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Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 22, 2016

Veteran pitcher Standridge's life, family enriched by adopted Japanese daughter

Joy Standridge posted on social media Oct. 6 that her husband, Jason Standridge, "pitched his last game last night — maybe forever." The Chiba Lotte right-hander started the Marines' final game of the 2016 season at home, and he won, beating the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, 7-1.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 24, 2016

Making a toast to retiring beer girl Misato

The intai jiai (retirement game) is a significant event in Japanese pro baseball for long-time star players about to hang up their spikes and call it a career. It usually occurs at the end of a season after it has been announced the player is leaving the game and after league standings have been decided....
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 8, 2016

True meaning of Ichiro even greater than 3,000-hit milestone

There were a lot of people in Japan who awoke early April 3, 2001 (the night of April 2 in the U.S.), with a mix of anticipation and wonder as they watched new Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki's first game in the major leagues. Ichiro was hitless after three at-bats. Then, in the seventh, he...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015

The Vancouver Asahi: Angels are not in the outfield for immigrants

Of making baseball films there is no end. The sport provides an endless supply of ready-made narratives: from a fight to win the pennant ("Damn Yankees") or to simply win ("Major League"), to a player's struggle with illness ("Pride of the Yankees"), or an oversized ego ("Mr. Baseball").
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jun 3, 2014

'Million Dollar Arm' details search for Indian prospects

Exiting the theater after viewing "Million Dollar Arm," MAS had a strange urge to break out in song — in this case, "It's a Small World," the melody they play on the Disneyland kiddie ride of the same name.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 31, 2014

Events of 10 years ago still reverberate today

Ten years ago this month, Japanese baseball went into its deepest and most memorable crisis. In case you were not in Japan then — or have forgotten — here is a brief review of what happened.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 17, 2014

Foreign fans revel in ballpark fun

A beat writer for one of the Japanese papers called the other day and said, "I am seeing a lot of foreign fans at Japanese baseball games recently. What's going on?"
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 9, 2013

2014 NPB season-opening series in California appears unlikely

Reader and fan of Japanese baseball Leon DeHaven in Arizona wants to know if the proposed 2014 season-opening series between the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers in Southern California (Baseball Bullet-In, April 28) is still going to happen. "I'm ready to rent a room in Anaheim," he wrote in an email....
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 5, 2013

Antics of 'Animal' hard to forget more than 25 years later

He wasn't the best foreigner to ever play in Japanese baseball, but Brad "The Animal" Lesley was surely one of the most colorful and unforgettable characters to ever put on the uniform of a Central or Pacific League team.
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2012

No cheerleading for Wall Street

Regarding economist Kenneth Rogoff's March 13 article, "Public acceptance of high salaries for athletes contrasts with low regard for finance superstars": Rogoff is overlooking several comparison factors that most people regard as natural markers in determining the justice of financial rewards based...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 11, 2012

Disaster had major impact on NPB

Here we are, exactly one year after the Great East Japan Earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011. Japanese baseball has been greatly affected by the quake, the tsunami triggered by it and the subsequent radiation threats from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 4, 2011

Red Sox manager Valentine should be right at home in return to MLB

So, Bobby Valentine will be the new manager of the Boston Red Sox. Surprised? Not me. The now 61-year-old former skipper of the Texas Rangers, New York Mets and Chiba Lotte Marines said a few years ago while still working in Japan, "I plan to be in uniform until I'm 70 years old."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 13, 2011

PL champion Hawks are vital part of vibrant Fukuoka

While I was flying from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Fukuoka for the Pacific League Climax Series final stage last week, a thought occurred to me. What if the Wright Brothers could come back and take a similar flight today? What would they think of the advances made in aviation since they made that...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Apr 22, 2011

NHK hopes for a home run with new anime

It's a quintessential scene of Japanese youth: Young boys out in baseball uniforms jog across their school grounds, the white and maroon of their gear contrasting with a clear blue sky. In the bleachers, an earnest-looking high school girl named Minami, in a jersey that matches the team's uniforms, eyes...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 17, 2011

Umpires fully integrated under NPB banner

A big change in Japanese baseball this year may be seen in the umpires. The former Central and Pacific League men in blue have been fully integrated under the NPB banner, each man now has his own assigned roster and sleeve number and there are crew chiefs for the first time in Japan.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 27, 2011

Circumstances certain to make for challenging season

When it finally gets under way, this is going to be what one fan has called a "patchwork" baseball season in Japan.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Mar 22, 2011

Central League's reputation takes hit in scheduling row

The show must go on. At least so says the Central League.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 9, 2011

Remembering when 'Larry King Live' came to Tokyo

It is sad and somewhat lonely not seeing the "Larry King Live" program on CNN. The 77-year-old suspendered one retired at the end of 2010 after 25 years and thousands of interviews on what was arguably the most well known talk show on TV; a program that enjoyed immense popularity in the U.S. and around...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 23, 2010

Ballplayer is in a league all her own

Bessie Noll won't celebrate her 16th birthday for another year, but she's already got a sweet swing on her future.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Oct 19, 2010

Playoff schedule denies NPB center stage

Major League Baseball, as it has done throughout its playoffs, showcased the best of the best over the weekend.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 3, 2010

Media racism: How unsportsmanlike

Local favoritism is built into organized sports. At the macro level you have whole countries rooting for national teams at the Olympics or the World Cup. At the micro level you have fans cheering a hometown boy who plays for a team far away. By the same token, nationalistic fans denigrate opposing countries'...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 20, 2010

Here comes the never-ending season

The season is here . . . again. As if it ever ended.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 31, 2010

Universal count, use of one ball will boost status of NPB

How about that?
BASEBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 16, 2009

Ichiro certain to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer

There were a number of doubters nine years ago when Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese position player in Major League Baseball.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 13, 2009

Golden Week 2 set to be windfall at gate for NPB

Golden Week has always been a golden time for Japanese baseball. That series of consecutive holidays between April 29 and May 5 usually sees capacity or near-sellout crowds at all games scheduled during the period.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past