Henry Phan – Now a Baseball Fan!

That Henry Phan has been on four JapanBall trips in less than two years and has more planned might lead to the assumption that he’s been passionate about baseball for a long time.

But that would be wrong. 

“I’m not that athletic,” the 24-year-old Phan says. “I didn’t play sports in middle school or high school, and I didn’t pay much attention at all to athletics until just a few years ago. I was a late bloomer as far as interest in sports.”

What was the change factor? Well, more like factors – a combination of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the influence of legendary JapanBaller Leon DeHaven, and JapanBall itself. 

Phan, a native and still resident of the Phoenix metropolitan area, first acquired an interest in basketball during the pandemic in 2020 when he began going to a nearby playground and shooting at the hoop. 

“It was a way of getting out of the house instead of being cooped up all the time,” he said. “Then the [Phoenix] Suns made it to the NBA finals in 2021, and that was a great experience, even though they didn’t win it all.”

His baseball experience began the same year, thanks in large part to DeHaven, the long-term partner of Phan’s grandmother, Xuyen. 

“I consider Leon my grandfather,” Phan said. “He’s always been there when you needed him, and he’s the first person who got me into baseball in general.”

As a fan, DeHaven, 78, is a baseball lifer, having seen games in at least six countries, more than 50 major-league stadiums, 15 Japanese ballparks, and a large number of minor-league facilities around the U.S. It’s believed that he has the longest resume of any JapanBaller in the organization’s 26-year history. By his estimate, he’s been on 20 trips beginning in 2006 and seen approximately 100 games, a record JapanBall president Shane Barclay calls “the ultimate legacy.” 

“I asked if he wanted to go to a baseball game,” DeHaven said, “and he said no at first. But he finally went and discovered that he liked it a lot. The first game we attended together was a D’Backs/Orioles interleague game a few years back. Then we started going a lot.”

Phan added, “We were talking more, especially during Covid. It was a way of connecting with each other. We began going to [Arizona] Diamondbacks’ games at Chase Field, and my interest in the game started snowballing, especially after the D’Backs got into the World Series in 2023. It’s hard to not get into baseball when you hear all of Leon’s stories. He has so much knowledge about the history of the game. He’s a baseball Wikipedia.”

The two began attending not just Diamondbacks’ games, but also MLB spring training games, minor league contests, and Arizona Fall League action. Which, inevitably, led to the two going on JapanBall tours beginning in the summer of 2023 with the classic Midnight Sun Game in Alaska. The contest takes place in Fairbanks on the longest day of the year and begins at 10pm – under bright sunshine, of course.

“Seeing a game that started that late was really an unusual experience,” Phan said, “and the trip gave me a good introduction as to how JapanBall works. With JapanBall, you not only see plenty of baseball but also have time to see and do other things.” 

It was intriguing enough that, just a few months later, Phan and DeHaven went on JapanBall’s tour of Korea to see games of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) play. In the summer of 2024, they attended Honkbalweek in the Netherlands and later took JapanBall’s flagship tour of Japan to see NPB games. 

On their own, they also attended a minor league game at historic Rickwood Field, billed as America’s oldest ballpark, in Birmingham, AL. 

“When we were in the gift shop, the owner of the ballpark happened to come in, and we got into a good conversation with him,” Phan said. “It’s an example of how you can really connect with other baseball fans.”

Indeed, those types of connections are not unusual for many fans, particularly those who have gone on JapanBall trips. Many have mentioned how they’ve stayed in touch with others over the long term after completing tours. 

“It’s so interesting how much these folks love baseball and how much into the games they are,” Phan said. “Leon is such a fun, talkative person who stays in touch with a lot of people, and when I go to Fall League games, I often see people that we’ve met on JapanBall tours.”

It sometimes works the other way around, as well. DeHaven says some people he’s met at games locally have eventually taken JapanBall tours.

“I talk a good story about baseball,” he said. “I talk about JapanBall a lot, and at least 30 people I’ve mentioned it to, including several I’ve met at spring training games, have ended up going on tours.”  

So what’s coming up in the near term? Well, plenty, at least when Phan has openings on his busy schedule. He’s a junior in college at Arizona State University, working toward a degree in information technology, and often works during breaks from school at ASU’s School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence. “So there is a lot of conflict with my time,” he says.

Still, he and DeHaven are planning to go to Tucson in early March to see some of the qualifying rounds of the next World Baseball Classic – “We’ll see Shane [Barclay] there” – as well as the Hall of Fame ceremonies in late July when Ichiro Suzuki will be inducted. Phan also says he may again travel to Alaska for the Midnight Sun Game. Beyond that, there are always Diamondbacks’ games and Fall League action.

“Henry is certainly a worthy torch-bearer,” JapanBall’s Barclay said. “It’s been great having him join the JapanBall family over the last few years. Our tour guests are typically baseball lifers, so with him being a relatively new fan, it’s a really cool to be there with him as he falls in love with the sport.”

Looking further out, Phan is eyeing JapanBall’s journey to the Dominican Republic that takes place each November during the Dominican winter league season, as well as a tour of the U.S. West Coast, which this year encompasses the Midnight Sun Game and stops in Washington State. 

“It’s kind of ironic, I guess, that I’ve been to a lot more international stadiums than MLB ballparks,” Phan said with a laugh. “As far as MLB, I’ve just been to Chase Field here in Phoenix and Baltimore [Oriole Park at Camden Yards].”

All of which is not something Phan, and perhaps anyone who knew him, would have expected just a few years ago. The phrases “Henry Phan” and “baseball fan” now fit comfortably in the same sentence.

“It really surprises me that I’ve gotten into sports, especially baseball,” Phan said. “Some others in my family are surprised, too, when they hear me talk about different teams and what’s going on with them. No one in the family cares as much about sports as I do.” His sister Cindy likes basketball but is not a baseball fan. His brother Steven is in Maryland and occasionally goes to Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens games, but Henry describes him as a casual fan.

DeHaven added, “Henry liked baseball somewhat at first but more so after he began to understand it. One thing I did was teach him how to keep score, and he picked it up really quickly. He was doing it halfway through his first game, and being able to keep score helps you understand the game more deeply.”

And both appreciate the time together and the shared experiences. 

“One of the many things I appreciate about Leon is that this is giving me the opportunity to do these things at such a young age,” Phan said. “Until I met Leon, I’d never been out of the country, except to see a few of the Mexican border towns.”

DeHaven: “The relationship has benefitted me greatly, and him as well. He’s told me so. He thanks me a lot, and is very gracious about it. It’s worked out great for both of us. It’s been a real win-win situation. I’m definitely hoping to do more trips with him.”