Well our journey to Japan is just about over and I wanted to thank all of you who have followed along through my blog, photos and videos. We had fun chronicling the trip and I hope that you enjoyed seeing what we were up to.
In many ways we are all happy to be heading home, but in many ways we are sad to go. The Japanese people are very special. The strength and honor that they have demonstrated as they work through the tragedy of March 11 is remarkable. They are a very friendly people who love their baseball just like us.
When we arrived I said that our goal was simply to bring a smile to the faces of the children of Japan and connect with them through baseball. I think we achieved that and I hope to come back again soon.
I also very much enjoyed spending time with my old friend Sachio Kinugasa, the Iron Man of Japan. He is a wonderful man and he loves working with the kids as well. We both promised each other that it won't be so long between visits this time.
I want to thank our friends at the State Department, the Embassy and Major League Baseball for their help and support and I want to thank my team for their tireless effort in the months leading up to the trip and while we were here.
I always like to say that you can do some good stuff on your own but you can do so much more with good partners. Thanks to Rawlings and Under Armour we were able to leave behind equipment and merchandise for the kids, coaches and schools that will help them get back to playing the game that they love.
I don't know where our next journey will take us but I look forward to it and I look forward to keeping everyone up to date. Thanks again. Sayonara.