Wladimir Balentien, Japan’s single-season home run record holder, has retired from Japanese baseball, according to a tweet from his Twitter account on Sunday. “Today I wanna announce to all my fans in Japan that I’m retiring from (Japanese) baseball, wanna thank the swallows for the opportunity to play in Japan,” […]
Temps de lecture : 5 Minutes
Foreign players facing another lonely NPB season
The signs of baseball spring are popping up all across Japan this month. Veteran players are emerging from winter vacations and ramping up their individual workouts for the upcoming season. Rookies are stirring too, with some with their teams taking part in voluntary individual training that is actually neither voluntary […]
Temps de lecture : 3 Minutes
Masahiro Yamamoto and Shingo Takatsu elected to Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame
Side-arm closer Shingo Takatsu and seemingly ageless lefty Masahiro Yamamoto were announced as the newest members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday. Takatsu was named on 311 ballots cast by 10-year veterans of Japan’s baseball media voting on candidates in the hall’s players division. Yamamoto was named […]
Temps de lecture : 2 Minutes
Shohei Ohtani picks up another honor after magazine names him ‘Athlete of the Year’
LOS ANGELES – Tributes continued to pour in for Shohei Ohtani on Thursday, when American website Sporting News named the Los Angeles Angels two-way star its “Athlete of the Year.” Ohtani hit 46 home runs while being one of Major League Baseball’s better pitchers. The honor comes after the Associated […]
Temps de lecture : 2 Minutes
Mariners’ hot corner staple Kyle Seager retires after 11 seasons
Free agent third baseman Kyle Seager announced his retirement Wednesday after 11 seasons with the Seattle Mariners. Seager, who turned 34 in November, set career highs with 35 home runs and 101 RBIs during the Mariners’ 90-win season in 2021. “Today I’m announcing my retirement from Major League Baseball. Thank […]
Temps de lecture : 2 Minutes
Hawks’ Yuki Yanagita becomes highest-paid position player in NPB history
Fukuoka – Fukuoka Softbank Hawks outfielder Yuki Yanagita agreed to a ¥620 million ($5.46 million) annual salary for the 2022 season on Friday, which will make him the highest-paid position player in NPB history. Yanagita, who banked ¥610 million last season to equal the record held by outfielder Hideki Matsui, […]
Temps de lecture : 5 Minutes
Rising stars Munetaka Murakami and Yoshinobu Yamamoto named MVPs of 2021 NPB season
Munetaka Murakami and Yoshinobu Yamamoto already had a few things in common before the NPB Awards. Both are rising stars who helped Japan win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer and led their teams — the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes — to their respective […]
Temps de lecture : 3 Minutes
Ohtani and ‘Field of Dreams’ game a hit for MLB, but lockout sours 2021
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani delivered a season for the ages, while the ‘Field of Dreams’ game staged in the middle of a cornfield reaped huge ratings, but Major League Baseball ended the year on a sour note with a work stoppage that could alienate fans. In Ohtani’s first full MLB season […]
Temps de lecture : 2 Minutes
Ichiro Suzuki surprises at Daisuke Matsuzaka’s retirement ceremony
Tokorozawa, Saitama Pref. – Recently retired pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka bid farewell in a speech Saturday at the Seibu Lions’ fan appreciation day event, where Ichiro Suzuki surprised him and presented his former opponent and Japan teammate with a bouquet of flowers. A household name in Japan since high school thanks […]
Temps de lecture : 4 Minutes
MLB trades barbs with union amid prospect lockout could endanger start of 2022 season
New York – Major League Baseball’s first work stoppage since a strike wiped out the 1994 World Series could drag on long enough to jeopardize the start of the 2022 season. On the day team owners locked out players upon the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, no talks were […]