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 Jason Coskrey

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Jason Coskrey
Jason Coskrey is a sports writer for The Japan Times. His primary focus is Japanese baseball, but he has also covered soccer, American football, boxing and basketball. He previously worked for the Marietta Daily Journal in Marietta, Ga. A native of Detroit, he is a graduate of the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 16, 2017
Zelous Wheeler blasts Eagles into Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage
Zelous Wheeler hit the ball so hard it might've landed somewhere in Fukuoka. Which is convenient, since he'll be able to stop by and pick it up on his way to the final stage of the Pacific League Climax Series.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2017
Takayuki Kishi shines as Eagles beat Lions to force Game 3
It took a home run on the very first pitch of the game, a squeeze play and a lot from Takayuki Kishi, but the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are still alive and kicking.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Oct 14, 2017
Finally, Lions' Yusei Kikuchi living up to potential this season
Yusei Kikuchi had waited for this for far too long to not savor every last second. For seven years, the Seibu Lions left-hander had chased the shadow of his younger self, the high school phenom poised to skip right over NPB and head to the major leagues.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 14, 2017
Lions devour Eagles in Game 1
The NPB postseason began with the promise of a pitcher's duel, with a pair of aces on the mound on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Saitama Prefecture.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Oct 12, 2017
Samurai Japan unveils roster for new event
Japan's new manager is ready to lead the next generation on the road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 8, 2017
Milestone man Chris Marrero taking things in stride at Orix
Chris Marrero sent a ball over the fence in left field at Chiba's Zozo Marine Stadium, rounded the bases, and did a small hop to land on home plate with two feet during a game against the Chiba Lotte Marines on Sept. 29.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Oct 5, 2017
Fighters ace Shohei Otani lives up to expectations in Japan
Shohei Otani has lived up to the hype. Just as Bryce Harper in MLB and LeBron James in the NBA, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters star pitcher/DH not only entered the professional ranks to outsized expectations, he actually met them.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 4, 2017
Otani dazzles in likely last start before heading to majors
The real Shohei Otani made his first appearance of the season on the last day of baseball at Sapporo Dome this year. It may have also been his final time on an NPB mound.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Oct 2, 2017
Time has come for NPB to address system for makeup games
On Sunday, the MLB season ended with all 30 teams in action, wrapping up the year in a nice and tidy 15-game bow as focus shifts to the playoffs.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 30, 2017
Tigers defeat Giants, secure second spot in CL Climax Series
The No. 2 seed in the Central League was right there for the taking, and that's exactly what the Hanshin Tigers did.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 21, 2017
Dangen Entertainment hopes to help overseas developers find their way in Japan's gaming world
The group that would soon be known as Dangen Entertainment sat around Ben Judd's house this past April, making plans and bouncing ideas off each other over pizza and drinks. Judd had an idea to start an independent game-publishing company in Japan and had reached out to five others in the industry. Like...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Sep 18, 2017
Sarfate thrives in perfect situation in Fukuoka
Dennis Sarfate is fit, but at a listed weight of 102 kg, he isn't exactly light. So it was with some apprehension that he allowed his Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks teammates to toss him in the air after the team won the 2017 Pacific League pennant on Saturday afternoon at MetLife Dome in Saitama.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 16, 2017
Hawks capture Pacific League pennant
There shouldn't have been any questions about which team was the best in the Pacific League this season.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Sep 11, 2017
Samurai Japan to face Asian rivals in November tournament
For manager Atsunori Inaba and Samurai Japan, it's full steam ahead for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. And the first stop on what Japan hopes is the road to a gold medal comes in November, when Inaba makes his debut at the inaugural Asia Professional Baseball Championship 2017.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Sep 11, 2017
Balentien's power remains constant presence at plate for Swallows
Wladimir Balentien could've been written off as a one-year wonder after hitting 31 home runs in his first season in Japan, way back in 2011. Or as just a flash in the pan after doing it the next season. No one could deny Balentien his due after he shattered the NPB record with 60 home runs in 2013, or...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 7, 2017
Eagles take small step in right direction with back-to-back victories over Fighters
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are officially on a winning streak. It's only two games, but it's a start, and with the way the last few weeks have gone, the Eagles will gladly take it.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 7, 2017
Lions' Yamakawa named Pacific League MVP for August
What a month it was for Hotaka Yamakawa.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Sep 4, 2017
Sarfate has pitched way into MVP discussion
The bow has become one of the most familiar sights in Japanese baseball. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks closer Dennis Sarfate records the final out of a game, brings his right hand up to meet his gloved left hand in front of his chest, and leans forward. When you see it, Sarfate has either converted a save or...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Sep 1, 2017
Otani gets back on the hill as questions about future persist
Shohei Otani returned to the mound after a long absence on Thursday night.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 29, 2017
Carp stay perfect against Giants at Tokyo Dome this season
The Hiroshima Carp squared off against a pitcher who hadn't lost in a month, was on his home turf, and threw one of his better games of the year.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers