The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters agreed to a one-year contract with manager Hideki Kuriyama after the Pacific League club finished the 2019 season with a disappointing fifth-place finish. Next year will be Kuriyama's ninth season with the Sapporo-based club, making the 58-year-old's stint in the ...
Fighters' experiments with openers not going well early
The ironic thing about the Seibu Lions blowing up the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' "opener" strategy — in such a magnificent explosion of hits and runs on Saturday it might close the book on the opener — is that Fighters starter Takayuki Kato, the ...
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters finalized their deal for one of the biggest stars of Taiwanese baseball on Wednesday, signing a three-year contract with outfielder Wang Po-jung in Taipei. A two-time Chinese Professional Baseball League batting champion for the Lamigo Monkeys, the 25-year-old Wang is ...
Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama 'relieved' by Shohei Ohtani's strong start with Angels
The day after the Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani won his pitching debut, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama said Monday he was relieved to see the two-way talent start off in style since making his move from the Nippon Professional Baseball team. "I ...
Angels GM Billy Eppler meets with Fighters to seek advice about Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler met with Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters officials on Monday to seek advice in preparation for slugging ace pitcher Shohei Ohtani's move to the majors. Eppler asked Fighters officials, including manager Hideki Kuriyama, about how to make use of ...
Fighters have to look for successor as Ohtani says goodbye
Generous Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fans gathered at Sapporo Dome on Christmas Day to put a bow on the present they spent the last five seasons wrapping, one the Los Angeles Angels can't wait to open during spring training. The MLB-bound Shohei Ohtani said his ...
Hideki Kuriyama will remain at the helm of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for a seventh season, the Pacific League club said Wednesday. Kuriyama met with team owner Juichi Suezawa in Tokyo and agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in Sapporo through ...
Shohei Otani keeps quiet about future after Fighters' season finale
Shohei Otani was quiet on and off the field in what was expected to be his last game in Japan on Monday before being posted to the major leagues this winter. Otani and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, who beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles ...
Shohei Otani just beginning to realize true potential
Shohei Otani hasn't had a 20-win season. He hasn't slugged 40 homers in one campaign, either. Those, of course, are benchmarks for iconic superstars. Even so, baseball fans and pundits thinks the sky's the limit for Otani, a unique two-way talent. The 23-year-old Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ...
Fans express mixed feelings as Shohei Otani's move to majors looms
Since he turned pro in 2013, everybody knew that Shohei Otani would set out for the United States to play at the highest level in the major leagues. Otani, a rare two-way player, is the pride of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. And the pride ...
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, ...
Fighters' Otani expected to throw 100 pitches in next start against Hawks
Shohei Otani will make his fourth start of the season on Thursday, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama revealed Tuesday. Otani, who threw 78 pitches in his previous start last week, a 5-2/3 inning win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, is expected to ...
