The latest in Japanese Baseball

Japan's oldest club sues former executive

2011-12-05T17:31:16Z

Japan's oldest and arguably most popular professional baseball club sued a former executive on Monday for libel after he criticised its parent firm's all-powerful chairman over coach selection.

The Yomiuri Giants club and its parent firm, the Yomiuri Shimbun media group, demanded Hidetoshi...

Japan's oldest baseball club in turmoil at top

2011-11-26T09:31:34Z

A high-profile mudslinging battle is raging at the very top of Japan's oldest and arguably most popular professional baseball club, pitching a powerful media shogun against a former reporter.

Hidetoshi Kiyotake, who was fired as general manager of the Yomiuri Giants last week after criticising the club's reputedly untouchable chairman, said on Friday he wo...

Japan

2010-11-29T14:59:25Z

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Royals' Bullington headed to Japan

2010-11-29T14:41:30Z

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A's and Japanese pitcher Iwakuma at a standstill

2010-11-29T14:41:02Z

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Curse of the Colonel

2010-11-30T13:50:18Z

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Kosuke Fukudome

2010-11-30T13:34:28Z

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Hiroki Kuroda

2010-11-30T13:33:13Z

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Hideki Matsui

2010-11-30T13:33:13Z

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Tohto University Baseball League

2010-11-30T13:38:21Z

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Next Japanese Players To Come To MLB

2010-11-29T14:51:40Z

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Chiba Lotte Marines win Japan Series

2010-11-07T07:03:18Z

Chiba Lotte Marines defeat Chunichi Dragons in 7 games to win Japan Series

The Chiba Lotte Marines defeated the Chunichi Dragons 8-7 Sunday to win the Japan Series in seven games.

Lotte won the series four games to two with one tie for its first championship since the team was managed ...

Murton breaks Ichiro's Japan hits record

2010-10-05T12:07:44Z

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Ichiro Suzuki

2010-09-29T22:19:05Z

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Japan Series results

2010-11-02T15:44:32Z

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Record Booze Fest: World's Largest Toast

2010-11-02T12:16:48Z

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GOGOCURRYUSA: 2/15 GO GO DAY! Free Topping Coupon with your order of… Go Go Curry 3 hours ago

2010-09-09T20:51:04Z

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Ramirez, Darvish named MVPs of Japanese baseball

2010-06-12T02:07:58Z

Venezuelan outfielder Alex Ramirez and pitcher Yu Darvish named MVPs of Japanese baseball

Venezuelan outfielder Alex Ramirez was named MVP of Japan's Central League for the second straight year on Wednesday while pitcher Yu Darvish took the Pacific League honors.

The 35-year-old Ramirez hit .322 in helping the ...

Seibu Lions win rights for 18-year-old LHP Kikuchi

2010-06-12T02:04:14Z

Seibu Lions win negotiating rights for 18-year-old LHP Kikuchi, who also met with MLB teams

The Seibu Lions of Japan's Pacific League have won the right to negotiate with highly sought after high school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.

The 18-y...

Sledge drives in 5 runs for Japan's Fighters

2010-04-16T09:40:15Z

Ex-major league player Terrmel Sledge has 5 RBIs for Japan's Fighters

Former major league player Terrmel Sledge drove in five runs as the Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Rakuten Eagles 9-4 ...

Sledge hits grand slam in Japanese playoffs

2010-04-16T09:43:31Z

Ex-major leaguer Terrmel Sledge helps Fighters top Eagles with walk-off grand slam

Former major league player Terrmel Sledge hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday to lift the Nippon Ham Fighters to a 9-8 win over the Former Mariners C Kenji Johjima urged to return to former team, Fukuoka Hawks, in Japan

Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh would like to see catcher Kenji Johjima return to his former team in Fukuoka.

Johjima opted out of the final two seasons and $15.8 million of his contract with the TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese baseball pulls in the fans, produces the players and rakes in revenue many American clubs would be proud of -- but in terms of profit they still languish in the little league.

Despite earning similar revenues to Major League Baseball teams in Colonel Sanders", blamed for a Japanese baseball club's quarter century of bad luck, was declared exorcised in a full Shinto rite Thursday.

"The curse is completely broken," chief priest Tsunetada Mayumi said at Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka, home to the Hanshin Tigers, after reciting a prayer in front of a lif...

Fans submit petition in support of Bobby Valentine

2010-04-16T11:49:00Z

Chiba Lotte fans submit petition with over 100,000 names in support of manager Bobby Valentine

Fans supporting Bobby Valentine submitted a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to the head office of the Chiba Lotte Marines on Monday in a bid to keep the American on as manager beyond the 2009 Japanese baseball season.

Valent...

Japan fans to submit petition to support Bobby V

2010-04-16T11:50:44Z

Japanese fans gather 100,000 petition signatures in support of Chiba Lotte skipper Valentine

Fans supporting Bobby Valentine have gathered 100,000 signatures on a petition seeking to keep the American as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines beyond the 2009 Japanese baseball season.

The group said in a press release Friday it will ...

Tom Hanks throws out first pitch at game in Tokyo

2010-04-16T12:26:30Z

Hollywood star Tom Hanks throws out first pitch at baseball game in Tokyo

Hollywood star Tom Hanks was in a league of his own Friday when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Japanese professional baseball game.

Hanks, who is in Tokyo with director

American Tuffy Rhodes hits 444th homer in Japan

2010-04-16T15:41:33Z

American Tuffy Rhodes hits 444th homer in Japan to tie Yomiuri great Nagashima for 12th place

American Tuffy Rhodes hit his 444th homer in Japan to move into a tie for 12th place on the career list with Yomiuri Giants great Shigeo Nagashima.

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Japan's Up-And-Coming Baseball Stars

2010-10-21T09:55:15Z

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The Curse Of Colonel Sanders

2010-10-21T09:54:20Z

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Japan pick seven major leaguers for WBC squad

2010-04-16T13:50:12Z

Japan on Monday chose seven US major leaguers including Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka t...

Seibu wins in Asia Series baseball

2010-04-16T14:22:41Z

The Seibu Lions edged the Uni-President Lions of Taiwan 1-0 on Sunday, winning Japan its fourth consecutive title of the Asian Series, which also features champions from China and South Korea.

It was Seibu's first ...

Japanese pitcher Uehara ready to fulfil major league dream

2010-04-16T14:25:08Z

Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara of Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants vowed Friday to exercise his right to fulfil his dream of playing in the US major leagues.

"It's my dream and goal I have cherished since my college days. I have never given up my wish in the past 10 years to play in ...

Oh to step down at end of season

2010-04-16T13:13:38Z

Japanese home run king Oh to retire as manager at end of season

Japanese baseball great Sadaharu Oh will step down as manager of the Softbank Hawks at the end of the 2008 season.

The 68-year-old Oh, who hit a record 868 home runs over 22 seasons when he played for the Yomiuri...

Japan's home-run king Oh quits as club manager

2010-04-16T13:18:01Z

Japan's all-time home-run king Sadaharu Oh resigned as manager of a domestic club citing poor health Tuesday but said it might not spell the end of his involvement in professional baseball.

Oh, 68, who had his entire stomach removed for cancer after guiding Japan to the inaugural World Baseball Classic title in 2...

Photo of the Day: Mariah Carey is Ridiculous

2010-10-25T20:42:25Z

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Incentive Reward Travel Growing in Population

2010-09-10T17:45:57Z

The Chunichi Dragons baseball team of Nagoya didn’t win the Japanese Series this year, but players still got a nice consolation prize — a trip to Las Vegas.

Team executives decided to reward players for winning the Central League pennant and even though they lost the best-of-seven US Pitcher Rick Guttormson Becomes 1st Player to Ever Fail Drug Test in Japanese Baseball

An American pitcher has become the first player to fail a drug test in Japanese baseball history.

Japanese baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro said Friday that Rick Guttormson tested positive for a banned substance and ...

Red Sox form alliance with Japanese team

2010-09-09T06:31:34Z

Red Sox Form Alliance With Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League

The Boston Red Sox have formed an alliance with Bobby Valentine's team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League, to share player evaluations and statis...

Baseball in Japan

2010-09-09T23:19:59Z

In recent years, the arrival in the United States of players like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui has enlightened Americans about the popularity of the sport in Japan. But most Americans don't know that Japan has almost as long a baseball history as the United States.

The exact date that baseball was introduced in Japan is not known, but it is attributed to American professor Horace Wilson sometime between 1867 and 1912. The Japanese people were immediately intrigued by western basebal...

Japan's Livedoor allegedly cooked books during acquisition attempt - reports

2010-10-13T07:45:13Z

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Twins Nishioka Baseball

2010-12-18T17:01:36Z

Tsuyoshi Nishioka, second from right, who signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, leans in to listen to his translator as Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, second from left, answers questions during a news conference at Target...

Japan Angels and Demons

2010-04-07T22:26:37Z

U.S. actor Tom Hanks waves a baseball cap of the Yomiuri Giants at spectators after throwing the first pitch before the start of Japan's professional baseball game between the Giants and the Chunichi Dragons at