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BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jun 5, 2017

Former Yomiuri star Cromartie still feels at home in Japan

The legacy of Warren Cromartie has endured in Japanese baseball even though it's been decades since the former Yomiuri Giants star laced up his cleats in Japan.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
May 8, 2017

Hanshin's Campbell working to get up to speed

For Eric Campbell, some introductions in Japan have to come with an explanation. Because it's not everyday you run into a guy who answers to 'Soup.'
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 31, 2017

Giants usher in new season with victory over rival Dragons

There's a stuffed Giabbit doll headed Lillianne Mikolas' way. If things go her father's way, there'll be whole lot more coming.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 29, 2017

Kawasaki Stadium stirs fond recollection of legendary games

Former Lotte Orions outfielder Hideaki Takazawa recalled that he and his teammates would joke that there were more officials than fans at the stadium for their games back in the day.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 22, 2017

Tomooka says young athletes should play different sports

The term "strength and conditioning" in sports is relatively unknown in Japan, and specialty coaches are often confused with athletic trainers, who are skilled in prevention, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of athletic injuries.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 8, 2016

Out-of-town scoreboards would enrich experience at all ballparks

Why don't the Japanese pro baseball stadiums have out-of-town scoreboards, and why do many of the main ballparks not display the home-run distances on the fences?
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 25, 2016

Marines icon Omura bows out in final game

Retiring Chiba Lotte Marines star Saburo Omura had only one season in which he hit above .300 and just one 20-homer campaign, with both marks coming in 2009.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 23, 2016

Long-lost basketball card sparks memories of Ichiro's early fame

Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is about to reach the 3,000-hit mark in Major League Baseball. The 42-year-old Japanese icon is expected to conquer the milestone this week during Miami's 10-game homestand.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 4, 2016

'Ichimeter Lady' still counting as Ichiro nears 3,000

It's been over two years, and Amy Franz still has no idea how Ichiro Suzuki knew it was her birthday. That particular June 11, in 2014, Franz, a longtime Mariners fan, was sitting in right field, as usual, at Seattle's Safeco Field. She was watching for foul balls during batting practice while her husband,...
BASEBALL
May 13, 2016

Jingu Stadium users, operator close to deal over 2020 eviction

Historic Jingu Stadium will be vacated for nearly three months for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics after the ballpark's operator and its other regular users agreed in principle to a modified proposal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on Friday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 7, 2016

Gomes left Eagles before opportunity to turn season around

"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye." The title of a 19th century anti-war song.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 12, 2016

Gambling, drugs, bullets provide cautionary tales for NPB's foreign players

Gambling, drugs, bullets in luggage, gambling again. More current and former players in Japanese baseball are being tagged with the yogisha (crime suspect) label following their names, and team officials are making the deep bows of apology and "There's nothing we can say" speeches. Some have stepped...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 3, 2016

Easton making foray into Japan

U.S.-based baseball equipment manufacturer Easton, one of the largest baseball brands in America, is making a foray into the Japanese market, the company announced earlier this week. Along with its products, Easton is bringing along some technology it hopes can help shape the future of youth baseball...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 23, 2016

Interpreters continue to play important role in NPB

If I had known then what I know now, I would have taken Spanish in high school instead of French. It is not that I remember any of the French (I failed the course), but there are very few — if any — professional ballplayers whose native language is Francais. Even a little Español would come in handy...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jan 10, 2016

New Hall of Famers Griffey Jr., Piazza familiar to Japanese fans

Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were elected to the United States' National Baseball Hall of Fame last week to much fanfare. While both players spent the entirety of their Hall of Fame careers in North America, neither star is a stranger to Japanese baseball fans.

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