Lars Nootbaar’s pepper-grinder gesture is catching on all across Japan. You see people doing it on the trains, across the counter ordering a coffee and of course among the 40,000 fans who have packed the Tokyo Dome to watch Japan play in the World Baseball Classic. Nootbaar, who also plays for the St. Louis Cardinals, says “the fans have leaned it to that. It’s been pretty cool.” He says he has heard that pepper grinder sales “have gone up quite a bit this past week.” Nootbaar says he’s ready to come back and play again at the next World Baseball Classic. He says “hopefully in three years or whatever it is. It’s been a great experience.”