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Masao Fujii
was a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was born in Nishi-ku, Fukuoka and raised in Karatsu, Saga. His uniform number 15 is honored by the Hawks. Professional career On November 18, 1994, Fujii was drafted fourth overall by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in the 1994 1994 Nippon Professional Baseball draft. He was 4-4 Win–loss record with a 4.39 ERA in 20 starts during his rookie season in 1995, and 1-3 Win–loss record with 5.18 ERA in 11 starts during the 1996 season. Fujii switched to relief pitching in the 1997 season after a lack of results as a starter. He then developed his talent as a relief pitcher with his all-out fastball and a variety of breaking pitches, and in 1999 season, he was part of the winning formula, a powerful setup man who, along with closer Rod Pedraza and left-handed pitchers Shuji Yoshida and Takayuki Shinohara. The presence of these four "winning formula" players led to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered the gateway to the country, as it is the nearest point among Japan's main islands to the Asian mainland. Although humans occupied the area since the Jomon period, some of the earliest settlers of the Yayoi period arrived in the Fukuoka area. The city rose to prominence during the Yamato period. Because of the cross-cultural exposure, and the relatively great distance from the social and political centers of Kyoto, Osaka, and later, Edo (Tokyo), Fukuoka gained a distinctive local culture and dialect that has persisted to the present. Fukuoka is the most populous city on Kyūshū island, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. Before the 1990s, pitchers in similar roles were referred to as a fireman, short reliever, and stopper. A small number of closers have won the Cy Young Award. Eight closers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm. Usage A closer is generally a team's best reliever and designated to pitch the last few outs of games when his team is leading by a margin of three runs or fewer. Rarely does a closer enter with his team losing or in a tie game. A closer's effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the save, an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1969. Over time, closers have become on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukuoka PayPay Dome
The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium was originally named and has the capacity of 38,585 seats. With a diameter of 216 meters, the Fukuoka PayPay Dome is the world's largest geodesic dome. This is Japan's first stadium built with a retractable roof. In 2005, Yahoo! JAPAN, one of SoftBank's subsidiaries, acquired the stadium's naming rights, and thus renamed it or abbreviated as , In January 2013, it was renamed to . Yafuoku is the abbreviation for Yahoo! Auctions in Japan. On October 30, 2019, it was announced that the stadium was going to be named Fukuoka PayPay Dome, in reference to the payment system PayPay owned by Softbank (50%) and Yahoo Japan (25%), from February 29, 2020. It is one of the few NPB stadiums with onsite hotels. History Fukuoka Dome is the home stadium of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and, together with Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk Hotel, is part of the Hawks Town entertainment complex. It is located near Momoch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The team plays in the Pacific League and is under ownership by Orix, a leading diversified financial services company founded in Osaka. The combined team began play in 2005. The Buffaloes split home games between Kyocera Dome Osaka, which was the home of the original Buffaloes franchise, and Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium, the former home of the BlueWave, when the Hanshin Tigers take over Kyocera Dome for when they are kicked out of Hanshin Koshien Stadium during the Japanese High School Baseball Championship in the month of August. Franchise history Hankyu/Orix (1936–2004) Hankyu Braves The franchise that eventually became the Orix Buffaloes was founded in 1936 under the ownership of a Japanese railway company , as . Lat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenichi Wakatabe
is a former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher, and current first squad pitching coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and the Yokohama BayStars. Haruka Wakatabe, his daughter, is a former member of the female idol group HKT48. Early baseball career Wakatabe went on to Komazawa University, where he played in the Tohto University Baseball League. He won the Best Pitcher Award and the Best Nine Award in the 1990 Fall League and won the Most Valuable Player Award and a second Best Pitcher Award and the Best Nine Award in the 1991 Fall League. He pitched in a total of 48 games in the Collegiate League, recorded 20-10 Win–loss record, a 1.76 ERA and 223 strikeouts. And He was selected to the Japan national baseball team for the 1991 IBAF Intercontinental Cup. Professional career Active player era On November 22, 1991, Wakatebe was the first pick in the 1991 Nippon Professional Baseb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retired Number
Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking his or her former number out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future player from the team may wear that number on their uniform, unless the player so-honored permits it; however, in many cases the number cannot be used at all. Such an honor may also be bestowed on players who had highly memorable careers, died prematurely under tragic circumstances, or have had their promising careers ended by serious injury. Some sports that retire team numbers include baseball, cricket, ice hockey, basketball, American football, and association football. Retired jerseys are often referred to as "''hanging from the rafters''" as they are, literally, put to hang in the team's home arena. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western League (Japanese Baseball)
The is one of the two minor leagues ("ni-gun")"Minor League History," JapaneseBaseball.com. Accessed April 20, 2015. of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the of (NPB). Teams in the Western League generally play an 80-game schedule every year. Teams Most of the Japanese minor league teams carry the same name, and us ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstitial Lung Disease
Interstitial lung disease (ILD), or diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD), is a group of respiratory diseases affecting the interstitium (the tissue and space around the alveoli (air sacs)) of the lungs. It concerns alveolar epithelium, pulmonary capillary endothelium, basement membrane, and perivascular and perilymphatic tissues. It may occur when an injury to the lungs triggers an abnormal healing response. Ordinarily, the body generates just the right amount of tissue to repair damage, but in interstitial lung disease, the repair process is disrupted, and the tissue around the air sacs (alveoli) becomes scarred and thickened. This makes it more difficult for oxygen to pass into the bloodstream. The disease presents itself with the following symptoms: shortness of breath, nonproductive coughing, fatigue, and weight loss, which tend to develop slowly, over several months. The average rate of survival for someone with this disease is between three and five years. The term ILD i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malignant cells that originate as epithelial cells, or from tissues composed of epithelial cells. Other lung cancers, such as the rare sarcomas of the lung, are generated by the malignant transformation of connective tissues (i.e. nerve, fat, muscle, bone), which arise from mesenchymal cells. Lymphomas and melanomas (from lymphoid and melanocyte cell lineages) can also rarely result in lung cancer. In time, this uncontrolled neoplasm, growth can metastasis, metastasize (spreading beyond the lung) either by direct extension, by entering the lymphatic circulation, or via hematogenous, bloodborne spread – into nearby tissue or other, more distant parts of the body. Most cancers that originate from within the lungs, known as primary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) and the Japan Series twice (in 1954 and 2007). They were also champions in the 2007 Asia Series. Franchise history The Chunichi Dragons were formed in 1936 as the Nagoya Club. The franchise was acquired by the ''Chunichi Shimbun'' newspaper company in 1946. They became the "Dragons" in 1947, but experimented with a number of variations on their team name before settling on Chunichi Dragons in 1954. The Dragons' most famous player, Michio Nishizawa, played for the team from 1936 to 1958. He entered the league as a 15-year-old pitcher. He developed into a 20-game winner by 1939. Nishizawa's most memorable pitching feats occurred in 1942. On May 24 of that year, Nishizawa pitched a remarkable twenty-eight complete innings, totalling 311 pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hold (baseball)
A hold (abbreviated HLD, H or HD) is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions: :1. Enters the game in a save situation; that is, when all of the following three conditions apply: :: (a) He appears in relief (i.e., is not the starting pitcher) when his team is leading; and :: (b) He is not the winning pitcher; and :: (c) He qualifies under one of the following conditions: ::: (i) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and maintains that lead for at least one inning ::: (ii) He enters the game with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck ::: (iii) He pitches for at least three innings; :2. Records at least one out; :3. Leaves the game before it has ended without his team having relinquished the lead at any point and does not record a save. The hold is not an official Major League Baseball statistic. Description Unlike saves, wins, and losses, more than one pitcher per team can earn a hold for a game, though ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Save (baseball)
In baseball, a save (abbreviated SV or S) is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in which his team is winning by three or fewer runs and finishing the game by pitching one inning without losing the lead. The number of saves or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted are oft-cited statistics of relief pitchers, particularly those in the closer role. The save statistic was created by journalist Jerome Holtzman in 1959 to "measure the effectiveness of relief pitchers" and was adopted as an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic in 1969. The save has been retroactively tabulated for pitchers before that date. Mariano Rivera is MLB's all-time leader in regular-season saves with 652, while Francisco Rodríguez earned the most saves in a single season with 62 in 2008. History The term ''save'' was being used as far b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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