MLB Japan All-Star Series

Last updated

MLB Japan All-Star Series
日米野球
MLB Japan All-Star Series Logo.png
FrequencyIrregularly
Location(s)Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Inaugurated 1986
Most recent 2018
Participants Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg MLB All-Stars
Flag of Japan.svg NPB All-Stars (1986–2006)
Flag of Japan.svg Samurai Japan (2014– )
Organised by Major League Baseball
Nippon Professional Baseball
Japan national baseball team

The MLB Japan All-Star Series is an irregular end-of-the-season tour of Japan made by an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1986, contested in a best-of format against the All-Stars from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or recently as of 2014 their national team Samurai Japan (SJP).

Contents

The series has featured many great players, such as Nori Aoki, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki, Shinnosuke Abe, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, Justin Morneau, David Wright, Jose Reyes, José Altuve, Robinson Canó and Manny Ramírez.

In the beginning of all games the American, Canadian and Japanese national anthems are all played. Games can end in a tie if it persists through 12 innings, just as in NPB rules.

List of series

MLB vs. NPB (1986–2006)

YearFormatMLB All-Stars WonNPB All-Stars Won
(1986–98 as All-Japan)
TiedMost Valuable Player
1986 Best-of-76 Games1 Game0 Games Tony Peña (MLB)
1988 Best-of-73 Games2 Games2 Games Barry Larkin (MLB)
1990 Best-of-83 Games4 Games1 Game Ken Griffey Jr. (MLB)
1992 Best-of-86 Games1 Game1 Game Mark Grace (MLB)
1994Cancelled (due to the MLB players strike)
1996 Best-of-84 Games2 Games2 Games Steve Finley (MLB)
1998 Best-of-86 Games2 Games0 Games Sammy Sosa (MLB)
2000 Best-of-85 Games2 Games1 Game Barry Bonds (MLB)
2002 Best-of-85 Games3 Games0 Games Torii Hunter (MLB)
2004 Best-of-85 Games3 Games0 Games Vernon Wells (MLB)
2006 Best-of-55 Games0 Games0 Games Ryan Howard (MLB)
TotalMLB 9–1 NPB48 Games20 Games7 GamesMLB 10–0 NPB

MLB vs. SJP (2014, 2018)

The Japan All-Star Series was resumed in 2014 after an eight-year break. [1] It was the outcome of discussions and attempts to realize the Global World Series. Katsuhiko Kumazaki, then the new Commissioner of NPB, decided to field the national team Samurai Japan, instead of a NPB All-Star line-up, for the 2014 series. Kumazaki saw in this series a big opportunity for the Japanese team to gain hugely useful experience for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Samurai Japan won the best-of-five series by a margin of three games to two. Particularly noteworthy was a combined no-hitter by Samurai Japan in Game 3 as their pitchers shut out the MLB All-Stars 4–0. [2]

On May 1, 2018, MLB announced that it would send again an All-Star team to tour Japan after the end of current season, with six games scheduled against the Japan national team from November 9 to 15. [3]

YearFormatMLB All-Stars WonSamurai Japan WonTiedMost Valuable Player
2014 Best-of-52 Games3 Games0 Games Yuki Yanagita (SJP)
2018 Best-of-61 Game5 Games0 Games
TotalMLB 0–2 SJP3 Games8 Games0 GamesMLB 0–1 SJP

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nippon Professional Baseball</span> Baseball league representing the highest level of professional baseball in Japan

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and 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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Castillo (infielder)</span> Venezuelan baseball player (1981–2018)

José Castillo Rondón was a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, and Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chiba Lotte Marines and Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was killed in a car crash in 2018 in Venezuela, caused by bandits in an attempted robbery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José López (infielder)</span> Venezuelan baseball player (born 1983)

José Celestino López Echevarria is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. López played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox and for the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Baseball League</span> North American independent baseball league

The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koji Uehara</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1975)

Koji Uehara is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takashi Saito</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1970)

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baseball in Japan</span>

Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872 and is Japan's most popular participatory and spectator sport. The first professional competitions emerged in the 1920s. The highest level of baseball in Japan is Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League, with six teams in each league. High school baseball enjoys a particularly strong public profile and fan base, much like college football and college basketball in the United States; the Japanese High School Baseball Championship, which takes place each August, is nationally televised and includes regional champions from each of Japan's 47 prefectures.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinnosuke Abe</span> Japanese baseball player

Shinnosuke Abe is a Japanese former professional baseball player and current manager, who spent his entire 19-year career with Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants, serving as the team's captain from 2007 to 2014. He has twice been named the MVP of the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Series, in 2007 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Jungmann</span> American baseball player (born 1989)

Taylor Heath Jungmann is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Prior to playing professionally, Jungmann played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns, where he was a consensus All-American and won the Dick Howser Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shohei Ohtani</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1994)

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Because of his elite contributions as a hitter and as a pitcher, a rarity as a two-way player, Ohtani's 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons are considered among the greatest in baseball history, with some comparing them favorably to the early career of Babe Ruth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazuhisa Makita</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1984)

Kazuhisa Makita is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, and current the third squad pitching coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takahiro Norimoto</span> Japanese baseball player

Takahiro Norimoto is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryosuke Kikuchi</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1990)

Ryosuke Kikuchi is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshi Tsutsugo</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1991)

Yoshitomo "Yoshi" Tsutsugo is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the youngest player in BayStars franchise history to reach 100, 150, and 200 home runs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kodai Senga</span> Japanese baseball player (born 1993)

Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in 2012 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until 2022. He is a three-time NPB All-Star and a one-time MLB All-Star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series</span> Baseball championship series

The 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the eleventh edition of the MLB Japan All-Star Series, a best-of-five series between the All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) and, for the first time in series history, the national team Samurai Japan. The then-new Commissioner of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) saw in this championship a big opportunity for their Japanese team to gain hugely useful experience for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series</span> Baseball championship series

The 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the twelfth edition of the MLB Japan All-Star Series, a best-of-six series between an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the second time in series history, the Japanese national team, Samurai Japan won. The manager of Samurai Japan saw in this championship a big opportunity for Japan to gain momentum for the 2020 Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Meneses</span> Mexican baseball player (born 1992)

Joey Meneses Ramírez is a Mexican professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes. He was the 2018 International League MVP.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) are the highest levels of baseball in the United States and Japan, respectively. MLB started in 1876, while NPB was not formed until 1950, following reorganization of the Japanese Baseball League, which had been in existence since 1936. Though ostensibly the same game, baseball, is played in both MLB and NPB there are a number of differences between the game in the two organizations.

References

  1. "US-Japan Baseball 2014 Schedule (in japanese)". Sponichi.co.jp. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  2. Joey Nowak (November 15, 2014). "Perfect Norimoto leads combined no-no vs. MLB". MLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. "Major League Baseball returns to Japan in 2018 and 2019". MLB.com. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.