The following is a list of Nippon Professional Baseball players with the last name starting with K, retired or active.
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two opposing teams, of nine players each, that take turns batting and fielding. The game proceeds when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball which a player on the batting team tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate. The team that scores the most runs by the end of the game is the winner.
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.
In baseball or softball, a strikeout occurs when a batter accrues three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denoted by K in scorekeeping and statistics. A "strikeout looking" — in which the batter does not swing and the third strike is called by the umpire — is usually denoted by a ꓘ.
John Martin Kruk is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from 1986 through 1995. During his career, he was a three-time MLB All-Star. After retiring as a player, Kruk became a baseball analyst for ESPN. He is now a color commentator for Phillies' games on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Charles Herbert Klein, nicknamed the "Hoosier Hammer", was an American professional baseball outfielder. Klein played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs (1934–1936), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1939).
MVP Baseball was a baseball game series published by EA Sports, running from 2003 to 2007 with five games produced. In 2003, MVP became the official successor to EA's long-running Triple Play Baseball series, and it simulated Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2005. However, an exclusive licensing deal between Major League Baseball and Take-Two Interactive in 2005 prohibited EA Sports from making another MLB game until 2012. In response, EA made NCAA college baseball games in 2006 and 2007, but discontinued the series in 2008 because of poor sales.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 strikeout club is the group of 19 pitchers who have struck out 3,000 or more batters in their careers. Walter Johnson became the first member in 1923, and was the only one until Bob Gibson joined in 1974. The most recent addition is Max Scherzer, who joined on September 12, 2021. The group includes three left-handed pitchers: CC Sabathia, Steve Carlton, and Randy Johnson. Johnson reached the mark with the fewest games pitched and innings pitched.
Gary F. Thorne is an American sportscaster who is a fill-in television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets on SportsNet New York since 2021. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for Baltimore Orioles games on MASN from 2007 to 2020. He has also worked for ESPN and ABC, including National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, college football, and the Frozen Four hockey tournament. He also works for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he is the narrator for the WrestleMania Rewind program on its WWE Network streaming video service.
Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. is an American sportscaster for Turner Sports. Johnson is currently the television voice and a studio host for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts Inside the NBA for TNT, and NBA TV and contributes to the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament for Turner and CBS Sports. His father was Ernie Johnson Sr., a Major League Baseball pitcher and Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer.
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate from early June to early August. In contrast to college baseball, which allow aluminum or other composite baseball bats, players in these leagues use only wooden bats, hence the common nickname of these leagues as "wood-bat leagues". Collegiate summer leagues allow college baseball players the ability to compete using professional rules and equipment, giving them experience and allowing professional scouts the opportunity to observe players under such conditions.
Rawlings Sporting Goods is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Town and Country, Missouri. Founded in 1887, Rawlings currently specializes in baseball clothing and equipment, producing gloves, bats, balls, protective gear, batting helmets, uniforms, bags. Footwear includes sneakers, and sandals. The company also sells other accessories such as belts, wallets, and sunglasses.
Karl Ravech is an American journalist who works as the primary Baseball Tonight host for ESPN.
In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched is the mean of strikeouts by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the number of innings pitched. To qualify, a pitcher must have pitched 1,000 innings, which generally limits the list to starters. A separate list is maintained for relievers with 300 innings pitched or 200 appearances.
ESPN Major League Baseball is a presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2028. In 2014, ESPN returned to broadcasting the Major League Baseball postseason. ESPN has exclusive rights to the wild card round starting in 2022.
The 2008 Boston Red Sox season was the 108th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished in second place in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses, two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card, and defeated the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS. The Red Sox then lost to the Rays in the ALCS in seven games.
The 2000 Cleveland Indians season was the 100th season for the franchise, within the American Major League Baseball organization. For the season two new Players were signed; Chris Coste and Mark Whiten. The results of the season consisted of 90 wins and 72 losses.
Iowa State Cyclones baseball was the intercollegiate baseball program at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The program existed from 1892 to 2001. Due to budget cuts, Iowa State athletic director Bruce Van De Velde announced the end of the baseball program on April 2, 2001. Iowa State's last game was a 17–4 loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament on May 18, 2001.