ST. PAUL, MINN. -- Seigo Masubuchi was ready to go.
This would be the 47-year-old's 96th marathon -- a jaunt around his adopted hometown of St. Paul.
A crowd would cheer him on, cups of water would be delivered when he needed them -- and he'd start and finish the race at the Dip N' Dots in left field?
Yes, Masubuchi -- a longtime employee with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints -- was running a marathon along the CHS Field concourse ... while a game was going on. Eighty-four laps in 90-degree heat. Dodging hot dog (6-foot hot dog) vendors, foul balls, giant pig mascots, unaware spectators bringing beer back to their seats and all the other ridiculousness that goes on at one of the more fun and funky Minor League parks in the country.
"The fans expect us to do fun stuff, amazing fans that have been coming for years to new fans just discovering us," Masubuchi told us, smiling, before he started. "We're here to entertain people."
Masubuchi's long, mutual love affair with the Saints began back in the mid-to-late 1990s.
The Tokyo transplant was a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota and became interested in this new Independent franchise Mike Veeck -- son of baseball's greatest showman Bill Veeck -- and Bill Murray had created in St. Paul. After a "60 Minutes" interview featuring Veeck (who sold the team in 2023), Japanese baseball officials and journalists also became intrigued by this new team with over-the-top promotions, high attendance and the refreshing mantra "Fun is Good."
"I started coordinating Japanese media visits and Japanese players that wanted to try out for the Saints," Masubuchi said. "I sold tickets to Japanese companies for group visits."
Masubuchi made deals with Japanese drink companies to sell their product in the stadium and helped interpret for players arriving from his home country. But then, one day, he found the role fans would associate him with for years: When the stadium karaoke singer wasn't available mid-game, Masubuchi stepped in. The Saints' director of international development had some experience in the area -- as he told MiLB.com's Ben Hill in 2022.
"My mother used to own a daytime coffee shop, nighttime karaoke bar, in Japan," he said. "I didn't like it, though. Because when I was growing up neighborhood wives came to the shop and I was kind of forced to do it, you know? For these older women. But that’s a major reason it came up [with the Saints]. 'Why don’t we have Seigo sing a song?' And that’s where it started."
And from that point on, Masubuchi has taken his job to entertain very seriously.
He's one of the Saints' original and most popular ushertainers, he makes Adele cover songs for the team's social channels, and here he was, during a May 11 matchup against the Buffalo Bisons, running an in-stadium marathon (the second time he's done it in the last few years).
And don't think he'd stop entertaining while running around and around the makeshift, roped-off course.
The Veeck-ian disciple sang "Born to Run" during a 26.2-mile trek when most people struggle to even catch their breath.
He threw out the first pitch while running past the right-field foul pole, he stopped to stand still for the national anthem, he smiled and waved even as 90-degree heat weighed down on him.
And as much as Seigo seemed to love entertaining and playing to the crowd, there were so many glimpses of the fans, the Saints staff and even the players loving him right back. Sort of paying him back for all he'd given them over the decades.
He dropped down to the field about 30 minutes in to say hi to the team and Randy Dobnak (he'd coordinated his run with Dobnak and Dobnak's wife's St. Jude charity). He ran the first time for Batten Disease -- a rare neurodegenerative disorder that took the life of Mike Veeck's daughter, Rebecca, at the age of 27.
Players grinned and shouted out "Seigo!" when he stepped out onto the diamond.
As the game entered the later innings and the record-breaking temperatures continued to rise, that support for Masubuchi was, as he said himself, "what carried him over the finish line."
The PA announcer urged spectators to pay attention to him, "Let's go, Seigo!" chants thundered around the concourse and mascots, other ushertainers, fans and workers ran with their friend for his final lap.
He finished at 4 hours and 40 minutes around the eighth inning and, although exhausted, you could still see that spirit and light emanating from his face. There seemed to be no place he'd rather be and nothing he'd rather be doing. A marathon during a real, live baseball game, complete.
"You don't feel like you're working, obviously," Masubuchi said about his job before his run. "It's work, but it's not really working. Back in 1993, [Mike Veeck and Bill Murray] created this atmosphere, and that tradition just continues."