NEWSWORTHY
Fighters' Sho Nakata, Brandon Laird ignite winning rally against Lions
A pair of big at-bats by Sho Nakata and Brandon Laird against tiring lefty Yusei Kikuchi lifted the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to a 5-3 win against the Pacific League-leading Seibu Lions on Friday. Amid speculation this week of his being posted to the major ...
Fighters' Brandon Laird still getting kick of out fans' excitement
Brandon Laird was on his way back to the clubhouse after practice on Saturday when he spotted a young boy looking down on him from the stands. The boy wore a yellow shirt and black-rimmed glasses and a baseball glove covered one of his ...
Shohei Ohtani's MLB fireworks wow Japanese baseball world
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were busy preparing to face the Chiba Lotte Marines on Saturday afternoon when the events happening at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, reached the visitors' clubhouse at Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba. Shohei Ohtani, their former teammate who is in ...
Fighters hit machine Kensuke Kondo has fans wondering if batting .400 is possible
There are some who think Kensuke Kondo could've hit .400 last season. That had a herniated disc not sidelined the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters catcher, the position at which he's listed but rarely actually plays anymore (he's mostly the DH or in the outfield), for ...
Nick Martinez tosses first nine-inning complete game as Fighters top Marines
Going into Friday night, Nick Martinez had never thrown a full nine innings or earned an NPB victory. Check, and check. Martinez went the distance, Brandon Laird backed him up with a home run and the suddenly streaking Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters survived an eighth-inning rally ...
Fighters slugger Brandon Laird whacks game-winning double in ninth against Eagles
Brandon Laird drove in a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning to help the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 2-0 and earn their first win of the seasonon Tuesday. Before a crowd of 26,662 at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, ...
Seibu ace Yusei Kikuchi refuses to rest on laurels
Yusei Kikuchi has put last year behind him. All the wins, the career numbers and accolades, firmly in the rearview mirror. His brush with the Sawamura Award, now just a fond memory. "Last year was last year, and this year is this year," Kikuchi told ...
Laird confident Fighters can compete in 2018
Brandon Laird rounded third base wearing a big smile on Saturday afternoon at Jingu Stadium. As he headed for home, Laird held out his left hand and tapped his palm with the index and middle fingers of his right, pantomiming someone making sushi, as ...
NPB stars look to build momentum in spring
While most baseball fans know spring numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, some players make it hard to remember at times. Because however meaningless the actual numbers are during this time of year, the process is still fun to watch. One of ...
Fighters' Brandon Laird returning to U.S. after relative killed in Las Vegas shooting
Third baseman Brandon Laird will return to the United States after learning that a female relative has died in Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters announced on Tuesday. The Fighters, who are near the bottom of the Pacific League standings, ...
Rookie shortstop Genda capitalizes on opportunity to replace injured Mogi on PL All-Star squad
Sosuke Genda was an almost last-minute addition for this year's All-Star Series. But that hasn't taken any of the fun out of it for the 24-year old Seibu Lions rookie. Genda got his first taste of the All-Star Series on Friday night at Nagoya Dome. ...
Fighters' Laird matches NPB mark with homers in four consecutive at-bats, doing so over two days
Brandon Laird became the 20th player to go deep in four consecutive at-bats in Nippon Professional Baseball on Saturday as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 11-6. A day after hitting two two-run homers before drawing two walks in Nippon Ham's ...
