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BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jul 14, 2014

NPB, MLB keeping track as Otani continues to blossom

Shohei Otani struck out 12 batters over seven innings on July 2 and fanned 16 in a complete-game effort in his next start July 9. He was in the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' starting lineup twice in the days between those outings on the mound and hit two home runs during a July 5 contest against the...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jun 1, 2014

Tough luck for Kaneko

Chihiro Kaneko no-hit the Yomiuri Giants for nine innings on Saturday. He then watched his team lose the game.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 20, 2014

Cromartie book available in digital

Former Yomiuri Giants star outfielder Warren Cromartie's book on his life in Japanese baseball, "Slugging It Out In Japan," which was co-written with best-selling author Robert Whiting, is now available in digital form for the first time.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
May 19, 2014

No time to rest as Cepeda hits ground running in Japan

Frederich Cepeda has had quite the week.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 17, 2014

Cepeda crushes first home run in NPB; Giants snap five-game slide

Frederich Cepeda, while playing for the Cuban national team, got a chance to watch Kenta Maeda pitch for Samurai Japan during the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 19, 2014

Carp roster built to contend for title in 2014

There is excitement in Hiroshima where the Carp are off to a nice start in the Central League pennant race.
BASEBALL
Mar 26, 2014

Yoh happy to carry on tradition as Fighters' showman

There has been a certain amount of pizazz associated with Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters center fielders the last several seasons.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Mar 3, 2014

Swallows' Balentien keeps focus on steady improvement

Wladimir Balentien launched a few balls to the farthest reaches of Tokyo Dome during batting practice on Sunday, turned his hat backwards and, as he sat down near the visitor's dugout, proclaimed that his timing was off.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 1, 2014

Many have fallen victim to NPB's 'false spring'

As a high school student back in the early 1960s, I can recall reading a book titled, "A False Spring." It was authored by Pat Jordan, a Connecticut native and a superb teenage baseball pitcher who, according to Wikipedia, was pursued by more than 15 major league organizations in 1959. Interesting, as...
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 3, 2014

Tokyo: What do you make of the Japan Sumo Association's decision to charge fans $120 to watch live tournaments online?

The Japan Sumo Association has just introduced a pay-per-view system for live streams of top tournaments. Costing $10 per day and $15 for the final day, or $120 for the entire tournament, the concept drew sharp criticism from overseas fans.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 24, 2014

Splitter expected to be 'money pitch' for Tanaka in the majors

Now that the New York Yankees have agreed to part with a whopping $175 million in order to fit Masahiro Tanaka for pinstripes, baseball fans and observers will spend the next several years trying to figure out if "Ma-kun" was worth the hefty price tag.
SPORTS / YEAR IN REVIEW 2013
Dec 25, 2013

A look back at the year's top 10 Japan sports stories

Japan Times editors selected these domestic sports stories as the most important of 2013.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NOTES ON A SCORECARD
Dec 3, 2013

Delay in agreement on new posting system just latest black eye for NPB

Pretty sad to see the negotiations over the new posting system between NPB and MLB continue to drag on. It's already December now and MLB teams are trying to set their rotations for next season.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / NOTES ON A SCORECARD
Nov 19, 2013

Mizuno best man to lead Tokyo organizing committee for 2020 Games

It is amazing how often the answer to a question can be right in front of you.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Nov 16, 2013

New rules needed for posting system

Masahiro Tanaka will probably end up in the majors next year, thanks in no small part to the terms NPB players seem to be willing to accept in regards to the posting system.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 5, 2013

In good or bad times, title-winning Eagles, fans share special bond throughout Tohoku

The Japan Series-winning run by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles was one of the best feel-good stories in Japanese pro baseball in 2013.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Oct 21, 2013

Lower seeds face stacked deck during NPB's Climax Series

When the Hiroshima Carp lost Game 1 of the Central League Climax Series Final Stage, they found themselves trailing 2-0 in the six-game series. Ditto for the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Pacific League.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 18, 2013

Defending champion Giants wrap up sweep against Carp, return to Japan Series

There may not have been a better story in Japanese baseball this season than the rise of the Hiroshima Carp.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2013

Carp embrace opportunity to face CL powerhouse Giants

It's been 22 years since the Hiroshima Carp have played this deep into a season. A long enough period that most of the team is experiencing postseason baseball for the very first time.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 15, 2013

Balentien sets new Japan single-season home run record

As soon as Wladimir Balentien's bat made contact with Daiki Enokida's fastball there was no doubt: Japan had just crowned a new home run king.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami