial first pitch, and you can expect lots of limited-edition merchandise to be sold in the stadiums as well, the details of which will be unveiled at a later date.

▼ The Chiba Lotte Marines even have caps with Ms on them. It’s a match made in heaven.

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Here are the dates and locations for each special game, so clear your calendar when the Mario Bros. crew roll into your local stadium. 

29 April Chiba Lotte Marines at ZOZO Marine Stadium

6 May Yokohama DeNA BayStars at Yokohama Stadium

9 May Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium

15 May Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Rakuten Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi

31 May Saitama Seibu Lions at Belluna Dome

7 June Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima

14 June Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at Escon Field Hokkaido

20 June Orix Buffaloes at Kyocera Dome Osaka

21 June Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium

8 August Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome

11 August Chunichi Dragons at Vantelin Dome Nagoya

16 August Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka

Between this and the limited-edition Yoshi Bobbleheads coming to Dodger Stadium, all this talk about Nintendo and baseball reminds me of the time I kidnapped my emotionally withdrawn brother to prevent him from being institutionalized, only to learn he was amazing at baseball. We traveled across the country, hustling at pickup baseball games in order to attend the Baseball Armageddon tournament, but our hopes were dashed by the snobby Lucas Barton when he stole my brother’s home run just past the fence. That kid had one hell of a glove, let me tell you.