Baseball / Japanese Baseball | Sac Bunts May 9, 2022
Red-hot Hotaka Yamakawa back in swing of things for Lions
by Jason Coskrey
Hotaka Yamakawa has gotten off to a hot start for Seibu after two difficult seasons at the plate.
Japanese Baseball Jul 19, 2020
Sixth-inning home runs by Hotaka Yamakawa and Takeya Nakamura brought the Seibu Lions from three runs down in a 4-3 win over the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Saturday. With a three-run lead at Sendai's Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, Eagles lefty Takahiro Shiomi ...
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.
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Sep 8, 2019
Hotaka Yamakawa hit a game-winning double and Keisuke Honda had a solid start, as the Seibu Lions beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3-2 on Sunday to clinch their series. Honda scattered four hits, pitching into the sixth inning, after Takeya Nakamura drove in two ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jul 13, 2019
PL outslugs CL in NPB All-Star Series opener
by Jason Coskrey
After watching the home run derby before the game, some Seibu Lions, past and present, put on a power show of their own. Lions catcher Tomoya Mori hit a two-run home run, teammate Hotaka Yamakawa had a solo shot and former Lions star, and current ...
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 Dec 5, 2018
Pacific League MVP Hotaka Yamakawa has signed a new contract with the Seibu Lions, the Saitama club said Wednesday. The 27-year-old first baseman, who led Nippon Professional Baseball in home runs this year, will receive an estimated annual salary of ¥110 million ($973,000), nearly tripling ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Nov 27, 2018
by Jason Coskrey
Yoshihiro Maru and Hotaka Yamakawa spent the year putting up career numbers to help propel their clubs to league championships. For their last order of business in the 2018 season, they picked up some hardware for themselves. Maru, the Hiroshima Carp's star outfielder, was named Central ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Nov 14, 2018
Japan home run king Hotaka Yamakawa learning hard lessons against MLB pitching
by Jim Allen
Hotaka Yamakawa may be Japan's premier home run hitter, but this past week has taught him how much more he has to learn. After leading both of Japan's elite leagues this year with 47 home runs, the 26-year-old Seibu Lions first baseman was looking to ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Oct 16, 2018
Giants' Tomoyuki Sugano receives CL pitching accolade for stellar September
Two days after throwing a no-hitter to clinch the Central League Climax Series' first stage, the Yomiuri Giants' Tomoyuki Sugano was named the league's pitcher of the month for September and October on Tuesday. Although he is a strong candidate to win his second straight ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Aug 14, 2018
Hotaka Yamakawa and Tomoya Mori each knocked in two runs, with Mori driving home Yamakawa with the game winner as the Seibu Lions rallied from six runs down to beat the Orix Buffaloes 7-6 in 10 innings on Tuesday night. Mori, who had doubled in ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball May 19, 2018
Lions' Shinsaburo Tawata rebounds from loss with six-hit shutout against Buffaloes
Shinsaburo Tawata bounced back from his worst start of the season with a six-hit shutout as the Pacific League-leading Seibu Lions beat the Orix Buffaloes 7-0 on Saturday. Coming off his first loss of the season, Tawata (7-1) struck out five and walked one but ...