Kosuke Fukudome was surprised with a small cake and some birthday wishes by a couple of teammates during a workout at Koshien Stadium on Sunday.
That, however, probably wasn't the way the Hanshin Tigers outfielder had envisioned celebrating his 43rd birthday.
If everything had gone according to plan, the Tigers would've been visiting the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday and the sound of Happy Birthday being sung would've rang out from the Hanshin cheering section at Nagoya Dome as fans serenaded Fukudome during his first at-bat.