| Commissioner of Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Inaugural holder | Morita Fukui |
| Formation | 1951 |
The Commissioner of Baseball is the highest office in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). NPB's current commissioner is Sadayuki Sakakibara.
| Commissioner of Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Inaugural holder | Morita Fukui |
| Formation | 1951 |
The Commissioner of Baseball is the highest office in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). NPB's current commissioner is Sadayuki Sakakibara.
Matsutarō Shōriki, media mogul and owner of the Yomiuri Giants, was instrumental in the formation of NPB in 1949–1950, and acted unofficially as the league's first commissioner in 1950.
Ichiro Yoshikuni has been the longest-serving commissioner, in office from 1989–1998.
In September 2013, three-term Commissioner Ryozo Kato was forced to resign when it was revealed that the baseballs used during the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season were "juiced" in secret, though Kato claimed to not know about the change. The livelier ball resulted in a marked increase in home runs league-wide, including Tokyo Yakult Swallows outfielder Wladimir Balentien breaking the cherished NPB single-season home run record of 55, [1] previously held by professional baseball's all-time home run leader Sadaharu Oh. [2]
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 simply Professional Baseball; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball."
The Yomiuri Giants are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They have played their home games in the Tokyo Dome since its opening in 1988. The team's owner is Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerate which also owns two newspapers and the Nippon Television Network.
Sadaharu Oh, also known as Wang Chen-chih, is a Japanese-born former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Oh spent his four-decade long playing career entirely with the Yomiuri Giants. He holds the world career home run record at 868, nearly 100 more than MLB record holder Barry Bonds.
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.
The Central League or Ce League is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country. Unlike the Pacific League, designated hitters are not used during Central League home games.
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.
The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadium, and later in Osaka Dome.
The Meikyukai is one of the two baseball halls of fame in Japan, the other being the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. The Meikyukai is a limited company for public benefit.
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.
Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s, but it was not until the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club was established in 1934 that the modern professional game had continued success.
Daryl Dean Spencer was an American professional baseball player and infielder who played shortstop, second base and third base in Major League Baseball between 1952 and 1963 for the New York / San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds. He played for the Hankyu Braves of Nippon Professional Baseball between 1964 and 1972. On April 15, 1958, he hit the first home run in San Francisco Giants' history in an 8–0 victory over the Dodgers. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Ryozo Kato is a Japanese lawyer and career diplomat who served as the Japanese Ambassador to the United States from 2001 to 2008. He also served as the Commissioner of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Koji Akiyama is a retired Japanese professional baseball player. He played for the Seibu Lions and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is an annual Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) award given to two outstanding players, one each for the Central League (CL) and Pacific League (PL).
Hiromori Kawashima was a Japanese police officer and executive who served as the Commissioner of Baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1998 to 2004. He is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ichiro Yoshikuni was a Japanese baseball executive. He served as the Commissioner of Baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1989 to 1998. The longest-serving NPB commissioner, he is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 64th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
The 2013 Tokyo Yakult Swallows season is the 63rd season of the franchise of Nippon Professional Baseball, their 50th season at Meiji Jingu Stadium, and their 49th under Yakult Honsha. This season was notable because outfielder Wladimir Balentien broke Sadaharu Oh's single season home-run record, hitting 60 home runs. Balentien also broke the All-Asian single season record set by former Samsung Lions first baseman Lee Seung-yuop, both in the same game by hitting his 56th and 57th home runs in a game against the Hanshin Tigers. This was also the Swallows' 4th season under manager Junji Ogawa, and the last one of his first stint as manager.