Call-up lights fire under Fujinami
Shintaro Fujinami's recent Samurai Japan call-up may have been taken him by surprise, but he said the opportunity won't be taken for granted. Although Fujinami had been a regular member of manager Hiroki Kokubo's pitching staff, the right-hander was coming off his worst season as ...
Exhibitions shine light on Samurai Japan's deficiencies
Samurai Japan wrapped up its series of exhibition games on Sunday at Tokyo Dome, finishing with a 3-1 record against Mexico (1-1) and the Netherlands. But Japan's top team couldn't care less about the result from each game. The team understands there are still ...
Samurai Japan likely to sweep Nakata from cleanup spot
After four games against Mexico and the Netherlands, Samurai Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo's experiment with Sho Nakata as a cleanup hitter appears to be over. Nakata thrived in the No. 6 hole in last year's Premier 12, when Takeya Nakamura batted fourth, but has been ...
Kokubo's preparation pays off in Japan's first experience with WBC tiebreaker
Samurai Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo checked one more item off his to-do list Saturday night: play an extra-inning tiebreaker like he might encounter in next March's World Baseball Classic. "That was a first for us," Kokubo said after his team came from behind twice to ...
Otani, Akiyama shine as Samurai Japan trounces Mexico in rematch
Shohei Otani has already shown what he can do on the international level with his arm. On Friday night at Tokyo Dome, he got the opportunity to take his cuts at the plate. Otani had a pair of hits and stole a base, while Shogo ...
Japan, Cuba to square off on first day of 2017 WBC
Japan's quest to recapture the title at next March's World Baseball Classic will begin against Cuba at Tokyo Dome. Two-time WBC champion Japan will face the baseball powerhouse from the Caribbean on the first day of the March 7-11 first round, then take on Australia ...
Japan, Mexico, Netherlands look to take advantage of exhibition series ahead of WBC
The skippers for Japan, Mexico and the Netherlands said they were taking a serious attitude into the upcoming three-team exhibition series at Tokyo Dome, since next spring's World Baseball Classic is right around the corner. Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo was appreciative of the other two ...
Samurai Japan has first practice ahead of four-game series
Despite some of its members having just completed a long season, Japan's men's national baseball team donned their Samurai Japan uniforms and took the field with a lot of energy for their first practice ahead of this week's four-game exhibition series against Mexico and ...
Otani headlines squad for WBC warmup tilts
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ace/designated hitter Shohei Otani highlighted the list of players announced to the Samurai Japan roster on Tuesday for World Baseball Classic warmup games against Mexico and the Netherlands. Japan will face Mexico on Nov. 10-11, and the Netherlands on Nov. 12-13. ...
Samurai Japan skipper Kokubo promotes team's new uniforms for WBC, stays mum about roster
Hiroki Kokubo didn't drop any hints about who would be on the Samurai Japan team for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He did, however, help reveal what they would be wearing. Samurai Japan unveiled the national team uniforms for the tournament during a news conference ...
Tokyo will host two rounds of 2017 WBC
Samurai Japan's quest to reclaim the World Baseball Classic title will begin in the nation's capital. Tokyo was announced as a host for both rounds of the Asian region of the 2017 World Baseball Classic during a news conference at the NPB Commissioner's office on ...
Upcoming games give Kokubo chance to fine-tune Samurai Japan approach
In October 2013, Japanese baseball officials, stung by the country's failure to win the World Baseball Classic earlier that year, decided to make some changes and hired Hiroki Kokubo as the manager of the national team. Kokubo's goal was to prepare Japan for the next ...
