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Masato Yoshii
, nicknamed "Oiyan", is a retired Japanese professional baseball player, former pitching coach and current manager for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2002. Career Yoshii played in the Koshien high school baseball tournament twice and joined the Kintetsu Buffaloes as the second round pick in the 1983 draft after graduating from the same elementary, middle, and high schools as former Seibu Lions manager, Osamu Higashio. After spending some time in the minors, he marked his first victory in 1987, and in 1988, he won 10 games and saved 24 games, which won him the Pacific League relief pitcher title. He won five games and marked another 20 saves his next year. In 1993, he became a starter. In 1995, he was traded to the Yakult Swallows and won more than 10 games a year for three straight years. In the 1997 off-season, he became a free agent and signed with the New York Mets. Yoshii agreed to a two-year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 pitch (baseball), 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 later the National League) and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation of the in Tokyo, founded in 1934, and the original circuit for the sport in the Empire two years later – Japanese Baseball League (1936–1949), and continued to play even through the final years of World War II. The league that is today's NPB for Japan was formed when that sports organization reorganized in 1950, creating two leagues with six teams each in the Central League and the Pacific League with an annual season-ending Japan Series championship play-off series of games starting that year. The NPB also oversees the Western League and the Eastern League, NPB's minor leagues. Since the first Japan Series in , the Yomiuri Giants have the most championships with 22, and the most appearances with 37. Entering the 2023 season ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tadashi Wakabayashi
Tadashi Henry Wakabayashi () (March 1, 1908 – March 5, 1965) was a professional baseball player from Oahu, Hawaii. He was a second generation Japanese American. Biography Wakabayashi's parents had immigrated to Hawaii from Hiroshima, Japan, and Wakabayashi was born in Hawaii, giving him dual citizenship between the United States and Japan. He renounced his Japanese citizenship in 1928, but revived it when he moved to Japan. Baseball career High school and college Wakabayashi attended President William McKinley High School, and his powerful fastball made him the ace pitcher of the school's baseball team. In 1928, he was chosen to participate in an exhibition baseball tournament held in Japan, and he traveled to Japan for the first time that year. Professional baseball did not exist in Japan at that time, and Wakabayashi's amateur team played against university teams in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. Wakabayashi's pitching abilities did not go unnoticed, and Hosei Univers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinji Hamasaki
Shinji Hamazaki (浜崎 真二, 10 December 1901 – May 6, 1981) was a former Japanese baseball player and manager. Thought short in stature, Hamazaki was well known for his forceful personality.HAMAZAKI, Shinji," The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Japan). Accessed April 6, 2015. He is a member of the . Hamazaki attended Hiroshima Shogyo High School and . Hamazaki was signed at age 45 by the |
Masahiro Tanaka
is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Eagles in NPB. Tanaka was posted by the Eagles after the 2013 season to be signed with the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB) and signed a seven-year, $155 million contract, the fifth-largest deal ever given to a pitcher at the time. He made his major league debut in 2014 and played for the Yankees through the 2020 season, before deciding to return to Japan. Tanaka was the Eagles' first-round pick in the NPB amateur player draft. From 2012 to 2013, he won 26 consecutive decisions, which set a new NPB record. In the MLB, Tanaka has earned selections to two Major League Baseball All-Star Games. Early life Tanaka was born in Itami, a city in Hyōgo, Japan. He began playing baseball in the first grade as a catcher for the Koyanosato Tigers (a Little League team) alongside current Yomiuri Giants shorts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greg LaRocca
Gregory Mark LaRocca (born November 10, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman who played for the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians between 2000 and 2003. He also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 2004 to 2010. Biography LaRocca attended Manchester High School West in Manchester, New Hampshire and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1993, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 10th round (262nd overall) of the 1994 MLB Draft. Major League Baseball Minor Leagues (1994–1999) LaRocca played for Low-A Spokane Indians and High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The 1995 season was split between High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and AA Memphis Chicks. The entire 1996 season was played for AA Memphis Chicks. LaRocca played all of 1997 for AA Mobile BayBears. The 1998 season was played for AAA Las Vegas Stars. LaRocca st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping company Rakuten. History 2004: Origins and formation During Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2004 season, the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave announced that the two teams planned to merge into one for the start of the 2005 season. Both teams were in the Pacific League (PL), and a merger between the two would result in a team imbalance with the PL's opposing league, the Central League (CL). As a large number of players and personnel were expected to lose their jobs when the merger was finalized, the players conducted a two-day strike on September 18–19, 2004. With the threat of further strikes looming, team representatives agreed to ease the rules of entry for new teams into NPB and that one would be allow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Jones (left-handed Pitcher)
Robert Mitchell Jones (born April 11, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) during six seasons between 1997 and 2004. He made his MLB debut on May 18, 1997, for the Colorado Rockies. From 2016–2022, Jones served as manager for the Sussex County Miners of the Frontier League. He currently is the Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer for the New Jersey Jackals of the Frontier League. Jones moved to Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1981 and played in Rutherford Little League from 1982 to 1984. In 1991, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 44th round as a draft-and-follow. He signed prior to the 1992 draft and was assigned to Helena Brewers, Helena in the Pioneer Baseball League, Pioneer League (rookie), where he went 5–4. Jones operated his own baseball academy named Bobby Jones Sports in Montville, New Jersey, until it was closed down. Jones also spent time as the pitching coach for both the Don Bosco Prep a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is allowed to solicit offers from other teams. In some circumstances, the free agent's options are limited by league rules. Types Terms Unrestricted free agent Unrestricted free agents are players without a team. They have either been released from their club, had the term of their contract expire without a renewal, or were not chosen in a league's draft of amateur players. These people, generally speaking, are free to entertain offers from all other teams in the player's most recent league and elsewhere and to decide with whom to sign a contract. Players who have been bought out of league standard contracts may have restrictions within that league, such as not being able to sign with the buy-out club for a period of time in the NHL, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around Japan. History The circuit was founded as the Taiheiyo Baseball Union (太平洋野球連盟, ''Taiheiyo Yakyu Renmei'') in 1949 (the name changing to its current form in 1980). Daiei Stars owner Masaichi Nagata was the first president of the Pacific League. The league began with seven teams: four holdovers from the previous iteration, the Japanese Baseball League — the Hankyu Braves, the Nankai Hawks, the Daiei Stars, and the Tokyu Flyers — and three new teams — the Kintetsu Pearls, the Mainichi Orions, and the Nishitetsu Clippers. In 1954, an eighth Pacific League team was founded, the Takahashi Unions, to increase the number of teams to eight. Although the team was stocked with players fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osamu Higashio
is a former Japanese baseball player who played in the Japanese professional leagues from 1969–1988, being remembered as one of the leading Japanese pitchers in the 1980s. He also was manager of the Seibu Lions from 1995 to 2001. Professional career Higashio was a star in the Koshien high school baseball tournament, helping his team advance to the semi-finals in the spring of 1968. He was drafted in the first round by the Nishitetsu Lions (the current Saitama Seibu Lions) later that year. He lost confidence in his pitching ability after seeing the high level of pitching in the Pacific League, and requested the team to convert him to a position player. The team accepted his request, but quickly withdrew it when the Black Mist Scandal erupted in the 1969 off-season. The ace of the Lions pitching staff, Masaaki Ikenaga, was banished from the professional leagues because of the scandal, and Higashio was forced into pitching a full year in the Lions starting rotation. His inexper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
