Mets, Lions, and NPB tie-ups
On Saturday, the Seibu Lions and New York Mets announced a partnership running through the 2021 season, that the defending Pacific League champions see as a way to boost themselves…
High schooler Sasaki in good hands
With Ofunato High School manager Yohei Kokubo now limiting access to hard-throwing senior Roki Sasaki after word of his 100 mile-per-hour pitching feats spread, the Nikkan Sports' Shinji Kaneko wrote…
A player’s perspective on youth ball
Today, I met a friend's son who went through Japan's youth baseball culture and lived to tell if not to love baseball. Talking to coaches, doctors and professional ballplayers gives…
NPB on the juice again?
A Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast listener (@DarkMatter89) who spends time tracking the distances of home runs hit in Nippon Professional Baseball, suggested that last year's home run increase (12.1 percent…
The real Hunger Games
For those unfamiliar with Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” trilogy or its cinematic offshoots, the story revolves around a world where 24 teenagers are selected each year to battle to the…
The Heisei ERA, part 2
On this past week's Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast, a listener asked: Who had the single most dominant season in the Heisei era (1989 to April 30, 2019)?Who was the best…
What’s news in Japan
In a land where sports editors pretty much dictate that the top news of every game is who got the game-winning RBI, a lot of things fly under the radar…
Becoming a modern day Joshua
High school pitcher Roki Sasaki is in an unusual position. Having pitched baseballs at 100 miles per hour, professional clubs in America and Japan may be more flexible than usual…
International walls of Jericho
Since two-thirds of the 30 major league teams are now trailing high school pitcher Roki Sasaki, who has repeatedly hit 100 mph, one has to wonder if he will be…
Catching up with Tomoya Mori
Four years after his bat kept him in the Seibu Lions lineup when his defense behind the plate would not, 23-year-old Tomoya Mori has gone from pleading for an opportunity…
