It’s not unusual to hear people musing about their so-called “dream job,” but it’s relatively rare to hear people talk about actually having one.
Sayoko Gibbs falls squarely into the latter group.
And, unlike many, she didn’t have to wait long. While still in her late teens, she landed her dream job – public address announcer at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, the legendary home of the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the famous Koshien national high school baseball tournaments.
Gibbs grew up in the Nishinomiya area near Koshien Stadium (which first opened in August 1924 to host the national high school baseball tournaments), and she became interested in baseball by watching her younger brother play through middle school. She soon became a big fan of the Tigers – a team renowned for its feverish local fan base – and dreamed of working for the Tigers. She applied after graduating from high school in 1981.
“To become a stadium announcer for the Tigers, I had to be an employee of the parent company – the [Hanshin Railway Company],” Gibbs said at an interview near her California home. “They preferred to hire entry-level employees directly out of high school, so I applied and said on my application that I wanted to be a P.A. announcer. I took the ‘entrance exam’ – which had nothing to do with baseball – before graduating from high school and passed.”
Perhaps to the surprise of some, her goal wasn’t unusual. Female P.A. announcers are common in Japan, whereas they have traditionally been male in the United States.
Technically, the first female in the public address role in Major League Baseball was in 1966 when Joy Hawkins McCabe filled in for one game of the then-Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers). Kelly Saunders was the second, again as a one-game substitute at a Baltimore Orioles game in 1992.
But there was no full-time female in a role for an MLB club until Sherry Davis joined the San Francisco Giants in 1993. Davis continued in that role through the 1999 season. In addition, Leslie Sterling served as P.A. announcer for the Boston Red Sox from 1994-1996, and Renel Brooks-Moon announced at the Giants games from 2000-2024. Currently, four MLB teams have females in P.A roles – the Orioles (Adrienne Robinson), Athletics (Amelia Schimmel), Giants (Carolyn McArdle), and New York Mets (Marysol Castro).
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/AP
However, female P.A. announcers have long been the norm in Japan.
“There weren’t a lot of opportunities for women in baseball at the time, and P.A. announcer was one of the few,” Gibbs said.
Women in this role are referred to as “Uguisu-jō”, which means “warbler lady” – warblers being song birds with pleasing voices. According to one report, male announcers at Japanese games were common until the 1950s, but then on-site announcements using women’s voices “began to attract attention.”
The report claims that the Uguisu-jō has a “unique presence in Japanese professional baseball culture. The clear voice is an essential element in creating the atmosphere of the stadium.” The Uguisu-jō “make use of their pure voice and expertise to make the special space of the baseball field more attractive. Their presence is an. . .important factor in enhancing the attractiveness of Japanese professional baseball.
“Over time, its role has evolved, and it has developed from a mere announcer to an important presence that creates the atmosphere of the stadium.”
Gibbs’s first time behind the microphone was for a game involving the Hanshin Tigers’ minor league club. Understandably, she was quite nervous, but that faded once she began talking.
“I realized that I was finally in the place I had always admired,” she once told a Japanese publication.[i]
Gibbs stayed in the role through the 1996 season. She was there in 1985, when, led by American Randy Bass, the Tigers won their first of two Japan Series championships. Of course, she saw many NPB stars come through, including Ichiro Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Hideki Matsui, and others.
“I certainly remember when [the Tigers] won in 1985,” she said, “but, while the staff members were excited about the team becoming the best in Japan, as a stadium employee, I was actually worried about whether an accident might occur because the Tigers fans were so incredibly fanatical.”
The announcing job involved more than what casual fans might assume. It wasn’t merely announcing each batter or new pitcher. She would usually arrive at the broadcast booth at around 4 pm for evening games, get all the necessary player information, get up to speed on any special events or announcements that day, and do some vocalization practice, or warm-up.
She had to learn how to keep a scorebook properly, as well as make a variety of announcements, such as the ‘First Hit Award’, ‘Home Run Award’, and ‘First Double Award.’ Afterward, she would provide information on the next game and announce the Star of the Game.
Gibbs paid particular attention to how she pronounced names. She believes that each name carries feelings – for the players, their families, and the fans – “Even a small difference in pronunciation can change how it feels.”[ii]
Gibbs added that “For a few seasons, I also helped edit whatever went on the big screen – the scoreboard. Music, text – whatever was necessary. I would usually stay an hour-and-a-half or so after the games finished.”
And it was not as if she could sleep late the next morning since her job included administrative work in the office.
“Even if a game lasted a long time, I had to be in office the next morning to do other parts of the job,” she said.
Gibbs laughs now about a time when a Tigers game went especially late, and she had to get another announcer to sub for her while she took a bathroom break. Occasionally, her husband would be asleep by the time she got home.
There are multiple public address announcers for the Koshien tournaments because there are so many games each day. She would only do one game per day, but she would nonetheless have to get to the stadium by 5:30 AM because the first game would begin at 8:30 AM.
Interestingly, Gibbs sat in a sunken box directly behind home plate, rather than higher up in the press box, as is common in the U.S. and many other locales.
“But it was easy to see everything from that vantage point, and I also had a former player sitting next to me who would help when necessary,” she said.
Through it all, Gibbs was a steady presence at Koshien Stadium, whether announcing for Tigers games, minor-league contests, Koshien tournaments, or amateur leagues. She also announced when a team of Major League Baseball all-stars were touring Japan and played the Japan all-stars on Nov. 4, 1992 in Koshien Stadium.
“I don’t know how many games I announced altogether, but it had to be a large number,” she said, “given how many games the stadium hosted in addition to the Tigers games.”
An article published in 1991 reported that “she never raises her voice unnecessarily. She doesn’t exaggerate. Yet, somehow, her announcements linger in the hearts of the fans. Her announcements are known for their gentle nuance rather than flashiness. That quality has made her especially popular among longtime Tigers supporters.
“Over time, [the P.A. announcer] role has evolved, and it has developed from a mere announcer to an important presence that creates the atmosphere of the stadium.”
Gibbs said at the time, “I want to announce in a way that feels close to people. I don’t want to sound like I’m talking at them.”
The article went on to say that “when the Tigers are doing poorly . . . [her] voice remains steady, warm, and reassuring. It feels as if she is quietly standing beside the fans, sharing both the frustration and the hope.”
She said, “Even when they’re weak, I still love the Tigers.”[iii]
Gibbs stayed in her role until 1996. She had met her husband, Ben, a native of the United Kingdom, at a karaoke bar several years prior, and the family moved to the United States when her husband accepted a new job. They lived in Colorado for several years and then in Washington state before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, where they currently reside.
Though she’s no longer at Koshien Stadium, her legacy there is written in stone – or in masonry, to be more accurate. Part of the pathway outside the stadium is lined with bricks that have people’s names etched in them. She purchased one saying “Sayoko Gibbs Proudly Worked Here 1981 – 1996”.
Gibbs has returned to Koshien Stadium a few times – the last time in 2022 – and acknowledged that “it was a strange feeling the first time when I went there as a fan, rather than to work.” With a laugh, she added that “it was hard not to judge the P.A. announcers.” She remains in touch with the other announcers she worked with, only one of whom is still in the role.
She has not gone to many baseball games since coming to the United States, though she, her husband, and one of their daughters went to Los Angeles to see Shohei Ohtani play for the Dodgers. She also fondly recalls attending a Colorado Rockies game with her husband and daughters Stephanie, now 26, and Victoria, now 24. The Rockies were hosting the New York Mets when Shinjo was playing for the latter.
“He seemed to remember my face because we had run into each other several times in the hallways inside Koshien Stadium when he played for the Tigers [1991 – 2000],” she said. “We were able to talk with him briefly and have a photo taken. We were sitting in the outfield, and he threw a ball to us before the game. Then he threw us another one when he realized we had two kids.”
Though her time at Hanshin Stadium is long past, it is still an experience that brings back fond memories.
As she once said, “Just being at the ballpark makes me happy.”
[i] No author name available, “The Glamour of the Ground,” Name of publication not available, July 9, 1991.
[ii] No author name available, “A partner in everyday life”, Family News, No date of publication available.
[iii] “The Glamour of the Ground,” July 9, 1991.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Sayoko Gibbs.
