Category Archives: News

NPB news: May 12, 2023

A documentary about Japan’s World Baseball Classic team is coming out, one Samurai has failed to keep his hands to himself, while another, Kensuke Kondo, had a night against his old team. Hayato Sakamoto passed a legend and we had some great baseball with two teams avoiding being swept and three others that weren’t so fortunate.

Yamakawa accused of sexual assault

Seibu Lions first baseman Hotaka Yamakawa was in the news Thursday, or rather he was the news, after Bunshin Online published a report in a which a woman acquaintance in her 20s alleges he sexually assaulted her in a Tokyo hotel, leaving her with injuries to her lower body. The report said the 31-year-old Yamakawa admitted to a relationship with the young woman, but denied using force.

Asked about it at Thursday’s game at Seibu Dome, Yamakawa declined to comment.

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police said they are looking into the matter, and Seibu did what Seibu does in these cases – this is not their first – they said they are monitoring the situation.

One for the history books

Soon after Japan was denied a WBC championship for the first time in 2013, Nippon Professional Baseball decided to bolster its effort by creating a subsidiary whose job it is to organize, sell and promote the national team.

Continue reading NPB news: May 12, 2023

NPB news: May 10, 2023

A day after we had four shutouts in six games, we had two out of five on Wednesday, when one league leader responded to tough injury news with a one-sided win that came within two outs of a four-hit complete-game shutout. We also had a kind of longevity record of the type that Japan’s media fusses about without cause.

Wednesday’s games

Buffaloes 8, Eagles 2: At Miyagi Stadium, Daiki Tajima (4-2) came within two outs of replicating Hiroya Miyagi‘s four-hit shutout from Tuesday night, but was chased by a double and a Hideto Asamura homer in the ninth.

The Buffaloes, who lost 2021 Pacific League home run champ to injury earlier this week, got more bad news Wednesday when 2019 PL MVP Tomoya Mori was diagnosed with a bone bruise after taking a foul ball off his leg over the weekend.

His replacement behind the plate, Kenya Wakatsuki, drove in Orix’s first run, while Marwin Gonzalez singled, scored twice, and hit his second homer in two days for the Buffaloes, who roughed up veteran right-hander Takayuki Kishi (1-2) for five runs, three earned, in 2-1/3 innings.

Continue reading NPB news: May 10, 2023