SAPPORO — Chiba Lotte's Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Nippon Ham's Hichori Morimoto are two of the biggest stars in Japanese baseball, despite neither really hitting for a lot of power or driving in a lot of runs.
Shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka excels at getting on base and using his speed to create scoring opportunities for the Chiba Lotte Marines. His leadoff counterpart, Hokkaido Nippon Ham's Hichori Morimoto, provides similar production for the reigning Japan Series champions.
KYODO PHOTOWhat the opposing leadoff hitters excel at, however, is getting on base and making good things happen for their clubs when they get there.