Baseball

Tokai Nexus women’s baseball team manager Minoru Ikari came out as transgender last year, identifying as male after being assigned female at birth. Things have not been the same for the 35-year-old since, in a good way. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is […]

Yokohama – Shota Imanaga threw eight innings of four-hit ball as the Yokohama DeNA BayStars blanked the Chunichi Dragons 6-0 to end their four-game skid on Tuesday, staying seven games behind the Central League-leading Tokyo Yakult Swallows in second. Imanaga (9-3), who issued two walks, allowed one runner on base […]

Anaheim, California – Shohei Ohtani traded home runs with fellow American League MVP candidate Aaron Judge in a hotly anticipated battle Monday, sparking the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 win against the New York Yankees. Reigning AL MVP Ohtani hit his 29th home run in the fifth, launching a […]

New York Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman thinks he’ll return soon after battling a “scary” infection of a new tattoo on his leg. “It definitely was a little scary,” Chapman said as the Yankees wrapped up a series in Oakland on Sunday with a 4-1 loss to the Athletics. In a […]

If the Tokyo Yakult Swallows go on to win the Central League pennant, as most expect them to do, the club and its fans might look back at the three-game sweep of the Yokohama BayStars this past weekend as the critical point in the race. The aura of near-invincibility the […]

Osaka – Hotaka Yamakawa went 4-for-5 with three RBIs as the Seibu Lions overpowered the Orix Buffaloes 10-4 behind 16 hits o Sunday to stay a half-game behind the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The slugger had three singles and a two-run home run, his league-leading 37th, as every hitter […]

Seattle – Former Seattle Mariners superstar Ichiro Suzuki became the 10th player inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame on Saturday, the one-of-a-kind outfielder receiving rapturous applause at T-Mobile Park as he gave a 15-minute speech in English. The 48-year-old Japanese played 13 and a half of his 19 MLB […]

Toronto – Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over seven dominant innings to pitch the Los Angeles Angels to a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Ohtani (11-8) allowed just two hits and a walk from his 109 pitches as he outlasted Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah in […]

Sapporo – First-year Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters import Cody Ponce threw Japan’s fifth no-hitter of the season on Saturday in a 2-0 Pacific League win over the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Ponce (3-4) hit one batter and walked another while striking out six in his 113-pitch gem that would not have […]

A year after becoming the American League’s unanimous MVP, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani continues to shine, and it is worth noting that without a fearless organization behind him from the start of his pro career in Japan in 2013 the batting and pitching star’s story would be quite […]