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 Jason Coskrey

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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.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 30, 2021
Masahiro Tanaka says timing was right for return to Japan with Eagles
Tanaka returns to Rakuten after seven seasons with the New York Yankees
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 28, 2021
Former Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka returning to Japan with Eagles
Tanaka's move is the biggest of the NPB offseason and comes just days before the start of spring camp on Feb. 1.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 19, 2021
Quarantined Kei Nishikori struggling to train for Australian Open
Japan's top men's player is unable to leave his Melbourne hotel room after others on his chartered flight to Australia tested positive for COVID-19.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Jan 17, 2021
With an eye toward Japan, fans call on MLB to protect crowds from dangerous foul balls
One activist believes the methods used by NPB teams to prevent injuries in the stands could easily be applied to the majors.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 14, 2021
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame reveals Class of 2021
No one was chosen from the Players Selection Committee for the second year in a row.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jan 9, 2021
Bad timing spoils Tomoyuki Sugano's MLB aspirations
Given a market where he apparently didn't get a deal he liked and an offseason changed by the coronavirus, it's not hard to see why Sugano chose another year with the Kyojin.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 5, 2021
Extreme sports gain legitimacy through Olympic inclusion
The Tokyo Games will feature skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing in an effort to bring more young fans into the Olympic community.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 22, 2020
Warren Cromartie won't continue role as Yomiuri adviser in 2021
The three-time Best Nine selectee returned to the Giants in 2019 at manager and former teammate Tatsunori Hara's request.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 18, 2020
Carp's Ryosuke Kikuchi captures eighth straight Golden Glove
Kikuchi's award capped off a historic season in which the second baseman did not commit a single error for the Central League side.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 17, 2020
Tomoyuki Sugano and Yuki Yanagita win MVP honors in NPB
The Giants ace and Hawks slugger each won the award for the second time.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 10, 2020
Kanoa Igarashi poised to ride wave of momentum into Tokyo Olympics
The Japanese surfer and Olympic medal hopeful was preparing for the biggest year of his life when 2020 decided it had other plans.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 7, 2020
'Shogun' Spencer Patton hits pandemic-era free agent market ready to play ball
Patton had a solid year under strange circumstances as COVID-19 forced NPB players and teams to deal with a lot as they tried to complete a season amid a pandemic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Dec 1, 2020
Pacific League far ahead of Central League in NPB arms race
Factors such as pitching have created a gulf on the field, while the PL has also innovated more with online broadcasting and brand marketing.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Nov 27, 2020
Incident-free Japan Series could aid push for fans to attend Olympics
NPB's ability to admit just under 70,000 fans to the series' four games, held across two cities in domed venues, may provide hints to organizers aiming to pack Tokyo 2020 stands next summer.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 26, 2020
Hawks put stamp on current era with fourth straight Japan Series title
The Hawks are the class of NPB and have created a juggernaut that has earned a place among the league's great teams.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 26, 2020
Hawks sweep Giants again to clinch fourth straight Japan Series title
SoftBank claimed its seventh title since 2011 and did it with a sweep that was even more dominant than the last one.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 25, 2020
Japan Series atmosphere adapts to restrictions caused by pandemic
With fans unable to cheer at either of the series' two venues, it's been up to the dominant Hawks to generate excitement on the field.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 24, 2020
Hawks take no-hitter into ninth in Game 3 to move within win of Japan Series title
SoftBank leads the series 3-0 and can sweep Yomiuri for the second straight year with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 24, 2020
'Man of mystery': How Yu Darvish evolved into a powerhouse on the mound
The Cubs ace re-established his bona fides as one of MLB's best pitchers in his ninth big-league season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 23, 2020
Hawks still in a class of their own
The team has dominated Japanese baseball — the Climax Series and Japan Series in particular — for almost a decade.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan