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1998 Japan Series
The 1998 Japan Series was the 49th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Seibu Lions represented the Pacific League, while the Yokohama BayStars represented the Central League. The BayStars won the series in six games, giving them their first Japan Series championship since 1960. Background This was a matchup of one of the most successful teams in the last two decades against one of the least successful. The Lions were the team of the 1980s, winning eight championships from 1982 to 1992, and making five straight appearances in the championship series from 1990 until 1994. On the other hand, the BayStars had not won the Japan Series since 1960, when the team was known as the Taiyō Whales, and had not made any appearances since. Seibu Lions This Seibu team was far different from the dominating teams that they enjoyed in the 1980s. Fumiya Nishiguchi (13-12, 3.38) led the Lions pitching staff, which was also anchored in the bullpen by Den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current name in 2011, when the club was purchased by software company DeNA. The minor league team shares the same name and uniform as the parent team and plays in the Eastern League (Japanese baseball), Eastern League. The minor league home field is Yokosuka Stadium, located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. History Origin (1930s–1949) The team began as the Taiyo Fishing Company, an amateur team currently affiliated with the Maruha Corporation (presently Maruha Nichiro). The team began to appear in national tournaments in the 1930s, and won the National Sports Festival in 1948, giving it national recognition. In the 1949 off-season, the Japanese professional baseball league drastically expanded itself and many players from the Taiyo amateur team w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazuo Matsui
is a Japanese retired professional baseball player who played as a shortstop and is the current manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions. He is a switch-hitter. Matsui signed with the New York Mets on December 17, 2003, becoming the first Japanese infielder to sign with a Major League Baseball team. Early life He graduated from the PL Academy Senior High School in Osaka, a school nationally renowned for its baseball program. The only appearance Matsui made at the National High School Baseball Championship Tournament was in his second year at PL Academy. Though Matsui was considered to be the PL Academy's ace starting pitcher, injuries limited him to playing only in the quarter-final game, where he allowed two runs during 2 innings. Professional career Seibu Lions Matsui was chosen third overall by the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League in the 1994 Japanese League Draft, where he would wear number 32. In 1996, his third season, he became a regular starter a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998 In Baseball
Headline events of the year *Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr. and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break (the first time four players had done so in the same season) and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs. While Griffey (56) and Vaughn (50) would fall short of the record, both Sosa (66) and McGwire (70) shattered Maris's record in an exciting late-season chase that culminated in a final week that saw record-setting performances by McGwire, Sosa, Tom Gordon, Dennis Eckersley, Trevor Hoffman and Jason Kendall. The New York Yankees won a major league record 125 games (114 regular season games and 11 postseason games). Champions Major League Baseball *World Series: New York Yankees over San Diego Padres (4-0); Scott Brosius, MVP *American League Championship Series MVP: David Wells **American League Division Series *National League Championship Series MVP: Sterling Hitchcock **National League Division Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, and is played in October or November. The first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared each year. The winner of the Japan Series also goes on to be the Japanese representative team in the annual Asia Series. The Japan Series uses a 2-3-2 format. The home team for games 1, 2 and eventually 6 and 7, alternates between the two leagues with the Pacific League having the advantage on the years ending with an odd number and the Central League on the years ending with an even number. Designated hitters are used if the team from the Pacific League hosts the game. There is a 40-man postseason roster limit, and the rule on drawn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998 World Series
The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion San Diego Padres. The Yankees swept the Padres in four games to win their second World Series championship in three years and their 24th overall. Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. The Yankees advanced to the World Series by defeating the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series, three games to zero, and then the Cleveland Indians in the AL Championship Series, four games to two. The Padres advanced to the series by defeating the Houston Astros in the NL Division Series, three games to one, and then the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series, four games to two. It was the Yankees' second appearance in the World Series in three years, and San Diego's second Wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seibu Dome
(official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. It is home to the Saitama Seibu Lions, a professional baseball team. The stadium has a roof over the field and the stands, like other indoor ballparks. However, it lacks a wall behind the stands so that natural air comes into the field. This makes it possible for home runs to leave the stadium, something not possible in typical domed stadiums. The stadium was built in 1979 without the roof and named as the new home field of the Lions that moved from Fukuoka to Tokorozawa that year. The installation of the roof took place in two phases: the first phase after the 1997 season, and the second phase after the 1998 seasons. At the beginning of the 1998 season, the stadium was renamed Seibu Dome although the domed roof had not completed yet. Originally, the Lions had planned to build a new stadium in Odaiba, but due to requiring to get approval from the three other Tokyo-based teams at the time (the Nippon- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yokohama Stadium
is a baseball stadium in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It opened in 1978 and has a capacity of 34,046 people. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The stadium features dirt around the bases and pitcher's mound, but with dirt colored turf infield and base paths. The entire green portion of the field is also turfed. It hosted an Australian rules football match and drew the second largest crowd for such an event outside of Australia. Concerts Santana and Masayoshi Takanaka performed at the stadium on August 2, 1981. Anzen Chitai performed at the stadium on August 31, 1985. The live performance titled "One Night Theater 1985" was recorded and released on VHS on December 21, 1985, and on LaserDisc and Video High Density on January 25, 1986. The performance was released on CD and DVD on August 19, 1998. Michael Jackson performed at the stadium during his ''Bad World Tour'' in five sold-out concerts, more than any other artist i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazuhiro Sasaki
Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木 主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales / Yokohama BayStars (1990–1999; 2004–2005). Sasaki played his entire MLB career with the Seattle Mariners (2000–2003). Professional career After playing college baseball for Tohoku Fukushi University, Sasaki was drafted in the first round of the 1989 draft by the Yokohama Taiyō Whales (now named Yokohama DeNA BayStars) in Japan's Central League. He played for them from 1990–1999, before joining the Seattle Mariners in 2000. He joined a bullpen that had been one of the worst in the Major Leagues, and during his rookie year won the closer job from a floundering José Mesa. Sasaki's out pitch, a devastating split-fingered fastball that drops when arriving at home plate, was nicknamed "The Thang" by Mariners radio announcers. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daisuke Miura
is a Japanese former professional baseball player from Kashihara, Nara, Japan. He was a starting pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars from 1992 through 2016. Playing career Yokohama DeNa BayStars Miura was drafted 6th in the 1991 Nippon Professional Baseball draft by the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. He made his professional debut against the Yomiuri Giants on October 7, 1992, retiring six straight batters in relief. In 2005, he led the Central League in strikeouts (177) and ERA (2.52). Miura became a free agent after an injury-plagued 2008 season. Both the BayStars and the Hanshin Tigers, the team that he had rooted for as a child, offered him contracts. Miura decided to return to the BayStars, who offered him a 4-year contract worth 1 billion yen (approximately US$10 million), as opposed to the Tigers, who were offering three years and 900 million yen. Miura's contract was renewed for the 2014 season at 180 million Yen (approximately US$1.75 million). Miura is known for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takashi Saito (baseball)
is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher who is currently the chief pitching coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Saito's professional career spanned 23 years. He spent his first 13 seasons pitching for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales / BayStars in the Japanese Central League, compiling a record of 87–80, usually as a starter. He spent the next seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a closer and relief pitcher, before finishing his career in Japan with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. In his first MLB season of 2006, Saito finished eighth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. In his second season, he was named an All-Star. "2006 NL Cy Young Award" Retrieved on July 24, 2007. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takuro Ishii
is a retired Japanese professional baseball player. He currently is a coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Ishii was regarded as one of the best Japanese shortstops of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Though late in his career his stats declined due to age, he still contributed with his precise fielding and solid batting abilities, as well as his veteran leadership. Ishii entered the professional leagues with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales, and played with the franchise for most of his career. (The team changed its name to the Yokohama BayStars in 1993.) Biography Ishii joined the Yokohama Taiyo Whales from outside the draft in 1988. His uniform number was 66. He played as a pitcher during his early career, and marked his first professional victory in 1989. He also got a hit in his first victory. Ishii compiled a record of 1-4, with a 5.69 ERA in his three years as a pitcher. Ishii converted to the infield in 1992. He became the team's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Rose (baseball)
Robert Richard Rose (born March 15, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder and coach. He played for the California Angels in Major League Baseball (MLB), and for the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). During his playing career, he batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and . He later served as a hitting coach in Minor League Baseball. Baseball career North America Rose played baseball for San Dimas High School in California, where he had a .515 batting average during his senior season in 1985. He was selected by the California Angels in the fifth round of the 1985 MLB draft and signed with the team. He played in the Angels' farm system for several teams from 1985 through 1992, except for 1987. Rose sat out the 1987 season, working for a graphics company in Orange County, California, before returning to baseball the following year. His longest assignments were with the Quad Cities Angels of the Class A Midwest League for 264 gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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