All posts by Jim Allen

sports editor for a wire service in Tokyo

Tigers pitcher denies domestic violence claims

Hanshin Tigers pitcher Koki Moriya on Thursday spoke to reporters at the team’s offices in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and denied he hit his wife, insisting that he himself had been the subject of verbal abuse and that he had merely grabbed her wrist to keep her from striking him.

According to numerous reports, his wife reported him for domestic violence and police have sent papers to prosecutors. The 26-year-old is reportedly being accused of injuring her with a blow to the head during a fight at their home on April 26, 2018.

According to Moriya, fights between the two had become a daily occurrence and that lawyers for the pitcher and his wife were discussing a divorce settlement in December, when he was contacted by the police about the incident.

Although Major League Baseball has rightfully raked over the coals for its somewhat lax stance on domestic violence by its players, the issue in Japan is virtually invisible.

The “Hanshin Tigers English News” blog has a lengthy translation that is well worth your time reading HERE.

Japan’s shadow ball

The kotatsu league: 2 more years for Despaigne, Gracial

The SoftBank Hawks have completed contracts with Cuban outfielders Alfredo Despaigne and Yurisbel Gracial, according to a report from Cuba’s Radio Santa Cruz on Thursday.

The Nikkan Sports reported the deals were for two years each.

According to Delta Graphs, Despaigne, a two-time Best Nine Award-winning designated hitter, averaged about 2 WAR a season, while Gracial, whom the Hawks also play at third base was 2.3 over his two seasons in Fukuoka. Their NPB player pages in English are here:

The Hawks have not won the Pacific League pennant since 2017, but having won the PL playoffs the past two seasons, are now in the hunt for their fourth-straight Japan Series championship.

The Hawks also have lefty Livan Moinelo on their roster, along with outfielder-pitcher Oscar Colas, who has since defected from Cuba in the hopes of signing with a major league team.