NEWSWORTHY
Former Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ace Tadashi Settsu will retire after he was unable to land a contract with a Nippon Professional Baseball club for next season, a source familiar with the matter said Sunday. Settsu, who won the Sawamura Award in 2012 as Japan's most ...
Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo receives Shoriki Award for third time
Kimiyasu Kudo, who this month managed the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to their third Japan Series victory in four years, won his third Matsutaro Shoriki Award on Tuesday. Kudo, who won the award in 1987 as a player, also won as Hawks manager in 2015. Hall ...
Yuki Yanagita makes major impression on MLB All-Stars
If there was one standout talent from the first half of the six-game Japan All-Star Series, it was without a doubt Yuki Yanagita. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks star spent the first three games of the series showing off his ability at the plate for Japan's ...
Carp slugger Seiya Suzuki's evolution continues after strong Series
Star slugger Seiya Suzuki came out to the Mazda Stadium parking lot earlier than other Hiroshima Carp players after Game 6 of the Japan Series wrapped up on Saturday night. There he was quickly surrounded by reporters who wanted to hear what the team's cleanup ...
MVP Takuya’s ‘Kai Cannon’ key to Hawks’ Japan Series conquest
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks must've known something was off. Hiroshima Carp shortstop Kosuke Tanaka, who had led off Game 6 of the Japan Series with a single, had taken off as Hawks starter Rick van den Hurk pitched to Ryosuke Kikuchi and was ruled to ...
Dramatic Series ride for SoftBank
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks wrapped up the Japan Series against the Hiroshima Carp on Saturday at Mazda Stadium, achieving back-to-back NPB championships with a 2-0 Game 6 win. The Pacific League club did not win away in the series' first two games, but proved that ...
Hawks rule the roost with dominating NPB title run
In the moments after the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched their second consecutive Japan Series title on Saturday, club chairman Sadaharu Oh was asked for his thoughts about this year's team. Oh's words hold more weight than most in Japanese baseball. He's a living legend, owner ...
Hawks shut out Carp in Game 6, capture back-to-back Japan Series crowns
The Heisei Era in Japan is set to end when Emperor Akihito abdicates next year on April 30. Pinning down the end of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' current era of dominance in Japanese baseball is going to take a little bit more time. Because as they ...
Hawks' Kenji Akashi displays patience, poise in biggest moments
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have so many star players that second baseman Kenji Akashi can get lost in the shuffle. He doesn't have Yuki Yanagita's overwhelming talent, nor is he a venerated veteran like Seiichi Uchikawa, a member of the 2,000-hit club, or the human ...
Hawks closer Yuito Mori prepared well for pressure-packed playoff games
Hawks closer Yuito Mori was accompanying his two baby children on the way to the parking lot after the team's 5-4 extra-inning win in Game 5 of the Japan Series at Yafuoku Dome on Thursday night. He was certainly a proud dad. Popular star Yuki Yanagita ...
Yuki Yanagita delivers walk-off blast in 10th as Hawks down Carp to take 3-1 lead in Japan Series
They may have needed an extra inning to get there, but the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks were right where they wanted to be when Game 5 ended, 4 hours and 25 minutes after it began. On the brink of yet another Japan Series title. Yuki Yanagita, a ...
Hawks slugger Seiji Uebayashi draws inspiration from Carp star Seiya Suzuki
Winning is all that matters in postseason baseball for players, and it's no different for Hawks outfielder Seiji Uebayashi. The 23-year-old put his Fukuoka SoftBank team on the scoreboard first with his no-doubt-about-it two-run homer in the Hawks' 4-1 win over the Hiroshima Carp in ...
