NPB rolls into Olympic break after eventful first half
Every NPB player on a first-team roster was deactivated on Thursday in one mass transaction. It was just a procedural move — because there are no games scheduled for the next 10 days — but many fans still got a kick out of the ...
Streaking Giants set sights on first place
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. That safety warning, or some version of it, appears on the passenger side mirrors of vehicles in several nations, including the United States. It's a warning the Hanshin Tigers should heed. They may still be driving at ...
Justin Smoak's departure puts family issues in spotlight in NPB
Family was the dominant theme in NPB last week. The Japanese baseball world received some stunning news on Thursday, when it was revealed Yomiuri Giants infielder Justin Smoak was leaving the team, and Japan, in order to be with his family. Justin Smoak left the Giants ...
Buffaloes rise to occasion to claim interleague crown
The Orix Buffaloes made the most of interleague play. The Kansai club limped into the interleague slate three games under .500 and in fifth place in the Pacific League standings. What followed was a 12-5-1 run against the Central League from May 25 to June ...
Tomoyuki Sugano and Seiya Suzuki return to action as Olympics draw near
A few hours after the United States national baseball team qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, two players expected to be key members of Samurai Japan's Olympic effort returned to the field in NPB. Yomiuri Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano and Hiroshima Carp outfielder Seiya Suzuki might ...
Dragons help Central League get off to fast start in interleague play
Round one goes to the Central League and, of all teams, the Chunichi Dragons. Interleague play kicked off across NPB last week, and the Dragons, who were in fifth place in the CL after the first-half of intraleague competition, are at the top of the ...
Pacific League clubs likely looking forward to return of interleague play
If Pacific League fans and teams look happier and more upbeat than usual, it's probably because it's that time of year again. Tuesday marks the start of interleague season, a period PL teams probably anticipate as much many in Japan look forward to Golden Week. ...
Roki Sasaki makes highly anticipated NPB debut with Marines
The "monster" finally made landfall on May 16. Pitcher Roki Sasaki was Japan's most-hyped rookie in some time when the Chiba Lotte Marines won his rights in the 2019 draft. He didn’t pitch on the top team in 2020, but that didn’t slow the swell ...
Fighters take no chances after COVID-19 outbreak
There was something different about the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters during pregame warmups Friday at Sapporo Dome. The players were wearing their special Hokkaido appreciation tops — which are predominantly blue this year — with white pants for their matchup with the Tohoku Rakuten ...
Eric Thames' injury mars debut of Giants' high-profile foreign stars
After everything it took for Thames to get to Japan, he’s now heading back to the U.S. for surgery after less than three full innings in NPB.
NPB prepares to go back behind closed doors
Last week began with a crowd of 17,712 at Tokyo Dome for a showdown between the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants, the top two teams in the Central League. There were 15,345 fans present at the Big Egg on Sunday, when the Kyojin faced the ...
Carter Stewart Jr. takes important first step in NPB
Stewart’s day wasn’t groundbreaking, but his career path might be.
