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NPB News: June 17, 2022

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Interleague spring break is over, and we’re back.

In between the end of end of the IL and the return to league play we learned that the Yakult Swallows have rewarded third-year manager Shingo Takatsu with a two-year extension. If he completes it, he will be tied for the third-longest tenure among the franchise’s skippers with Mitsuo Uno (1956-1960). Tsutomu Wakamatsu managed for six seasons from 1999 to 2005, and Katsuya Nomura from 1990 to 1998.

We also learned that the Chunichi Dragons have had enough carping about making shortstop Akira Neo a two-way player, and have re-registered him as a pitcher. Recently on the Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast, I said former BlueWave and Swallows reliever Jun Hagiwara was the only recent convert to go from being a full-time position player to a full-time pitcher, but once I really began searching, I began coming across more and more.

The two who most recently preceded Hagiwara were also Orix BlueWave guys, Fumiaki Imamura, first baseman, third baseman 1999, pitcher from 2001, and Toshihiro Kase, outfielder first baseman, touted as a possible two-way player from 1996, eventually moved toward being more a pitcher from 2000.

The thing about Orix in the 1990s was that the BlueWave were managed by a guy who thrived on going against the grain. Akira Ogi told Hideo Nomo to pitch in the way that worked best for him when everyone else predicted his bizarre tornado delivery would never work. Ditto Ichiro Suzuki and his pendulum leg kick.

On Friday, we also had a mouthwatering pitchers’ duel between Kodai Senga and Masahiro Tanaka that died a bloody death in Fukuoka, while Cy Sneed had some kind of game for the Yakult Swallows.

Shall we get started?

Friday’s games

Hawks 9, Eagles 4: At Fukukuoka Dome, this started well for Rakuten despite one of those off-balance Yuki Yanagita home runs that took him a second to realize wasn’t going to be a routine fly.

The Eagles took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the third before Taisei Makihara, a career. 267 slap-hitting middle infielder who has been smoking hot at the top of the order so far this season, and was placed between Cubans Alfredo Despaigne in the cleanup spot and Yurisbel Gracial in the six hole.

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Baseball, Free, News

NPB news: June 9, 2022

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Thursday was one busy day in Japanese pro baseball, starting with a controversial signing of a player with a dark past, the monthly award announcements and a timely return from injury for one of Japan’s biggest stars.

So let’s get started.

Marines confess to signing Osuna

The Lotte Marines on Thursday confessed to signing Roberto Osuna, who received a 75-day suspension from MLB in accordance with its and the MLBPA’s domestic violence protocols. Osuna was charged with domestic violence, but was not tried since the woman who accused him, and with whom he has a child, left Canada and could not be compelled to testify.

Neither the Blue Jays nor the player’s union contested MLB’s suspension, which if they believed his innocence would have been par for that course.

If Osuna is making amends by accepting responsibility for his acts and going out of his way to be a better human being, then more power to him on his path of redemption.

I’m a big believer in second chances, provided they are earned, and not just because the person being handed the chance can throw a fastball better than 99.99 percent of the male population. Perhaps we can get some insight into this from the comments on the Marines’ website.

Marines manager Tadahito Iguchi said on the team website, “He’s a pitcher with a solid track record. On top of a fastball that exceeds 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) per hour, and an assortment of breaking pitches, he has good command and can be relied upon. I hope he can join the team as soon as possible and contribute to winning the championship.”

Ok. Maybe not.

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