Deep inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Tomoyuki Sugano opened a package from halfway around the world.

Inside was a colorful illustration of his career path, from playing catch with his father at a park in his hometown of Sagamihara, in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, to moving to the United States to play for the Orioles. It depicts the hours the pair spent together, working toward the goal of Sugano playing professional baseball.

“The color usage was based around orange, and the color orange has a significant meaning for me to play for a team that was orange throughout my career,” Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sakurai, referring to the colors of the Orioles and Yomiuri Giants. “That was pretty cool to look at.”

It’s an exact replica of the manhole cover that was placed in front of Thirty-Four Sagamihara Stadium over 6,000 miles away to cover a sewage drain. In Japan, manhole covers like this one are a unique part of the art scene, honoring everything from sports heroes to religious figures. The carefully crafted illustrations bring something beautiful to everyday infrastructure.

The first designer manhole cover appeared at Naha City in 1977, according to a history from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. In the 1980s, when the Japanese government’s effort to implement a new sewage system was met with resistance over the cost and disruption the project would cause, officials proposed creating unique designs for each municipality to win public support, according to the Japan Times.

People fell in love with them, and the concept spread across the nation. Today, there are thousands of designs and it’s turned into a cultural phenomenon with trading cards and tours that take patrons around the country to view them.

Major League Baseball, a spokesperson said, wanted to celebrate its 12 players from Japan. And what better way to do it, the league thought, than to use something that is special to their home country? All 12 players were given a manhole cover specific to their journey to be placed in their hometowns.

After the covers were designed, a wooden mold was created with the shape carved into it, according to a video produced by MLB Japan. Then, molten iron that can reach up to 1,500 degrees was poured onto it. After the cover cooled, color was added, an intricate process that can take up to six hours.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s manhole cover features his two-way skills and is displayed at a train station in Oshu, Japan. Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, whose nickname is the “throwing philosopher,” is depicted with his hand on his face, as if he’s deep in thought, with the solar system behind him. His is in a park in Kitakyushu.

As for Sugano’s, his is all about his relationship with his father, Takashi. Takashi played baseball up to college and passed on his love of his sport to his son. The father and son would go to the park multiple times a week to play catch.

“Playing catch with my dad, it’s obviously a significant memory that I have,” Sugano said.

His father was within driving distance as Sugano went off to Tokai University and then the Yomiuri Giants, where he spent the first 12 years of his professional career. But, now that his son is around the world, Takashi hasn’t been able to see his him.

Weeks ago, as Sugano took in the design of his replica, his father went to see the real thing at Thirty-Four Sagamihara Stadium, one of the places where Sugano played growing up. Next month, Takashi will make the journey to Baltimore to watch his son in person again.

Soon, they’ll be side by side, just as they are depicted on the manhole cover.