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Hideki Okajima
is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. Okajima pitched for the Yomiuri Giants, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, and the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Okajima was elected to the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a first time All-Star via the All-Star Final Vote. He became the first Japanese-born pitcher to play in the World Series in Game 2 of the 2007 World Series. On July 18, 2016, Okajima announced his retirement. Career Okajima attended Higashiyama High School and pitched in the 1994 Koshien National High School Tournament. Yomiuri Giants Okajima was drafted in the third round in 1993 by the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Okajima pitched mostly as a setup man, but sometimes played the role of a starter until 1999. When he played with the Giants in Japan, Okajima chose to go by the nickname "Okaji" instead of "Hid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a 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, lefty specialist, setup man, and the 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 have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The Japanese Central Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2000 Japan Series
The 2000 Japan Series matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion and defending Japan Series champion Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The press called it the O N series because of the managers on both sides: Sadaharu Oh for the Hawks and Shigeo Nagashima for the Giants. The two were teammates in the 1960s and 1970s, and their combined hitting prowess gave them the nickname, "O-N Cannon." Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The defending Japan Series Champions were largely the same team that had taken the field in 1999, with one major exception: left-handed starter Kimiyasu Kudoh had departed as a free agent over the winter and signed with the Giants. The core of the team was still intact, with Kenji Johjima anchoring a strong lineup that also featured stars Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Hiroki Kokubo. Pitching-wise, the Hawks saw the big-stage debut of future right-handed ace Kazumi Saitoh, who would make three appearances in relief without giving up a run. Yomiuri Gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Higashiyama High School
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{{disambiguation ...
Higashiyama may refer to multiple things associated with Japan, including: * Higashiyama (surname), a Japanese surname * Higashiyama, Iwate, a former town in Iwata Prefecture * Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, a ward of the city of Kyoto * Higashiyama culture, an aesthetic and architectural school from the Muromachi period * Emperor Higashiyama (1675–1710), Emperor of Japan from 1687 to 1709 See also * Higashiyama Station (other) Higashiyama Station may refer to: * Higashiyama Station (Kyoto), a subway station on the Karasuma Line * Higashiyama Station (Hokkaidō), a railway station on the Hakodate Main Line * Higashiyama Station (Nara), a railway station on the Kint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 World Series
The 2007 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2007 season. The 103rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Colorado Rockies and the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox; the Red Sox swept the Rockies in four games. It was the Rockies' only appearance in a World Series. The Red Sox's victory was their second World Series championship in four seasons and their seventh overall; it also marked the third sweep in four years by the AL champions. The series began on Wednesday, October 24 and ended on Sunday, October 28. Terry Francona became the second Red Sox manager to win two World Series titles, following Bill Carrigan, who won the 1915 and 1916 World Series. Including the last three games of the AL Championship Series, the Red Sox outscored their opposition 59–15 over their final seven games. Francona also became the first manager to win his first 8 World Series games. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All-Star Final Vote
The All-Star Final Vote was an annual Internet and text message ballot by Major League Baseball (MLB) fans to elect the final player for each team that participates in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, after all other selections were made and announced. The first 33 players were selected by a combination of procedures. The sponsorship changed annually, but the contest remained similar from year to year. Each league presented a five-man ballot and gave the fans a few days to choose one final All-Star. This process was used from 2002 through 2018. All-Star selection The All-Star Game managers selected the entire lineups from 1933 to 1946. In 1947, the fans were given the ability to select the starting lineups. This continued until 1957, when Cincinnati Reds fans stuffed the ballot box and selected seven Reds and Stan Musial. This forced Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick to step in and replace Wally Post and Gus Bell with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron that season and to turn over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is also included as one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid certain players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one te ... [...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 (Japanese baseball), Western League and the Eastern League (Japanese baseball), Eastern League, NPB's minor league, minor leagues. Since the first Japan Series in , the Yomiuri Giants have the most cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a 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, lefty specialist, setup man, and the 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 have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The Japanese Central Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called " runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, and the winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. Prior to the AL and NL being split into divisions in 1969, the team with the best regular-season win–loss record in each league automatically clinched its league's pennant and advanced to the World Series, barring the rare tie necessitating a pennant playoff. Since then each league has conducted a League Championship Series ( ALCS and NLCS) preceding the World Series to determine which teams will advance, while those series have been preceded in turn by Division Series ( ALDS and NLDS) since 1995, and Wild Card games or series in each league since 2012. Until 2002, home-field advantage in the World Series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the home of the NL's San Francisco Giants. It marked the third time that the Giants hosted the All Star Game since moving to San Francisco for the 1958 season. The 1961 and 1984 All Star Games were played at the Giants former home Candlestick Park, and the fourth overall in the Bay Area, with the Giants bay area rivals the Oakland Athletics hosting once back in 1987, and the second straight held in an NL ballpark. The American League defeated the National League by a score of 5–4. Ichiro Suzuki won the MVP award for the game for hitting the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history. As per the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement, the American League champion (which eventually came to be the Boston Red Sox) rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National League (NL). Starting fielders are selected by fans, pitchers are selected by managers, and reserves are selected by players and managers. The game is usually played on the second or third Tuesday in July, and is meant to mark the symbolic halfway point of the MLB season (though not the mathematical halfway point, which, for most seasons, falls within the previous calendar week). Both leagues share an ''All-Star break'', with no regular-season games scheduled from the day before through two days after the All-Star Game, with the exception of a single Thursday night game starting in the 2018 season. Some additional events and festivities associated with the game take place each year close to and during this break in the regular season. No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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