Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jun 29, 2020
Red-hot Marines riding high after six-game sweep
by Jason Coskrey
There was a lot of action on display in the first full week of NPB games.
Japanese Baseball Jun 28, 2020
Laird hit his fifth home run of the year to help the hosts sweep the six-game series.
Baseball / Japanese Baseball | Sac Bunts Aug 19, 2019
Yuji Kondo continues to chart own path in broadcast booth
by Jason Coskrey
Yuji Kondo is standing in the home dugout at Tokyo Dome with his hands braced on the back of the bench as he listens to a fellow broadcaster tell him about a humorous interaction she had with an NPB player recently while covering a ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jul 15, 2019
Brandon Laird connects on two-run homer in seventh to lift Marines over Lions
Brandon Laird went deep for the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Chiba Lotte Marines came from behind to beat the Seibu Lions 6-5 in the Pacific League on Monday. With the visitors trailing 5-4, Laird sent Kyle Martin's 2-2 slider to the ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jun 14, 2019
Dragons starter Yuya Yanagi fans 13 in electrifying complete-game effort
by Jason Coskrey
The Chiba Lotte Marines invited the band from nearby Narashino High School to sit in left field and power their cheering section on Friday night. Turns out, the kids ended up helping to provide the perfect soundtrack for an entertaining pitcher's duel between 20-somethings Yuya ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball | Sac Bunts Apr 29, 2019
Home run celebrations becoming commonplace in Japanese game
by Jason Coskrey
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks infielder Kenji Akashi briefly went viral across baseball late last week when he hit a three-run sayonara home run and celebrated with a backflip onto home plate. Well, near home plate, as he had to go back and actually step on ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Mar 29, 2019
Brandon Laird powers Marines past Eagles as rookie teammate Kyota Fujiwara makes Opening Night start
by Jason Coskrey
The Chiba Lotte Marines and their fans were already well aware of Brandon Laird and his sushi-making ways before this season. They just like the "Makuhari Sushi" a lot better than the version that was on the menu before. Laird put a jolt into the Lotte ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jan 15, 2019
The Chiba Lotte Marines have acquired former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters third baseman Brandon Laird, the team announced on Monday. Laird joined the Fighters in 2015 after stints in the majors with the New York Yankees and Houston Astros. The 31-year-old was named MVP in ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Aug 17, 2018
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 ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball May 2, 2018
Fighters' Brandon Laird still getting kick of out fans' excitement
by Jason Coskrey
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 ...
Baseball / MLB Apr 30, 2018
Shohei Ohtani's MLB fireworks wow Japanese baseball world
by Jason Coskrey
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 ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball | Sac Bunts Apr 9, 2018
Fighters hit machine Kensuke Kondo has fans wondering if batting .400 is possible
by Jason Coskrey
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 ...