NPB returns with flourish as reminders of virus linger
Following an offseason that was shorter than usual, pro baseball returned to Japan over the weekend. There were home runs, super plays in the field, highly anticipated debuts and even fans in the stands. There were also, however, reminders things aren’t quite back to normal ...
Japan’s travel ban has left foreign baseball players in limbo
Colin Rea — like more than a dozen other players who joined Japanese clubs in the offseason — is in limbo.
Giants wrap up pennant race by winning franchise's 38th Central League crown
Because the CL eliminated its playoffs due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus, the Giants automatically advance to the Japan Series.
Giants stripping all mystery out of remainder of Central League campaign
After winning six games last week, the Kyojin have a 9½-game lead over the second-place Hanshin Tigers with fewer than 50 games remaining for each team.
Tigers back on prowl in Central League
Their resurgence continued last week at Koshien Stadium, where Hanshin took two of three against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and swept the Chunichi Dragons.
Giants manager Tatsunori Hara not panicking about team's poor performance in spring training
There are a few trains of thought about spring training. One of the most prevalent, is that it doesn't matter. Or to be more precise, the results don't matter. The win-loss records don't count for anything and are largely forgotten the second the first pitch ...
NPB clubs keep things normal amid virus fears
The oddest thing about the preseason game the Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows played at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night — and really the same could be said about all the other games over the weekend too — was the lack of fans. The ...
Brave Blossoms captain Michael Leitch, yokozuna Hakuho and Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara are set to run in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games torch relay after being nominated by municipalities in the nation's capital, a source on the organizing committee said Saturday. Each municipality in ...
Blockbuster matchup: Hawks' Kodai Senga vs. Giants' Shun Yamaguchi in Japan Series opener
Shortly before the end of the Japan Series managers' meeting the skippers of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Yomiuri Giants were asked to name their starters for Game 1. Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo spoke first, grabbing a mic and stating simply with no hesitation, "For ...
2019 Japan Series managers take trip down memory lane on eve of Game 1
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo admitted to feeling a little bit nostalgic on the eve of this year's Japan Series matchup against the Yomiuri Giants. Kudo was a pitcher for Yomiuri the last time these two clubs vied for the crown. That was in ...
Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe made his retirement official on Wednesday, saying he felt ready to step away from the game after he ticked enough boxes this season, his 19th in Nippon Professional Baseball. As the former captain of the Tokyo-based Central League club, the ...
Giants capture first Central League pennant since 2014
Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara wrapped an arm about Shinnosuke Abe, one of his longest-serving veterans, as they walked toward the left-field stands at Yokohama Stadium, where their fans were waiting to greet them with rapturous applause. The pair, who have been through so many ...
