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November 22, 2024
 

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Wayne Graczyk
Wayne Graczyk has written the "Baseball Bullet-In" column in The Japan Times since 1976. A native of New Jersey, he came to Japan in 1969 with the U.S. Air Force and is a 1977 graduate of Tokyo's Sophia University. Wayne was the long-time (1977-2004) sports editor of the Tokyo Weekender newspaper, he covers Yomiuri Giants baseball games for Nippon TV and, since 1976, he has compiled the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook & Media Guide. He is a member of the Tokyo Sportswriters Club and the Foreign Sportswriters Association of Japan. Notice Wayne Graczyk, the baseball columnist for The Japan Times for the past 40 years, passed away at the age of 68 on April 19. His final column was posted on April 8. Readers can continue to access his coverage of Japanese baseball through the online archives.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 2, 2003
Pedraza, Bailey key to Yomiuri 'relay'
There are various categories of baseball pitchers. You've got your starters, closers, middle relievers, "one-point" relievers, set-up men and mop-up and "reverse mop-up" guys. For the Yomiuri Giants this season, Americans Rodney Pedraza and Cory Bailey may be creating a new classification. Call them...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 19, 2003
MLB Tour promises fun for everyone
Yes, I know, it's fans prediction week for Japanese baseball, but there were more entries than expected from Japan, North America and even New Zealand, and there just is not enough space to include all the picks and comments. Instead, let me tell you something about the Major League tour set to begin...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 5, 2003
Yokohama's Furuki ready for stardom
The start of the season may be four weeks away, but there's one player everyone should keep an eye on.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 19, 2003
Dragons made right move in getting rid of disgruntled Millar
The Chunichi Dragons did the right thing in giving up the contract of outfielder Kevin Millar. Sure, the team had a legitimate beef, and owner Bungo Shirai had every right to insist Millar honor the agreement to which he had committed. But, really, why try to force the guy to play here when he clearly...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 5, 2003
Interesting mix of foreign players, coaches and manager for 2003
Foreign players for 2003: Who's who?
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 22, 2003
Can Matsui handle the pressure and avoid the 'cha-cha'?
So far, so good. New York Yankees player Hideki Matsui made it back to Japan, apparently in one piece, after a whirlwind trip to the Big Apple that included evasion of a large Japanese media contingent waiting for him at Newark Liberty Airport, an appearance at Yankee Stadium, the well-attended and media-smothered...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 8, 2003
Can a foreign catcher succeed here in Japan?
A Happy New Year to all readers of the "Baseball Bullet-In" out there.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 18, 2002
Hot stove ponders fate of Rose, Matsui, Nakamura
This is the final "Baseball Bullet-In" for 2002, so let's take a look at, and make some comments about, topics on the hot stove of baseball news on both sides of the Pacific.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 4, 2002
Are Petagine and the Giants a good fit?
Having lost superstar slugger Hideki Matsui to free agency and the major leagues, the Yomiuri Giants have acquired Roberto Petagine, the runnerup to Matsui in this year's Central League home run derby. The Giants have thus plugged Matsui's hole in their lineup with another Triple Crown threat, but three...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 20, 2002
Expos evoke memories of Japan's 'gypsies'
There's a lot of speculation about what will happen to the Montreal Expos and where the team will play its home games during the 2003 season.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 6, 2002
MLB stars arrive; A's, M's in March?
Welcome to Japan to all the players, coaches, manager, umpires, officials and staff members arriving Wednesday for the 2002 Major League All-Star Japan Series beginning Saturday. Thanks for coming, and all the best for a successful tour.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 23, 2002
Series brings back memories
Episode 5 in the series of Japan Series between the Yomiuri Giants and Seibu Lions gets under way on Saturday at the Tokyo Dome, and it should be a dandy. My feeling is it will go the full seven games, and I'll predict Seibu will win that seventh game at the Big Egg on Sunday, Nov. 3.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 9, 2002
CL, PL awards going down to wire
The Central and Pacific League pennant races were decided weeks ago, but the Japanese baseball season continues until the 12 teams have completed all 140 games on their schedules. The last game is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18, and the next week-and-a-half of baseball, despite no flag chases, will...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 25, 2002
From the mailbox: What's wrong with Ichiro?
Wayne: Have there been any negative or questioning press comments about Ichiro's (Suzuki) recent slump in batting here in Seattle? From my perspective it almost looks like he might be hiding a health problem; he seems to have no fire in the belly and is almost running on empty, so to speak. Also, do...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 11, 2002
Only drama left in PL revolves around MVP
It's just a matter of time before the Seibu Lions wrap up the 2002 Pacific League pennant. The Leos' magic number for clinching is down to nine, and one of the most interesting results of Seibu's great team effort will be the announcement in November of who will be the Pa League Most Valuable Player....
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 4, 2002
Fighters welcome foreign fans to Dome
The Pacific League's Nippon Ham Fighters will hold their first Arizona Diamondbacks Night promotion on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Tokyo Dome and, as was the case with Yankees Day for the past 20 years, the Fighters ballclub is inviting 3,000 foreign fans as guests to this fun international event. The...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 24, 2002
Mystery ailment fells Bunch
The Chunichi Dragons American pitcher Melvin Bunch left his team and returned to the United States on Sunday, Aug. 11, for examination and treatment for what has been described as a series of anxiety attacks. So said the 30-year-old right-hander earlier this week by telephone from his home in Texarkana,...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 14, 2002
Will 'Cro' fly to Sapporo with Fighters?
In response to my July 31 column regarding the speculation the Nippon Ham Fighters may be thinking about hiring an American manager, I received the following comment from Warren Cromarite, one of five potential candidates I listed as excellent choices to manage the Fighters or any Japanese team.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 31, 2002
Will Ham hire foreign skipper in Sapporo?
Nikkan Sports newspaper, in its July 24 edition, ran a story speculating who would be the manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters when the team moves to Sapporo in 2004. The headline read, "Oya ka? Gaikokujin ka?" meaning it could be former Yokohama BayStars manager and Yakult Swallows catcher Akihiko Oya...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 17, 2002
MLB crisis: What can the market bear?
Man, Major League Baseball is really in a mess now. Following the All-Star tie-game fiasco last week in Milwaukee, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was quoted as saying one big-league club may not be able to meet its payroll this week, and another team is sick with Tennessee Ernie Ford disease: "Another day...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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