Tag - npb

 
 

NPB

BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jul 7, 2017
SoftBank's Sarfate joins exclusive club with 200th career save
It's been a week of benchmarks in NPB, with a few players reaching nice, round numbers.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 6, 2017
Marines rookie Sasaki triumphs in first start
Chihaya Sasaki said he was nervous before the first pro start of his career. It was hard to tell in the fifth inning, when nursing a one-run lead with a runner on base, the Chiba Lotte Marines rookie struck out Shohei Otani with a sinker that left the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters star flailing at air....
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / 2017 NPB PREVIEW
Mar 29, 2017
Hawks looking to redress balance of Pacific League power
The following is the first of a two-part NPB preview beginning with the 2016 Pacific League.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Feb 27, 2017
Fujinami hoping to see hard work pay off in new season
Shintaro Fujinami is no old dog, but the 22-year-old Hanshin Tigers pitcher may have some new tricks.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 30, 2016
Resurgent Carp veteran Arai turned back clock during MVP season
Many fans might have thought Takahiro Arai was heading to the Hiroshima Carp to retire.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 20, 2016
Hawks win draft lottery rights for Soka University pitching phenom Tanaka
The talent pool for pitchers in this year's draft class was deep. What's more, he hurt his right shoulder during this year's spring season. So there were good reasons for NPB clubs to pass on Soka University right-hander Seigi Tanaka in Thursday's NPB draft.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Aug 29, 2016
Finally, Carp looking like real deal
The Hiroshima Carp, it seems, have arrived. After a long stretch of bad years and recent seasons of being a few pieces short of a whole, the Carp are finally in the thick of a pennant race again.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Aug 2, 2016
Tokyo will host two rounds of 2017 WBC
Samurai Japan's quest to reclaim the World Baseball Classic title will begin in the nation's capital.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 16, 2016
Fellow All-Stars rave about Otani's special talents
A blister kept Shohei Otani from pitching in the NPB All-Star Series. So the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' two-way star took part in the festivities as a hitter instead.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 9, 2016
A primer on evolution of pro sports' All-Star events
Next week, Japan professional baseball will play its annual two-game All-Star series with contests scheduled at Fukuoka Yafuoku Dome on July 15, and Yokohama Stadium on July 16. The All-Star games are like a festival in Japan, and the series will most likely draw capacity crowds, but has the idea of...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jun 16, 2016
Iconic Ichiro earned new place in history
During a May segment on the ESPN program 'Pardon the Interruption,' hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, former Washington Post sportswriters, were asked to choose if Jackie Bradley Jr.'s 27-game hitting streak or the suddenly blazing form of 42-year-old Ichiro Suzuki, who at the time had reeled...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 27, 2016
Exploring quirky history of season schedules
Is a 162-game professional baseball season too long?

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