Shohei Ohtani's MVP award another product of bucking Japan's baseball system
Though Japan now celebrates Ohtani and Ichiro as national heroes, both only achieved that status after once being looked down on for the different way they wanted to play pro baseball.
Shohei Ohtani's mentor Hideki Kuriyama to step down as Fighters manager
Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama, who orchestrated Shohei Ohtani's development as a two-way star, announced Saturday that he will step down at the end of the season.
Right-hander Toshihiro Sugiura threw five hitless innings and earned his first win in his Nippon Ham debut as the Fighters beat the SoftBank Hawks 3-2 on Saturday. In front of 36,751 at Sapporo Dome, Sugiura struck out five of the 16 batters he faced and ...
With resignations at NH Foods, has #MeToo finally reached corporate Japan?
The #MeToo movement may have finally made its way to corporate Japan: The president of a blue chip company has resigned after a subordinate he was traveling with made sexually explicit remarks to an airline employee. The junior executive from NH Foods Ltd., a Nikkei ...
Shohei Ohtani, representatives wrap up round of meetings with seven MLB clubs
Shohei Ohtani has completed a round of meetings with all seven major league clubs in the running to sign him, U.S. media reported Wednesday. Ohtani and his representatives held talks with the San Diego Padres, the last of the seven clubs to meet with the ...
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters two-way talent Shohei Otani earned the 2015 baseball player of the year award as the World Baseball Softball Confederation on Sunday announced its winners for both sports for the four-year period from 2014 to 2017. Otani, who is expected to move ...
Slugging ace Shohei Otani hit a record 163 kph on his fastball, extended his hitting streak to 15 games and went the distance for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in a 6-2 interleague win over the Yomiuri Giants on Sunday. In front of a Tokyo ...
Kazumi Takahashi, a left-hander who won two Sawamura Awards for the Yomiuri Giants during their run of nine straight Japan Series championship seasons, has died of multiple organ failure, informed sources said Wednesday. He was 69. Takahashi, who had a career record of 167-132 and ...
Hillman won't rule out managing in Japan again
These days, you'll find Trey Hillman, the former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters skipper, serving as bench coach for the Houston Astros. In other words, Trey is 'Stros manager A.J. Hinch's righthand man. Um, if the Astros are in the first base dugout, that is. Managers like to ...
NPB, MLB keeping track as Otani continues to blossom
Shohei Otani struck out 12 batters over seven innings on July 2 and fanned 16 in a complete-game effort in his next start July 9. He was in the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' starting lineup twice in the days between those outings on the ...
Lefty Mitsuo Yoshikawa pitched into the eighth inning and struck out nine en route to winning his first decision since June 28 in the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' 3-0 win over the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon. The Fighters, who have struggled all season and ...
Ken Togame (4-1) throws a one-hitter for his second shutout of the season as the Pacific League-leading Seibu Lions defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters 1-0.
