Jason Coskrey - The Japan Times

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Jason Coskrey

Jason Coskrey is a sports writer for The Japan Times. His primary focus is Japanese baseball, but he has also covered soccer, American football, boxing and basketball. He previously worked for the Marietta Daily Journal in Marietta, Ga. A native of Detroit, he is a graduate of the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN

Feb 17, 2016

Upcoming games give Kokubo chance to fine-tune Samurai Japan approach

In October 2013, Japanese baseball officials, stung by the country's failure to win the World Baseball Classic earlier that year, decided to make some changes and hired Hiroki Kokubo as the manager of the national team.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN

Feb 8, 2016

Disgraced Kiyohara's situation similar to that of former pitcher Enatsu

Last week, a bat used by Kazuhiro Kiyohara during his high school days was removed from an exhibition celebrating the long and rich history of high school baseball at Koshien Stadium.

Japan Times

BASEBALL / MLB

Feb 4, 2016

Lucchino says MLB not an easy move for Japanese players

Larry Lucchino is very comfortable in Japan and it's no wonder why. Lucchino presided over one of the most successful periods in the history of the Boston Red Sox franchise, as the team's president and CEO from 2002-2015, and many of the Japanese players he helped bring on board played a role during...

Japan Times

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball

Feb 3, 2016

Easton making foray into Japan

U.S.-based baseball equipment manufacturer Easton, one of the largest baseball brands in America, is making a foray into the Japanese market, the company announced earlier this week. Along with its products, Easton is bringing along some technology it hopes can help shape the future of youth baseball...

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK

Jan 31, 2016

Fighters head west for spring camp

While most Japanese teams headed south to begin "spring" camp and ride out the final few weeks of winter, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters took a distinctly different track and flew west instead.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN

Jan 28, 2016

Johnson, Mikolas looking for more success in second seasons in Japan

Kris Johnson and Miles Mikolas passed their first tests in Japan with flying colors. The two pitchers, Johnson, a southpaw who deals for the Hiroshima Carp, and Mikolas, a Yomiuri Giants right-hander, couldn't have made better first impressions during their first seasons in NPB.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball

Jan 23, 2016

Giants hurler Sugano aims for winning season

Tomoyuki Sugano returned to Japan recently after spending several days training in Hawaii. He told reporters at Narita Airport that his workouts yielded great results and allowed that "my condition is the best it's been in three years."

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK

Jan 17, 2016

Time for fun and games about to end for new Giants skipper Takahashi

New Yomiuri Giants manager Yoshinobu Takahashi was all smiles at the Dome Kickoff party last week. He was introduced to a loud ovation, took part in a light-hearted talk show and got a kick out of seeing his batting form imitated by a couple of former NPB players. Current Giants star Shinnosuke Abe,...

Japan Times

SOCCER / J. League

Jan 15, 2016

Iwaki FC owners aiming for the stars with new club

Dome Corporation president Shuichi Yasuda has the vision, Satoshi Okura the know-how and former Dutch international and Rangers player Pieter Huistra the experience. The goal now is to combine their respective talents as they embark on the task of building a professional soccer club from scratch.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN

Jan 11, 2016

New rules at home plate put onus on Japanese umpires

A brawl broke out at Jingu Stadium during a game between the Hanshin Tigers and Tokyo Yakult Swallows near the tail end of the 2013 season. It was a typical baseball fight, so beyond a round of spirited pushing, players being held back and an assortment of shouts hurled back and forth ("That's fertilizer....

Japan Times

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK

Jan 10, 2016

New Hall of Famers Griffey Jr., Piazza familiar to Japanese fans

Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza were elected to the United States' National Baseball Hall of Fame last week to much fanfare. While both players spent the entirety of their Hall of Fame careers in North America, neither star is a stranger to Japanese baseball fans.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball

Dec 30, 2015

Fortuitous move to bullpen led Barnette to majors

The last game pitcher Tony Barnette ever started for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows came against the Chunichi Dragons on March 8, 2011, during spring training. Barnette had already had one life-altering moment that spring — he'd proposed to now-wife Hillary before leaving Arizona for Japan — and, though...

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK

Dec 13, 2015

Iron man Tsutsugo still going strong in December

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo has been very busy this year.

BASEBALL

Nov 22, 2015

For Eibner, call-up to Royals' 40-man roster a 'bittersweet' end at Premier 12

One of the biggest moments in his career left Brett Eibner conflicted, and the U.S. team without one of its key players just hours before the Premier 12 final on Saturday at Tokyo Dome.

BASEBALL

Nov 21, 2015

South Korea crushes U.S. to win Premier 12 title

South Korea didn't need any ninth-inning heroics in the Premier 12 final.

Japan Times

BASEBALL

Nov 21, 2015

U.S. manager Randolph finding recipe for success at Premier 12

Willie Randolph won two World Series titles as a player for the New York Yankees and earned four more rings as a coach with the club. The U.S. squad he's led to the Premier 12 final doesn't have nearly the pedigree of those teams, but the 61-year-old skipper is as proud of this group, made up of minor...

BASEBALL

Nov 20, 2015

Opportunistic U.S. routs Mexico to book spot in Premier 12 final

The United States team said its "next man up" philosophy has powered it during the Premier 12.

BASEBALL

Nov 20, 2015

South Korea stuns Japan with ninth-inning rally to reach Premier 12 final

South Korea manager Kim In-sik said he only had one card left to play. The veteran skipper had been itching to use a pinch hitter, and the top of the ninth inning, with his team down three runs against rival Japan, seemed to be as good of a time as any.

BASEBALL

Nov 19, 2015

USA Baseball juggled scheduling challenges, built solid squad from scratch

For the United States, the journey to the semifinal round of the inaugural Premier 12 began in August.

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball

Nov 11, 2015

Hanshin set to bring Messenger back in '16

The Hanshin Tigers have decided to exercise their option for 2016 on pitcher Randy Messenger, a source close to the team has told The Japan Times.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

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