Kondo Keeps it All in the Family
Sophomore left Brazil to play baseball and continue a family tradition
March 15, 2007

By Tiffany Bull, CSUDH volleyball

The Toros baseball team has added international flavor to its spring line up: Kelvin Kondo.

Kondo enrolled at Cal State Dominguez Hills last fall to pursue a degree in marketing after spending a year playing baseball for the Cougars at Chicago State University, a Division I school.

Kondo was born and raised in Brazil, where he learned Spanish, Portuguese and English. Although soccer is the main sport in most of Latin America, baseball is in his blood. His great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather and father all played the sport.

“Everyone thought I should be playing soccer instead, but I just love this game,” says Kondo, a pitcher for the Toros baseball team.

His parents, Edson and Regina Kondo, have lived in Brazil their entire lives. Kondo was also born and raised in Brazil with his brother, Kesley, a high school senior attending school in the Inland Empire who also plays baseball.

Kondo enjoys many of the Brazil’s traditions. His favorite meal is churrasco, a Brazilian barbecue, and he enjoys listening to Marcelo D2, a Portuguese rapper, and Brazilian pop-rock artists Jota Quest.

What’s surprising is that Kondo is not Brazilian.

“My mother and father are full-blooded Japanese, and we lived in a community of almost all Japanese people,” says Kondo. “We still have a lot of culture, but being third generation, my parents and I are not always big on keeping cultural tradition.”

Kelvin does, however, enjoy celebrating the New Year in Japanese tradition.

“We eat this Japanese soup called ozoni and then drink a little bit of sake in the morning,” says Kondo.

Kondo, 18, has been in the United States almost three years. He feels completely comfortable, thanks in part to living near Gardena and Torrance, which combined have a high Asian population.

“I can drive 20 minutes and get some decent Japanese food or I can drive 20 minutes and get to a real nice beach,” says Kondo.

Kondo also has taken to American culture. He roots for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and is currently reading Moneyball: The Art of Winning the Unfair Game,” a written quest for success in baseball, by Michael Lewis. He lists Japanese-born Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki and Angels Scott Shields as his favorite baseball players.

“Kelvin, although very young in age, is very mature and responsible despite being so far away from his family,” says interim baseball head coach Murphy Su’a. “He is a major contributor to our pitching staff; he’s a good pitcher, a smart pitcher. He will be a huge key to our success this year.”