Former closer Kyuji Fujikawa is the top candidate to replace Hanshin Tigers manager Akinobu Okada after he steps down at the end of this season, Kyodo News reported Sunday, citing a team source.
The 66-year-old Okada returned as Hanshin skipper last season and led the team to its second Japan Series triumph, its first since he was one of their biggest stars in 1985.
Continue reading Fujikawa likely to replace OkadaOn Friday, we got a double-barreled dose of the American exceptionalism that MLB promotes wholeheartedly.
A day before the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres opened Game 1 of their NLDS, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were asked about their feelings ahead of their “first” postseason games.
Ohtani, who came to MLB as a sixth-year pro and a former MVP, was a veteran of 13 major league postseason games between the ages of 19 and 21. In those, he went 2-2 with one save in five games as a pitcher with 29 strikeouts and a 4.38 ERA. During those years, as a part-time DH, Ohtani slashed .262/.311/.381 with one RBI.
Asked if he felt pressure ahead of his first postseason game, Ohtani said, “Nope.”
Continue reading American exceptionalism and the world
