Atsunori Inaba hadn't even been officially unveiled as the next Samurai Japan manager for 10 minutes when NPB commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki told him he carried the hopes and dreams of the public into the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and World Baseball Classic in ...
Atsunori Inaba will be named the new manager of Japan's national men's baseball team as early as next week, an official source said Wednesday. The 44-year-old former outfielder, who starred with the Central League's Yakult Swallows and the Pacific League's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, was ...
Former outfielder Atsunori Inaba has surfaced as a candidate to manage the Japan national baseball team through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, sources said Tuesday. The pro and amateur executives who make up Samurai Japan's development committee hope to have a new skipper in place by ...
When a slugger swings so hard and misses, it's often a good sign. Samurai Japan power hitter Sho Nakata is in that state right now. "I'm trying to have my swing right now," said the 27-year-old, after a 7-1 win over China in Pool B of ...
The MLB-Japan All-Star Series is sort of a deceiving event, because it's uncertain what kind of physical condition the players are in and how close they are to their top level. And some may wonder why the Japan team is pushing so hard like it ...
The Nippon Ham Fighters feted retiring star Atsunori Inaba on Sunday and capped it off with a 1-0 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Double-duty right-hander Shohei Otani worked two innings in the start of an otherwise meaningless game for the Fighters and hit ...
Japan national team manager Hiroki Kokubo had hoped to get active coaches to help him select national team players and got his wish on Thursday, when a pair of active first-team coaches were named to the Samurai Japan staff. Hiroshi Narahara, currently the Seibu Lions' ...
Atsunori Inaba may have been Japan's most popular player among foreign fans during the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The quadrennial competition doesn't just bring 16 nations together, it allows the baseball cultures of various nations to come together. Prominent among these is Japan's ouendan. One ...
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters infielder Atsunori Inaba said Tuesday he will retire at the end of the 2014 season, bringing an end to an illustrious 20-year career. "I decided to put everything on the line for one year, but the condition of my knee just ...
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters first baseman Atsunori Inaba will have surgery to clean out damaged cartilage in his ailing left knee, the team's trainer said Sunday. The Fighters' captain, who was deactivated on April 5, is expected to be sidelined from five to six weeks. Inaba, ...
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters may be in last place in the Pacific League, but, as their nickname implies, there is a lot of fight in the team from Japan's northern island. Atsunori Inaba capped a three-run eighth inning with a tie-breaking two-run single, and ...
