Every year, Japanese baseball produces some great stories, and some not-so-wonderful ones. During this last week of 2010, let's take a final look back at some of the good and bad events that occurred over the past 12 months.
For me, one of the best stories of the season was the record-breaking performance of Hanshin Tigers outfielder Matt Murton, whose 214 hits set a new single-season mark, breaking the old standard of 210 hits banged out by Ichiro Suzuki with the Orix BlueWave in 1994.
Even better than the actual feat in itself was the record-breaking scene at Jingu Stadium in a game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Oct. 5.