Taisei Makihara
, nicknamed "King JOKER", is a professional Japanese people, Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. King JOKER's nickname comes from his utility player playing style, which allows him to play every defensive position except pitcher and catcher, every batting position in the starting lineup, and even as a pinch hitter and pinch runner, making him a trump card for the team. Professional career On October 28, 2010, Makihara was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a Developmental player system (Nippon Professional Baseball), developmental player in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft with Kodai Senga and Takuya Kai. 2010–2015 season From 2011 to mid-2012 season, he played in informal matches against Shikoku Island League Plus's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League (Japanese baseball), Western League of NPB's minor leagues. On June 11, 2012, Makihara signed a 4.4 million yen re-contract with the Fuku ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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2023 World Baseball Classic
The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but was canceled in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later announced that qualifications for the Classic would start in September 2022, as agreed by Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The tournament is being expanded from 16 to 20 national teams, with all teams that participated in the 2017 edition automatically qualifying, plus four additional spots. Qualification In January 2020, the WBC announced the 16 national teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic will automatically qualify for the tournament. A qualifying tournament was scheduled for March 2020 in Tucson, Arizona, United States to determine the last four teams. Twelve teams were split into two pools, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Shikoku Island League Plus
The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. The Shikoku Island League has two principal sponsors, the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) and the Shikoku Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Other sponsors include Taiyo Oil Company, Shikoku Meiji Dairies, Japan Airlines, sporting goods maker Mizuno Corp., Internet service provider Biglobe, convenience store chain FamilyMart, and Nihon McDonald's. The Shikoku Island League Plus is part of the Japan Independent Baseball League Organization (which also includes the Route Inn Baseball Challenge League). League play Originally, each team played 90 games per season: 45 at home and 45 away. With the 2008 expansion, each team's schedule changed to 80 games a year, 40 at home and 40 away, so the season consists of 240 games. Teams attempt to schedu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nikkan Sports
is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1946. It has a circulation of 1,661,000, and is an affiliate newspaper of the ''Asahi Shimbun''. Companies and regions ;Nikkan Sports News (Tokyo) :Tokyo HQ: 5-10, Tsukiji Sanchome, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan ;Hokkaido Nikkan Sports News (Hokkaido) :Hokkaido HQ: KN Building, 1-30, Kita-Sanjo-Higashi Sanchome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan ;Nikkan Sports News West Japan (Osaka, Nagoya, Kyushu) :Osaka HQ: Hanshin Diamond Building, 14-24, Fukushima Sanchome, Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Japan :Nagoya HQ: Asahi Kaikan, 3-3, Sakae Itchome, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Japan :Seibu HQ: Fukuoka Asahi Building, 1-1, Hakata Ekimae Nichome, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan See also * Nikkan Sports Film Award * Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix The Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix is an award given by the Nikkan Sports newspaper to Japanese television dramas. The 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix was canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takuya Kai
is a Japanese professional baseball catcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Professional career On October 28, 2010, Kai was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks as a developmental player in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft with Kodai Senga and Taisei Makihara. 2011-2015 season In 2011–2013 season, he played in informal matches against the Shikoku Island League Plus's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's second league. On November 21, 2013, he re-signed a ¥5 million contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control. On June 7, 2014, Kai debuted in the Interleague play (NPB) against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. And he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2014 Japan Series. In 2015 season, although he played only one game, he was selected as the Japan Series roster in the 2015 Japan Series. 2016-2020 season On June 16, 2016, Kai recorded his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kodai Senga
is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until . He is a three-time NPB All-Star. Early life Senga was born in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, where he started playing rubber-ball baseball as a third baseman until he graduated from middle school, then switched from third baseman to pitcher due to the manager of Gamagori High School baseball club, who saw the quality of Senga's pitching fitting more as a pitcher. Although Senga and his team never made it to either Japanese High School Baseball Championship or Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in Koshien Stadium, the owner of a sporting goods store in Nagoya recommended Senga to Kazuo Ogawa, then-the scout manager of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, as a potential player to be drafted. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks On October 28, 2010, Senga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2010 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft
The 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 28, , for the 46th time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB. It was arranged with the special cooperation of Toshiba with official naming rights. The draft was officially called "The Professional Baseball Draft Meeting supported by TOSHIBA ".It has been sponsored by Toshiba for the 2rd consecutive year since 2009. Summary Only the first round picks will be done by bid lottery. After the second round, waver selections were made in order from the lowest-ranked team of the 2011 season in both the Central League and Pacific League, the third round was reversed and selections were made from the top team, and the fourth round was reversed again, alternating with selections from the lowest-ranked team until all teams had finished selecting players. Since the season, the winner of the NPB All-Star Game has determined whether the Central League or the Pacific League gets wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Developmental Player System (Nippon Professional Baseball)
The is a system that allows players to be held for the purpose of training players separately from the 70 Registered players under control of each team created in the fall of at Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Summary This system was established in 2005 to create an environment in which amateur players can newly play in the situation where company-owned amateur baseball teams were being abolished one after another. A is a player who aims to improve baseball skill training and manner training in order to aim for registered players under control, that is eligible to participate in NPB's first league official game (Central League, Pacific League, Interleague play (NPB)). (Regulations for NPB Developmental players, Article 2) A developmental players include players drafted as rookies (e.g. Yusuke Kosai and Michitaka Nishiyama, drafted developmental player who were first signed as a registered player under control in .), foreign players signed as developmental players (e.g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pinch Runner
In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted. Occasionally a pinch runner is inserted for other reasons (such as a double switch, ejection, or if the original player on base has become injured, such as having been hit by a pitch). A pinch runner is not credited with a game played for the purpose of consecutive game streaks, per Rule 10.24(c) of baseball's Official Rules. For example, in May 1984, Alfredo Griffin of the Toronto Blue Jays scored the winning run in a game, yet his consecutive game streak ended as he appeared only as a pinch runner. As with other substitutions in baseball, when a player is pinch run for, that player is removed from the game. The pinch runner may remain in the game or be substituted for at the manager's discretion. Earlier in baseball hist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pinch Hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football or ice hockey, and in a similar way to association football, baseball does not have a "free substitution rule" (at the professional level) and thus the replaced player is not allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinch hitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter (often the pitcher) or to gain a Platoon system, platoon advantage. The player chosen to be a pinch hitter is often a backup infielder or outfielder whose defensive skills are limited. In Major League Baseball (MLB), catchers are less likely to be called upon to pinch-hit, because most teams have only two catchers. Pitchers are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |