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November 24, 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
Aug 28, 2015
Coping with intense heat at Koshien Stadium a real challenge
Can you imagine the annual National High School Baseball Tournament being played somewhere else besides Koshien Stadium? A fan has suggested, because of the intense heat earlier this summer and the likelihood global warming and climate change will make it even hotter in the coming years, the tournament...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 8, 2015
Suggested upgrades for NPB stadiums
Japanese baseball considers itself to be a major league, and the quality and level of play is quite high. However, the ballpark facilities and availability of certain items could be improved to make fans feel more like they are at a big league game.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 18, 2015
Former Carp, Eagles manager Brown gets best of both worlds through scouting for Nationals
Washington Nationals director of Pacific Rim scouting Marty Brown just completed a second trip to Japan this season.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 4, 2015
Fond memories of 'Mr. Minor League'
Sadly, the Baseball Bullet-in says goodbye to a good friend and great fan of the game, Takashi "Bert" Shimada, aka "Mr. Minor League," who died in Tokyo on June 19 at the age of 87. Though he followed baseball at all levels in his own country as well as the U.S., he preferred American minor league baseball...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 20, 2015
Yano off to quick start after move to Fighters
Over the years, foreign players on the 11 other teams in Japan besides the Yomiuri Giants have talked about the depth of the Giants and how good some of the Kyojin reserve players could be if the they played for another Central or Pacific League club.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 6, 2015
New interleague format divides opinion
We're already more than halfway through Japan's interleague season, and I overheard a member of the Japanese media say last week, "The interleague games are not interesting."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 16, 2015
Sliding into first base not worth the risk
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Daikon Yoh is out of action for probably six weeks after breaking his left thumb in a game against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on May 4 in Sapporo. He sustained the injury while attempting to perform one of the stupidest and unnecessary plays in baseball....
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 2, 2015
Why hasn’t baseball embraced addition of female umpires?
Last month's hiring of Sarah Thomas as a National Football League official brings to mind the question of why there has never been a female umpire in the major leagues or Japanese professional baseball.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 18, 2015
Spring chills pose challenges for baseball players, fans
The weather throughout Japan may be warming now that we have passed the middle of April, but there were some cold, wet days at the end of March and the beginning of this month that made it uncomfortable to play — and watch — baseball.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 4, 2015
Trio of homers lauched Hanshin to title
As part of the celebration commemorating the 80 years of the Hanshin Tigers franchise, the ballclub will later this month remember the 30th anniversary of one of the most exciting moments in Japanese baseball home run history.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 14, 2015
Darvish joins growing list of Japanese pitchers with major injury woes
Yu, too?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 28, 2015
Flood of retired numbers can lessen significance
You probably saw the article last week with the news the New York Yankees will retire the uniform numbers of former players Andy Pettitte (46), Jorge Posada (20) and Bernie Williams (51). That brings to 20 the total of retired numbers by the Yanks, and Derek Jeter's No. 2 will follow and that means no...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 14, 2015
Carp catcher Aizawa expected to have bigger role this season
Keep your eye this coming season in Japanese baseball on catcher Tsubasa Aizawa of the Hiroshima Carp. The 27-year-old, eight-year veteran appears ready to take over as the first-string catcher on a team poised to challenge for the Central League pennant under new manager Koichi Ogata.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 31, 2015
Fortune could shine on Cubs once again in '15
Two events that occurred last month have me thinking this could finally be the year the Chicago Cubs win the World Series and end a 107-year drought. The Cubs obtained outfielder Dexter Fowler from the Houston Astros in a Jan. 19 trade, and that was followed by the sad news on Jan. 23 of the death of...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 17, 2015
Five key questions as 2015 NPB season approaches
With just two weeks to go until spring training camps open for the 12 Japanese pro baseball teams, here are five things to look for during the 2015 season:
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 3, 2015
Hillman embraces new opportunity with Astros
Happy New Year to all readers of the Baseball Bullet-In, and we will start 2015 with an update on the new job of former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 20, 2014
Swallows, Buffaloes upgrade rosters, renew hope for title run
The last time there was a Yakult-Orix Japan Series played, it was 1995. The Orix team was the BlueWave, based in Kobe and led by some guy named Ichiro Suzuki. He had just completed his second full season in Japanese baseball, hitting .342 to win his second of seven consecutive Pacific League batting...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 6, 2014
Pirates coach Momose making most of skills
He is Japanese, trilingual and works for a major league baseball team. Kiyoshi Momose was the strength and conditioning coach for the visiting Major League Baseball squad on the recent All-Star tour of Japan. During the regular season, he works for the Pittsburgh Pirates, keeping in shape the players...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 15, 2014
A look at NPB's new skippers for the 2015 season, challenges they will face
Five new managers are in place to lead Central and Pacific League teams in 2015 after an unusually big turnover of field bosses. Here is a look at who they are, their backgrounds, what kind of leaders they may turn out to be and what issues they will face with their respective clubs.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 1, 2014
NPB's quirky playoff rules recipe for confusion
Did the Hanshin Tigers deserve to play in this year's Japan Series? The team finished second in the Central League pennant race, seven games behind the league champion Yomiuri Giants, but the Tigers advanced to the CL Climax Series Final Stage with a controversial victory over the Hiroshima Carp in the...
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Tokyo police care for lost umbrellas, keys and flying squirrels
An employee at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Lost and Found Center in the Iidabashi area of central Tokyo bags, tags and organizes thousands of items.
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
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.

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