HIROSHIMA – The Hiroshima Carp said Monday they will terminate the contract of Xavier Batista, a Dominican player who is nearing the end of a six-month doping suspension. The 28-year-old slugger tested positive for a banned substance in June last year, and Nippon Professional Baseball announced the violation publicly on […]
Temps de lecture : 4 Minutes
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 usual NPB atmosphere in the […]
Temps de lecture : 3 Minutes
Kenta Maeda, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo meet in majors for first time
PORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA – Minnesota pitcher Kenta Maeda silenced MLB rookie outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo of Tampa Bay in a Sunday matchup of Japanese standouts but took the loss in their spring training game. Tsutsugo, pleased to see a familiar face as he learns new pitchers in his transition season from […]
Temps de lecture : 3 Minutes
Swallows’ Alcides Escobar gets unexpected silent treatment in return to Japan
The lively atmosphere Alcides Escobar expected for his Tokyo Dome return was silenced by Japan’s efforts to counter the spread of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19. In November 2014, the longtime defensive wiz with the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals got a taste of the noise and clamor […]
Temps de lecture : 3 Minutes
Yu Darvish in high spirits after making first start of spring
MESA, ARIZONA – Yu Darvish’s spring training debut began exactly the way he predicted. First pitch, home run. Orlando Arcia connected right away, launching a drive over the fence in left center field, prompting the Chicago Cubs right-hander to rapidly snap his glove open and closed, imploring the plate umpire […]
Temps de lecture : 5 Minutes
Giants and Swallows compete without familiar sights and sounds at ballpark
The return of pro baseball to Tokyo Dome on Saturday night was greeted by a jarring silence. There were no songs or chants to welcome the players to the plate nor the blaring of trumpets to provide the familiar soundtrack to the NPB experience. Instead, it was a decidedly different […]
Temps de lecture : 2 Minutes
Johnny Antonelli, pitcher on 1954 World Series champion Giants, dies at 89
ROCHESTER NEW YORK – Johnny Antonelli, a five-time All-Star who was a key pitcher on the World Series-winning New York Giants in 1954, has died. He was 89. The San Francisco Giants released a statement saying Antonelli died Friday in Rochester, New York. A cause of death wasn’t given. The […]
Temps de lecture : 4 Minutes
Giants, Swallows compete without familiar sights, sounds at ballpark
The return of pro baseball to Tokyo Dome on Saturday night was greeted by a jarring silence. There were no songs or chants to welcome the players to the plate nor the blaring of trumpets to provide the familiar soundtrack to the NPB experience. Instead, it was a decidedly different […]
Temps de lecture : 5 Minutes
Lawmakers push for Curt Flood’s enshrinement in Baseball Hall of Fame
WASHINGTON – Curt Flood’s widow has a simple explanation for why her late husband, who is revered by players for sacrificing his career to advocate for free agency, has not been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. “I think the holdup is that he got on a lot […]
Temps de lecture : 3 Minutes
MLB players available for Olympic baseball qualifying
NEW YORK – The United States may get some better players for its second attempt to qualify for the Olympic baseball tournament. Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed to make players not likely to be on 26-man major league rosters available for the Americas qualifying tournament, to be […]