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 tea ...
team in the
Baseball Challenge League
The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "."
League structure
The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams ...
of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The team was established in 2007. Their home is
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
. Former
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), ...
star
Julio Franco
Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)Franco's birth date is in question. Many of his early bios and cards have his birthday listed in 1954, and on the roster of the Quintana Roo Tigres, his birthday is listed in 1961. is a Dominica ...
was the team's
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', February 9, 2015. The team is also notable for having female
knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
pitcher
Eri Yoshida
is a Japanese professional baseball player. She plays as a sidearm knuckleball pitcher. In 2008, at the age of 16, she became the first woman drafted by a Japanese men's professional baseball team.Kensuke Uchimura
is a Japanese baseball infielder. He previously played for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan's Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the lea ...
led the BC League in steals in 2007, which led to him being drafted by
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 ...
's
Rakuten Golden Eagles
The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...
, In 2008, he became the first player to reach NPB after playing in the BC League.
Former
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 ...
(NPB) player
Kazuaki Minami
Kazuaki Minami (born August 27, 1981) is a Japanese former pitcher.
He was born in Hyōgo, Japan. Prior to playing professionally, he attended Shinko Gakuen High School and then Fukui Kogyo University.
Minami made two relief appearances for t ...
pitched for the Million Stars in 2008, leading to a tryout with the
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 ...
. (Minami did not end up playing for the Marines.)
In 2009, former NPB pitcher
Shinji Mori
Shinji Mori ( ja, 森 慎二, September 12, 1974 – June 28, 2017) was a right-handed pitcher in professional baseball.
Career
From -, he played for the Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball. After the 2005 season, he was acquired by the ...
joined the Million Stars as a pitcher-coach. Retiring from playing, he took over as full-time manager in 2010, staying through the 2014 season. He returned to active duty as a player in 2013, and was the Million Stars'
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
in 2013–2014.
Pitcher
Kazuaki Minami
Kazuaki Minami (born August 27, 1981) is a Japanese former pitcher.
He was born in Hyōgo, Japan. Prior to playing professionally, he attended Shinko Gakuen High School and then Fukui Kogyo University.
Minami made two relief appearances for t ...
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
''Hawaii Tribune-Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Hilo, Hawaii. It is owned and published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.
History
The ''Hilo Tribune'' began publication on November 23, 1895, and changed its name to ...
'' (June 3, 2013). Former
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
/
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
player Chris Carter also played for the team in 2013. In 2013, the Million Stars were one of two Baseball Challenge League teams to play
interleague
Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...
games against the two
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
-based teams of the shirt-lived
Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs
The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was an independent baseball league based in Northern California. The league was founded in 2013 by four former North American League teams.
History
During the initial season, two Hawaii- ...
.
Masao Kida
is a Japanese former baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from -, and -. He is currently the manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters farm team in Nippon Professional Baseball's Eastern League.
Biography
Kida was drafted in ...
, who also played MLB and NPB, pitched for the Million Stars in 2013–2014. The team held a retirement ceremony for Kida on September 14, 2014. He struck out the side, and his uniform number 12 was retired by the team.
Former players
In addition to player-manager
Julio Franco
Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)Franco's birth date is in question. Many of his early bios and cards have his birthday listed in 1954, and on the roster of the Quintana Roo Tigres, his birthday is listed in 1961. is a Dominica ...
, the team's pitching staff has included pitcher-coach
Kazuhito Tadano
is a Japanese former baseball pitcher. He had previously pitched in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians. He is currently the Pitching Coach for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters farm team in Nippon Professional Baseball's Eastern Lea ...
, who previously played both
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), ...
and
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 ...
. Female
knuckleballer
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
Eri Yoshida
is a Japanese professional baseball player. She plays as a sidearm knuckleball pitcher. In 2008, at the age of 16, she became the first woman drafted by a Japanese men's professional baseball team.