BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

Outfielder Yutaro Sugimoto (center, right) and other members of the Buffaloes move through a huge crowd of fans in Miyazaki on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 14, 2024
Buffaloes drawing record camp crowd amid recent run of success
The Pacific League club is also holding joint fundraising activities with the Zweigen Kanazawa soccer club to support quake-hit Ishikawa.
Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami takes a swing during batting practice earlier this month.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 11, 2024
Swallows' Murakami aims for second Triple Crown and team rebound
The young slugger struggled last year and the Swallows followed suit by sinking to fifth place in the Central League.
The Marines' Roki Sasaki pitches in the bullpen during spring camp in Okinawa on Thursday.
Roki Sasaki gets back to business after weeks of speculation about future
After weeks of rampant rumors, the "Monster of the Reiwa Era" is back to the business of baseball, and the MLB questions are back on the shelf for now.
Marines ace Roki Sasaki speaks during a news conference in Chiba on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 27, 2024
Marines and ace Sasaki deny discord over MLB ambitions
The 22-year-old agreed to terms Friday on his contract with Lotte for the upcoming season, just six days before the start of spring training.
Hawks pitcher Carter Stewart Jr., the eighth overall pick in the MLB draft in 2018, is preparing for his sixth season in Japan.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 26, 2024
Hawks pitcher Carter Stewart Jr. reflects on unique journey in Japan
Carter Stewart Jr. appears poised for a breakthrough ahead of his sixth NPB season.
Motonobu Tanishige (left) and Hiroki Kuroda after being elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 18, 2024
Former pitcher Hiroki Kuroda elected to Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Kuroda was voted into the Hall of Fame alongside former catcher Motonobu Tanishige and former umpire Tomoichi Tanimura.
Former Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto waves during a news conference in Osaka on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 30, 2023
Yamamoto ready for fresh start with Dodgers
Yamamoto has dominated the Pacific League over the past three seasons to a degree few others have ever approached.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world