The Yokohama DeNA BayStars are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current name in 2011, when the club was purchased by software company DeNA.
Joseph Diego Gerut is an American former professional baseball center fielder who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Initially drafted by the Colorado Rockies, he played for several teams between 2003 and 2010.
Thomas Marian Paciorek is an American former outfielder and first baseman who spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1970–1975), Atlanta Braves (1976–1978), Seattle Mariners (1978–1981), Chicago White Sox (1982–1985), New York Mets (1985) and Texas Rangers (1986–1987). He appeared twice in the postseason, with the National League (NL) champion Dodgers in 1974 and the American League (AL) West-winning White Sox in 1983.
Kevin Ford Mench is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played eight years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Texas Rangers (2002–2006), Milwaukee Brewers (2006–2007), Toronto Blue Jays (2008) and Washington Nationals (2010). He also spent a season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Hanshin Tigers in 2009. He is most noted for having had the largest cap size in the majors when he was an active player, a feature that earned him the nickname Shrek.
Matthew Henry Murton 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.
Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during his career.
Terrmel Sledge is an American former professional baseball outfielder and the former assistant hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Yokohama BayStars. Prior to being hired by the Cubs, he was the hitting coach for the Tulsa Drillers in the Texas League.
Takashi Saito is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher who is currently the chief pitching coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Mark Edward Smith is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, and Milwaukee Brewers. Smith also played for the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League.
Kosuke Fukudome is a retired Japanese professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 2008 to 2012, primarily with the Chicago Cubs and had a long spanning career in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers.
Daniel James Walton was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Walton attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School, and was selected in the 10th round of the 1965 MLB draft by the Houston Astros. He played for the Houston Astros, Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–71), New York Yankees (1971), Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers (1976), Yokohama Taiyo Whales (1978), and Texas Rangers (1980). During a nine-year major league baseball career, he hit .223, with 28 home runs, and 107 runs batted in (RBI) in 297 career games.
Michael Ken-Wai Lum is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. Lum became the first American of Japanese ancestry to play in MLB. He currently serves as the hitting coach with the GCL Pirates.
Joe Donald Stanka was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher from Hammon, Oklahoma played for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (1959), and the Nankai Hawks and Taiyo Whales in the Japanese professional leagues (1960–66). He stood 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall and weighed 201 pounds (91 kg).
Thomas Patrick O'Malley is an American former Major League Baseball player born in Orange, New Jersey, and raised in Montoursville, Pennsylvania in the United States. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, and New York Mets. He also spent six highly successful seasons in the Japanese Central League with the Hanshin Tigers and Yakult Swallows. He also worked as a manager for the Newark Bears in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball after retiring.
Christopher Charles Dickerson is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians between 2008 and 2014.
James David Adduci is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. He attended Southern Illinois University, where he played college baseball. He is the father of former MLB player Jim Adduci.
Alexander Crawford Presley is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, and Detroit Tigers from 2010 to 2017.
Douglas Edward Loman is an American retired professional baseball player whose career spanned nine seasons, two of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Milwaukee Brewers. Loman began his professional career in 1978 with the Class-A Burlington Bees in Milwaukee's minor league organization. He made his MLB debut on September 3, 1984. Over his two-year major league career, Loman, an outfielder, batted .246 with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 19 runs batted in (RBIs) in 47 games played. After playing in North America for his first eight seasons, Loman went to Japan to play in their professional baseball league. During his playing career, Loman was listed at a height of 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and a weight of 185 pounds (84 kg). He batted and threw left-handed. He graduated from Bakersfield High School.
Michael Krsnich was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Milwaukee Braves during the 1960 and 1962 seasons. Listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. His older brother, Rocky Krsnich, also played in the majors from 1949 to 1953.
American expatriate baseball players in Japan have been a feature of the Japanese professional leagues since 1934. American expatriate players began to steadily find spots on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) rosters in the 1960s. More than 600 Americans have played NPB, although very few last more than a single season in Japan.
