HOME



picture info

Hiroyuki Nakajima
, nicknamed "Nakaji", is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Saitama Seibu Lions, Orix Buffaloes, Yomiuri Giants, and Chunichi Dragons. Nakajima played for the Japanese national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic. After the 2011 season, the Lions posted Nakajima to Major League Baseball, but Nakajima failed to reach an agreement with the New York Yankees. After the 2012 season, he signed a two-year contract with the Athletics. After spending two years in Minor League Baseball, Nakajima returned to Japan with Buffaloes in 2015. He played for them through 2018, before joining the Giants. Early life Nakajima was born in Itami, a city in Hyōgo, Japan. He was a pitcher during his days at Itami Municipal Sakuradai Elementary School, playing in a national tournament alongside batterymate Katsuki Yamazaki (who would become a catcher for the rival Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks a decad ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Yomiuri Giants
The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They have played their home games at Tokyo Dome since its opening in 1988. The team's owner is The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerate which also owns two newspapers (including the eponymous ''Yomiuri Shimbun'') and the Nippon Television Network System, Nippon Television Network (which includes flagship Nippon TV). The Giants are the oldest professional sports team in Japan. They are also by far the most successful, having won 22 Japan Series titles and an additional nine in the era of NPB's forerunner, the Japanese Baseball League. Their main rivalry is with the Hanshin Tigers, a team especially popular in the Kansai region. The Yomiuri Giants are regarded as "The New York Yankees of Japan" due to their widespread popul ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by Goal difference, run-difference tiebreakers, the first two rounds of the 2009 edition were double-elimination, modified double-elimination format. The modification was that the final game of each bracket was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket, although that game only affected seeding, as two teams always advanced from each bracket. The biggest surprise in the first round was the Netherlands national baseball team, Netherlands, which twice defeated the Dominican Republic national baseball team, Dominican Republic in Pool D to advance. The second round saw the two Pool A teams (South Korea national baseball team, South Kore ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Katsuki Yamazaki
Katsuki Yamazaki (山崎 勝己, born August 16, 1982) is a Japanese former professional baseball catcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks / Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes. Career Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai ... selected Yamazaki with the forth selection in the . On August 7, 2005, Yamazaki made his NPB debut. On November 4, 2020, Yamazaki announced his retirement. References External links NPB stats 1982 births Living people Fukuoka Daiei Hawks players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Japanese baseball coaches Japanese baseball players Orix Buffaloes players Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Nippon Professional Baseball coaches People from Itami, Hyōgo {{Ja ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Battery (baseball)
In baseball, the battery is the pitcher and the catcher, who may also be called batterymen, or batterymates in relation to one another. History Origins of the term The use of the word 'battery' in baseball was first coined by Henry Chadwick in the 1860s in reference to the firepower of a team's pitching staff and inspired by the artillery batteries then in use in the American Civil War. Later, the term evolved to indicate the combined effectiveness of pitcher and catcher. Pitching to a preferred batterymate Throughout the history of baseball, although teams have typically carried multiple catchers, star pitchers have often preferred the familiarity of working consistently with a single batterymate. In the early 20th century, some prominent pitchers were known to have picked their favorite catchers. Sportswriter Fred Lieb recalls the batteries of Christy Mathewson / Frank Bowerman beginning in 1899 with the New York Giants, Jack Coombs / Jack Lapp beginning in 1908 wit ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a base on balls, walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, left-handed specialist, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closing pitcher, closer. Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Hyōgo Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, and Okayama Prefecture, Okayama and Tottori Prefecture, Tottori prefectures to the west. Kobe is the capital and largest city of Hyōgo Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, seventh-largest city in Japan, with other List of cities in Hyōgo Prefecture by population, major cities including Himeji, Nishinomiya, and Amagasaki. Hyōgo Prefecture's mainland stretches from the Sea of Japan to the Seto Inland Sea, where Awaji Island and a small archipelago of islands belonging to the prefecture are located. Hyōgo Prefecture is a major economic center, transportation hub, and tourist destination in western Japan, with 20% of the prefecture's land area designated as List of national parks of Japan#History, Natural Parks. Hyōgo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National League (baseball), National League and American League, as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL or NA). Minor League Baseball originated as simply the organization of lower tiers of professional baseball in the United States, comprising clubs that lacked the financial means to compete with the National League and later the American League. The association of minor leagues remained independent throughout the early 20th century, protected by agreements with the major leagues to ensure they were compensated when minor-league players were signed by major-league clubs. Later, Minor League Baseball evolved to be constituted entirely of farm team, affiliates of larger clubs, giving young prospects a chance to develop the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City alongside the National League (baseball), National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in when Frank J. Farrell, Frank Farrell and William Stephen Devery, Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902), Baltimore Orioles after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the Yankees in . The team is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, a limited liability company that is controlled by the family of the late George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner purchased the team from CBS in 1973. Currently, Brian Cashman is the team's gener ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional baseball league in the world. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round Major League Baseball postseason, postseason tournament in October, culminating in the World Series, a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions first played in 1903. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively, the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained le ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Posting System
The is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate NPB players moving to MLB, problems began to arise in the late 1990s. Some NPB teams lost star players without compensation, an issue highlighted when NPB stars Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano left to play in MLB after using loopholes to void their existing contracts. A further problem was that NPB players had very little negotiating power if their teams decided to deal them to MLB, as when pitcher Hideki Irabu was traded to an MLB team for which he had no desire to play. In 1998, the Agreement was rewritten to address both problems; the result was dubbed the "posting system". Under this system, when an NPB player is "posted", his NPB team notifies the MLB Commissioner, with the posting fee based on the type of contract a player signs an ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Baseball At The 2008 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. For the third time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available. This was the last Olympic baseball tournament before the International Olympic Committee voted to remove baseball from the program in the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympics. Along with Softball at the Summer Olympics, softball, baseball was rejected for inclusion in the 2016 Summer Olympics at the IOC's meeting in October 2009. However, following a 2016 IOC vote, baseball was Baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics, again included for the 2020 Games. This was also the first time that the IBAF's new extra-innings rule was officially in effect, allowing each team to start with two base runners from the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Japan National Baseball Team
The , also known as , is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation and is a baseball powerhouse. The team has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since the first demonstration tournament in 1984, through when baseball was discontinued following the 2008 Beijing Games and again when it returned in Tokyo. Until 2000, the team was made up exclusively of amateur players. Since the 2000 Summer Olympics, the team has been composed of players from Nippon Professional Baseball. The team that played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic included Japanese players from Major League Baseball as well. The team won the 2006 Classic. It played at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, as it had qualified through the Asian Baseball Championship in 2007. Unlike the WBC roster, the Ol ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]