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Ryota Arai
is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder and current coach for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played with the Chunichi Dragons from 2006 to 2010 and with the Tigers from 2011 to 2017. His elder brother Takahiro is also a former professional baseball player. Early baseball career He played softball from his 5th year in grade school, and continued when he attended the Satsukigaoka Junior High School in Hiroshima. In his 2nd year, his school team placed 3rd in the junior high softball tournament in China. He then attended Koryo High School where he played as first baseman. In the spring of his senior year, he was elected as team captain (4th batter) and participated in the finals of the Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament. In their battle with East Fukuoka High School, 2nd year Yuki Yoshimura pitched 3 scoreless innings, but ended up losing the game (4-8) in favor of Koryo. Kentaro Nishimura and Shirahama Yuta, both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. Although there are many rules to baseball, in general the team playing offense tries to score runs by batting balls into the field that enable runners to make a complete circuit of the four bases. The team playing in the field tries to prevent runs by catching the ball before it hits the ground, by tagging runners with the ball while they are not touching a base, or by throwing the ball to first base before the batter who hit the ball can run from home plate to first base. There are nine defensive positions on a baseball field. The part of the baseball field closest to the batter (shown in the diagram as light brown) is known as the "infield" (as opposed to the "outfield", the part of the field furthest from the batter, shown in the diagr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tohto University Baseball League
Tohto University Baseball League (東都大学野球連盟, Tōto daigaku yakyū renmei) is an intercollegiate baseball league that features 21 prominent universities in the Tokyo area. Game History Tohto University Baseball League was established in 1930. The league title team has recorded 21 championships in All Japan University Baseball Championship Series. It is the most championships in the university baseball league in Japan. Members (Autumn 2014) Division 1 Aoyama Gakuin University *Affiliation:1951 *League Championships in Division1: 12 *All-Time Record in Division1: 429-382-27 *Last Championship: Spring 2006 Asia University *Affiliation:1959 *League Championships in Division1: 23 *All-Time Record in Division1: 653-535-33 *Last Championship: Spring 2014 Chuo University *Affiliation:1930 *League Championships in Division1: 24 *All-Time Record in Division1: 789-622-64 *Last Championship: Autumn 2004 Kokugakuin University *Affiliation:1930 *League Championships ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makoto Imaoka
Makoto Imaoka (今岡 誠, born September 11, 1974), nicknamed "Makochan", is a former Japanese professional baseball player from Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Japan. Career Imaoka spent several uneventful seasons in the Japanese professional leagues before being chosen as the leadoff batter by Senichi Hoshino, who managed the Hanshin Tigers from 2002 to 2004. Imaoka won the batting title in 2003 with a .340 batting average, and his team won the Central League pennant the same year. He had previously played shortstop and second base, but was converted to third base in 2004. He continued his hitting prowess, and led the league with 147 RBIs in 2005. He fell into a huge slump in 2006, and missed half of the season due to injuries. He won a silver medal playing for the Japanese national team in the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an interna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōichi Tabuchi
is a Japanese former professional baseball player, manager, and commentator. During his career, Tabuchi played for the Hanshin Tigers and the Seibu Lions. Tabuchi played catcher for the Hanshin Tigers from 1969 and 1978, where his combination with pitcher Yutaka Enatsu was called the "Golden Battery". Always a long-range hitter, Tabuchi was nicknamed home run artist because of the high-in-the-sky, long trajectory of his home runs. Although his career total of 474 home runs is far below Sadaharu Oh's 868, his frequency nearly matched Oh's. Tabuchi hit a home run once every 12.41 at-bats, while Oh did once every 10.66. In this statistic he is second only to Oh among sluggers who have logged 300 or more home runs. Known as Mr. Tiger (along with Fumio Fujimura, Minoru Murayama, and Masayuki Kakefu), Tabuchi has served as the chairman of Hanshin Tigers Old Boys' Committee since November 2009. Biography Hanshin Tigers Dubbed the "Hosei Trio" of Hosei University baseball team toge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Breeden
Harold Noel Breeden (June 28, 1944 – May 3, 2021) was an American Major League Baseball player. Hal was a rarity in that he was a right-handed hitter who threw left-handed. He was also the brother of catcher Danny Breeden. After retirement from baseball, he served as Sheriff of Lee County, Georgia for twenty years until 2008. Career Signed by the Milwaukee Braves as a free-agent in 1963, Breeden was a very solid minor league hitter. For example, he hit .330 in 116 games with the Waycross Braves in 1963. In 75 games with the Yakima Bears in 1964, Breeden hit .406. He played with two teams in 1967 — the West Palm Beach Braves and Kinston Eagles — and between the two of them he hit .310 in 139 games. Breeden also attained a power stroke in the minors, hitting 37 home runs in 136 games for the Richmond Braves in 1970. He was developing himself into a notable prospect - or at least the Chicago Cubs thought so - because on November 30, 1970, he was traded straight up for future ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matt Murton
Matthew Henry Murton (born October 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies. Murton also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. Baseball career Amateur In 2001 and 2002, Murton played collegiate summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). Murton led the Gatemen to the league title in both seasons, being named the league's MVP in 2001, and in 2002 batting .400 and winning the league's all-star home run derby. He was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2008. Boston Red Sox Murton was drafted out of Georgia Tech baseball in the supplemental first round of the 2003 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox. Murton played a total of 155 games in the Red Sox organization for the Lowell Spinners and the Sarasota Red Sox. Chicago Cubs Murton was acquired at the trading deadline by the Chicago Cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukuoka SoftBank 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. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were moved to Fukuoka (which had been without NPB baseball since the Saitama Seibu Lions, Lions departed in 1979). The team subsequently became known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks until 2005, when they were purchased by SoftBank. The franchise has won 11 Japan Series championships and 19 Pacific League pennants, with the most recent of both coming in . History Nankai Electric Railway Company ownership (1938–1988) The franchise that eventually became the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks was founded on February 22, 1938 by Nankai Electric Railway president Jinkichi Terada as Nankai Club, based in central Osaka. The organization was said to be created as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri Giants. They have won 8 Central League championships and 6 Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they play their games at Meiji Jingu Stadium. The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, Yakult Honsha. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways (known as Kokutetsu (国鉄) in Japanese) and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper ''Sankei Shimbun'' from 1965 to 1968 and called the Sankei Atoms. Yakult purchased the team in 1970 and renamed it the Yakult Atoms, before renaming it again as the Yakult Swallows in 1974, and then the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2006. Kokutetsu and Sankei era (1950–1969) The franchise was established for the first time in 1950 whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yutaka Wada
is a retired Japanese baseball player for the Hanshin Tigers. He previously worked as a hitting coach for the Hanshin Tigers prior to the 2012 season. After the team failed to make the 2011 play-offs, team manager Akinobu Mayumi is the former manager (baseball), manager for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. After serving 3 seasons (2009–2011) with the team, he was released in October after failing to make the 2011 play-offs. He ... was fired, and Yutaka Wada was giving the position to replace him less than a week later. He is notable for various accomplishments, which include the following: * 1500 games played * 1500 hits * 24 game hitting streak from opening game (1997) * 3 straight seasons with playing every game * Golden Glove (2nd baseman) * All star player (1989, 1992–1996, 1999) Career statistics External links Hanshin Tigers website 1962 births Living people Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Hanshin Tigers pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural member of the Pacific League. The Orions were named after the constellation of the same name. The Marines won the inaugural Japan Series in 1950. In 1958, the team was merged with the Daiei Unions and renamed the Daimai Orions. In 1964 they became the Tokyo Orions, and the Lotte Orions in 1969. The franchise was slow to replicate its initial success: the Orions made the Japan Series in 1960 and 1970, only to lose both years. The team played in central Tokyo until 1972. From 1973 to 1977 the Lotte Orions played in the northern Japanese city of Sendai. In 1974, they beat the Chunichi Dragons, becoming the first Pacific League team to win the Series in ten years, as the Yomiuri Giants had claimed the prior nine titles behind the Oh–Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leon Lee
Leon Lee (born December 4, 1952, in Sacramento, California) is a former professional baseball player and manager, primarily known for his career in Japan. He played first base, third base, and catcher during his career, batting and throwing right-handed. Lee had a ten-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). At the conclusion of his playing career, he was considered one of the greatest foreign players to have played in the NPB. Later, he became the first African-American manager in Japanese baseball history. He is the father of former MLB player Derrek Lee and the brother of former MLB player Leron Lee. Career American baseball career Leon Lee was selected in the ninth round (198th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1971 draft. He spent seven years in the Cardinals' minor league system without playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game. Japanese baseball career With the support of his older brother, former American Major League player Leron Lee, who was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leron Lee
Leron Lee (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional left fielder. He played eight seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He then played eleven seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the Lotte Orions, where he was a four-time All-Star and a four-time Best Nine Award-winner. His nephew Derrek Lee also played in the MLB. Early life and United States baseball career Lee, the oldest of six children, graduated from Grant High School in Sacramento with 36 football scholarship offers from major four-year universities. Instead, he began his professional career at 18 as the number one draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in September 1969 after an excellent season at Tulsa where he batted .303. His first major league hit was off Jerry Robertson of the Montreal Expos. In 1970 he had ten multi-hit games, including two games with three hits, a tie breaking home run again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
