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July 16, 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.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 7, 2007
Pivotal seasons for Alex Ramirez & Marc Kroon
Neither of their teams made the Central League Climax Series, but the 2007 season has been a pivotal one for Yakult Swallows slugger Alex Ramirez and Yokohama BayStars reliever Marc Kroon. The contracts of both expire at the end of the current dragging out season, and there is doubt whether either club...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 23, 2007
Nomura deserves credit for making Eagles respectable
A few words of praise this week for the 2007 performance of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 16, 2007
Hillman's decision to leave Fighters comes as a shocker
The announcement last week by Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman that he would step down at the end of the season came as a shocker.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 9, 2007
Wild card quotes and oddities from Japanese baseball
Hanshin Tigers relief pitcher Jeff Williams remarked back in June, "This is a great year for the Central League to start a playoff system."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 2, 2007
Central League makeup schedule to include pivotal games
Japan's Central League announced its schedule of make-up games to be played between Sept. 27 and Oct. 6, and the calendar is loaded with matchups that will decide the seeds for the postseason playoffs. Included are two Yomiuri Giants home games that were never even on the docket and one game at Nagoya...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 26, 2007
Greisinger brings back Yakult memories of Bross & Hodges
Every once in a while, the Yakult Swallows come up with an outstanding American pitcher who takes to Japan and Japanese baseball right away, becoming a league leader and an All-Star.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 19, 2007
Kuwata, Igawa, Furuta share uncertain future as players
Too bad about the career of Masumi Kuwata apparently coming to an end after he was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but success pitching in the major leagues for the 39-year-old right-hander was really a long shot, made even longer because of the ankle injury he had in a spring training...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 12, 2007
Foreign players showing the way among stats leaders
Don't look now, but foreign players could possibly sweep the six offensive titles in Japanese baseball this season. Through games of Aug. 10, non-Japanese names were on top of four of the categories and right behind in the other two.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 5, 2007
Coolbaugh's death reminds everyone to stay alert at ballpark
You read about the recent tragedy involving Mike Coolbaugh, the minor league Tulsa Drillers first coach who died after being hit by a line drive off the bat of one of his players. I never met Mike but knew his brother Scott, who played third base for the Hanshin Tigers in 1995.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 22, 2007
Ochoa making a splash in return to Japan with Carp
"He looks good in red, doesn't he?" asked Hiroshima Carp manager Marty Brown about his new center fielder, Alex Ochoa, prior to a game at Tokyo Dome last week.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 15, 2007
Baseball oddity: a pitcher winning and losing the same game
How can one player be the winning and losing pitcher in the same game?
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 8, 2007
Stuffing of All-Star ballot boxes goes back at least 50 years
Were you surprised to see eight members of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles elected to the 2007 Pacific League All-Star team by fan balloting?
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 1, 2007
Ten foreign players come on board before June 30 deadline
The deadline for Japanese pro baseball teams to sign new foreign players came and went on June 30, and nine of the 12 clubs wound up acquiring a total of 10 fresh faces from abroad after the regular season began in late March and before the final cutoff date.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 24, 2007
NPB's quirky, difficult interleague season a work in progress
The 2007 Nippon Professional Baseball interleague season wraps up this weekend, except for a few previously rained out games that will be made up on Monday and Tuesday. Then the regular Central and Pacific League schedules resume on Friday and continue through the remainder of the season.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 17, 2007
'American Pastime' is poignant drama
The DVD of the movie "American Pastime" belongs on your shelf next to some of the more contemporary baseball flicks such as "Field of Dreams," "A League of Their Own," "For Love of the Game," "The Rookie," "Bull Durham" and "Mr. Baseball."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 10, 2007
Remembering Clete Boyer — and the Taiyo Whales
Sad news came across last week about the death of Clete Boyer, the New York Yankees' slick-fielding third baseman from the glory days of the early 1960s. Most obituaries failed to mention that Boyer, who died June 4 in Atlanta at the age of 70, ended his playing career in Japan with the then-Taiyo Whales...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 3, 2007
Yamasaki comes off the 'scrap heap' to lead Rakuten surge
Break up the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 27, 2007
MLB should eliminate 'rookie' label for Japanese veterans
Last week an Associated Press photo appeared in these pages with a caption that began, "Boston Red Sox rookie hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka . . . "
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 20, 2007
Book on Brooklyn Dodgers triggers memory of a cold case
It was 1955. I was 7 years old and living in northern New Jersey and just getting interested in baseball.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 13, 2007
5,000 victories, throwback uniforms and the oiribukuro
In commemoration of their 5,000th victory in the history of the franchise, the Yomiuri Giants will wear throwback uniforms during some interleague games next month.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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