Billy the Marlin taught a 1,876-year-old Japanese pear mascot (and Aerosmith fan) how to pitch

What do baseball and Aerosmith have in common (besides Red Sox diehard Ben Affleck)? They both have a fan in Funassyi, a Japanese mascot used to market goods and tourism opportunities in Funabashi -- a city known for producing pears. (The name is derived from "Funa"--short for Funabashi--and "nassyi," which sounds like the word for "pear.")

Funassyi only came into being a few years ago, but its creator has said that it was born 1,876 years ago. Billy the Marlin recently hosted Funassyi at Marlins Park and taught the pear how to pitch.

Awesome teaching my new buddy @funassyi how to pitch like @srSHREK31! #VoteHitsMcGehee pic.twitter.com/2FsZNHzwor

- Billy The Marlin (@BillytheMarlin) August 15, 2014

We hear Funassyi has already got the best eephus pitch in America's southeast.