Jerry Sands may be a longshot bet to have success with the Hanshin Tigers this season, but Korean pro baseball's 2019 RBI leader has a history of bucking long odds. Sands turned pro after being selected in the 25th round of Major League Baseball's 2008 ...

For years, former major league pitcher Satoru Komiyama's measure of success was wins on the ballfield, now as manager of Waseda University's baseball team, he wants his yardstick to be the quality of character his players achieve. "We prepare these players so they can go ...

The lively atmosphere Alcides Escobar expected for his Tokyo Dome return was silenced by Japan's efforts to counter the spread of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19. In November 2014, the longtime defensive wiz with the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals got a taste ...

When records are set in baseball, they so often occur at the confluence of favorable circumstances, the right player in the right place at the right time. Pitcher Carter Stewart may not have set any records last year, but by signing with the Fukuoka SoftBank ...

When Carter Stewart and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks agreed to a six-year, $6 million contract in 2019, it made news as the historic first such deal between an elite American amateur and an NPB team. Their deal began an experiment, which, if successful, could spark ...

While some are looking for big rewards from the swell of interest to come from the Tokyo Paralympics, Toshiro Ueda is convinced a brighter future for people with disabilities — and society as a whole — is built through the acts of one individual ...

For aspiring action actor Alice Iwamoto, the multidisciplined approach of the martial art kobudō brings realism to fighting performances.

Two softball games and one baseball game in Fukushima next summer may be little more than an 2020 Olympic cameo, but local fans are thrilled to have them, largely in the hopes they will give their prefecture a badly needed public relations boost. Fukushima was ...

The only thing old school about Seiya Suzuki is his work ethic, because the strong-armed, hard-hitting Hiroshima Carp outfielder is not in the habit of conforming to tradition for the sake of it. "I am continually trying to master new things. Because if I don't ...

Japan has set lofty goals for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, but by aiming for packed venues and a top-seven finish on the medal table, organizers are seeking far more than national pride and prestige. With sports an important arena in the fight for social equality, ...