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".
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.
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).
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Takahiro Norimoto is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Ryosuke Kikuchi is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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