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May 21, 2024
 

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Wayne Graczyk
Wayne Graczyk has written the "Baseball Bullet-In" column in The Japan Times since 1976. A native of New Jersey, he came to Japan in 1969 with the U.S. Air Force and is a 1977 graduate of Tokyo's Sophia University. Wayne was the long-time (1977-2004) sports editor of the Tokyo Weekender newspaper, he covers Yomiuri Giants baseball games for Nippon TV and, since 1976, he has compiled the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook & Media Guide. He is a member of the Tokyo Sportswriters Club and the Foreign Sportswriters Association of Japan. Notice Wayne Graczyk, the baseball columnist for The Japan Times for the past 40 years, passed away at the age of 68 on April 19. His final column was posted on April 8. Readers can continue to access his coverage of Japanese baseball through the online archives.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 1, 2001
American talking the talk down in Hiroshima
Most interpreters working for Japanese baseball teams are Japanese. Though there has been a need for translators in a variety of languages in recent years as the suketto (foreign "helpers") hired by Central and Pacific League teams have come from various countries, most of the men hired to change Nihongo...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 18, 2001
Lasorda not doggin' it in Osaka
Tommy Lasorda gets around. On Sunday, July 8, the 73-year-old former Los Angeles Dodgers manager was at the Osaka Dome, "producing" an American ballpark event for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, wolfing down some Dodger Dogs and doing a TV interview. Two days later, "Tumblin' Tommy" was coaching third base for...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 4, 2001
Baseball & Beer Blast at Sapporo Dome
Japan's sixth all-weather stadium was the setting last week as the Yomiuri Giants and Chunichi Dragons played the first official pro baseball games at the Sapporo Dome. The June 26-28 series was won by the Giants, who took the first and third games. Chunichi won Game 2.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 20, 2001
Dragons' Gomez back where he belongs
Leo Gomez is happy to be back where he belongs, playing third base and batting cleanup for the Chunichi Dragons.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 6, 2001
Power surge in the Pacific League
Instead of playing up the Monday night games innovation (which it really is not doing anyway), the Pacific League should exploit the sudden increase in home-run power this season. Either they've juiced the ball or the guys are taking some go-go juice (just kidding), and Seibu Lions slugger Alex Cabrera...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 23, 2001
Fans by the Bay want more offense
Among the fans of the Yokohama BayStars are many foreigners. They include American military personnel stationed at the Negishi Housing Area in Yokohama and Yokosuka Naval Base and civilians living in Kanagawa and surrounding prefectures. From what I am hearing, they are not happy with their team's style...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 9, 2001
Daiei's pitching shuttle service
What in the world are they thinking? That's the question many Japanese baseball observers were asking when the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks announced the signing of left-handed American pitcher Chris Haney in mid-April.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 25, 2001
A-Cab gettin' it done for Seibu
Boomer Wells, former slugger with the Hankyu Braves, Orix Braves, Orix BlueWave and Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (1983-92) used to say his goal was to hit 10 home runs by Golden Week. More often than not, he would reach double figures before the April 29 Emperor's Birthday (now Greenery Day) start of the seven-day...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 11, 2001
So far, so good for Tigers' foreign contingent
Most everyone (including this writer) picked the Hanshin Tigers to finish last in the Central League standings in 2001 for the third straight season. However, nine games into the schedule, the team does not look so bad. There are some good looking young players (rookie shortstop Yoshinori Okihara, for...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 1, 2001
Time for fans to pick 'em
As promised, this week's column is devoted to predictions sent in by Baseball Bullet-In readers offering their hunches on how the 2001 Central and Pacific League pennant races will play out. Ten people responded and, since I offered to accept the picks by e-mail, there were even a few entries from outside...
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 23, 2001
'Little' Matsui sets sights on quadruple crown
Now that seven-time Pacific League batting champion Ichiro Suzuki has left the Orix BlueWave for the Seattle Mariners, this year's PL hitting title will be up for grabs.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 23, 2001
Dragons' Bunch looking to avoid sophomore jinx
Chunichi Dragons pitcher Mel Bunch will be out to prove his rookie year in Japan pro baseball last season was no fluke. The right-hander led the Central League with 14 victories, threw a no-hitter early in the year and turned in a superb 2.98 earned run average in helping the Dragons to a strong second-place...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 18, 2001
Corey Paul: King of the Eastern League
Hoping to make the Seibu Lions' opening day roster is Corey Paul, a third-year-in-Japan American outfielder who also happens to be the third foreign position player on the team's roster. He's competing with teammates Alex Cabrera and Scott McClain in a system where non-Japanese player quotas allow each...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 4, 2001
Readers write about Monday night ball
In my column of Feb. 18 about the Pacific League's plan to play lots of games on Monday night during the coming season, I asked readers to send in their comments and ideas regarding the MPL (Monday Pacific League) format. Following are two e-mails I received and my response to each:
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 18, 2001
Rainy days and Mondays won't dampen baseball
"Rainy Days and Mondays (Always Get Me Down)," Karen and Richard Carpenter's hit record out of the 1970s, might have been an anthem for baseball fans in Japan several years ago.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 4, 2001
No big-name foreign players in 2001
I went for a haircut the other day and, as usual, the topic of conversation between the barber and myself was sports. He's a typical Japanese sports fan with a typical Japanese name -- Suzuki -- and we chat about baseball, both the Japanese version and the major leagues.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 21, 2001
Spring camps staying local
The 12 Japanese pro baseball teams open spring training camps for the 2001 season on Feb. 1, just 11 days from now, and fan David Craft sent an e-mail asking if any of the Central or Pacific League clubs will be taking S.T. outside of Japan; specifically Hawaii.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 7, 2001
CL pitchers happy to see last of Gomez
...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 24, 2000
Shinjo: Can he live up to media hype in New York?
played up the coverage of the signing of free agent Tsuyoshi Shinjo by the New York Mets last week. "He'll be the opening day starting center fielder," said one paper about the former Hanshin Tigers star. "He'll bat sixth in the lineup," read another. While it's nice to know they have high hopes for...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 10, 2000
Japanese players strike: believe it when you see it
...
Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
Japan concerned over U.S. officials' remarks on atomic bombings
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
The politicians moving Japan forward on climate
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Morning-after pill buyers back prescription-free sales following trial
Some 2,181 morning-after pills were sold at 145 pharmacies across the nation, with Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture recording over 200 sales each.
Want to be a voice actor? Stay 'true to the character'
SungWon Cho is a veteran with more than 10 years of experience portraying characters in anime, cartoons and video games.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”

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