Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球), meaning Professional Baseball. Outside of Japan, it is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
Sadaharu Oh, also known as Wang Chen-chih, is a Japanese-born former baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball. Oh holds the world lifetime home run record, having hit 868 home runs during his professional career. He established many NPB batting records, including runs batted in (RBI) (2,170), slugging percentage (.634), bases on balls (2,390), and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) (1.080). In 1977, Oh became the first recipient of the People's Honour Award. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 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. Founded on February 22, 1938 as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai team to play in Osaka proper, the team went through a few name changes before settling on Nankai Hawks in 1947, eventually changing ownership in 1988 and moving to Fukuoka in 1989. The team subsequently became known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks until 2005, when they were purchased by SoftBank Group, becoming the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Since 1993, the Hawks have played at the Fukuoka PayPay Dome, which has gone under several name changes and seats 40,000 people.
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 9 Central League championships and 6 Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they play their games at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
Alexander Alberto Cabrera is a Venezuelan first baseman and right-handed batter who played in 2000 for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball and for 12 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. He also played several seasons in the LVBP in his native Venezuela.
Karl Derrick "Tuffy" Rhodes is a retired American professional baseball player. He played six years in Major League Baseball in the US, and thirteen years in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. Rhodes is the all-time NPB home run leader among foreign-born players, and he is 13th overall with 464 home runs in Japan. He hit 55 home runs in 2001, tying the NPB single-season mark set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964.
James Robert Horner is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman and first baseman from 1978 to 1988, most prominently as a member of the Atlanta Braves where he was named the 1978 National League (NL) Rookie of the Year and was a member of the 1982 National League All-Star team.
Lastings Darnell Milledge is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox and then in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Yakult Swallows. He was the youngest player in MLB's National League during his rookie season in 2006.
Lee Seung-yuop is a retired baseball player and the current manager of the Doosan Bears. He spent most of his career with the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. At the age of 26, he became the youngest professional baseball player in the world to hit 300 home runs. He formerly held the Asian home run record of 56 homers in a season, established in 2003 while playing for Samsung in the KBO. The record was broken by Wladimir Balentien of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, on September 15, 2013, when he hit his 56th and 57th Home Runs of the season against the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. He holds the KBO records for career home runs, runs scored, RBIs, total bases, and slugging percentage. Combined, across the KBO and NPB, Lee has also recorded more hits than any other native-born South Korean player.
Wladimir Ramon Balentien, nicknamed "Coco", is a Curaçaoan-Dutch professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Dae-ho Lee is a former South Korean professional baseball player who played as a first baseman. During his career, he played for the Lotte Giants of the KBO League, Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Joshua S. Whitesell is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Chiba Lotte Marines.
The Commissioner of Baseball is the highest office in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). NPB's current commissioner is Sadayuki Sakakibara.
The 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 64th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
Tetsuto Yamada is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Yamada made his NPB debut in 2012 with Yakult. He has won the Central League MVP award, has received the Best Nine Award six times, has been selected to six NPB All-Star Series appearances, and has a Japan Series championship. He has led the Central League in stolen bases three times and home runs once, hitting 30 home runs and stealing 30 bases in a single season on four occasions. In 2014 he broke the single season record for most hits by a Japanese right-hander in the NPB, and in 2015 became the first player in NPB history to lead his league in home runs and stolen bases in the same season. He has been compared to Mike Trout for his combination of power and speed.
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.
The 2015 Japan Series was the 66th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, champions of the Pacific League, played the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, champions of the Central League. The Hawks were the defending Japan Series champions, having beaten the Hanshin Tigers in 2014. The series was sponsored by the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and was officially known as the SMBC Nippon Series 2015.
Munetaka Murakami is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
The 2021 Japan Series was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's 2021 season. The 72nd edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the Orix Buffaloes and Tokyo Yakult Swallows, the winners of the Pacific and Central League's Climax Series, respectively. Both teams were the winners of their respective league's regular season championship.
The 2022 Japan Series was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's 2022 season. The 73rd edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the winning teams of the Pacific League and Central League's Climax Series. The series began on October 22 and ended on October 30.
