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 Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation of the "Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club" in Tokyo, founded in 1934, and the original circuit for the sport in the Empire two years later – Japanese Baseball League (1936–1949), and continued to play even through the final years of World War II.
The Yomiuri Giants are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened 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.
Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez is a Venezuelan-born Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who had a long career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is the first foreign-born player to record 2,000 hits while playing in NPB. Before playing in Japan, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1998–2000) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2000). He batted and threw right-handed.
Roberto "Bobby" Marcano Cherubini was a Venezuelan professional baseball player who made a name for himself playing in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and for Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Scott William Mathieson is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants.
The posting system is a baseball player transfer system that operates between Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Despite the drafting of the United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, unveiled in 1967 to regulate NPB players moving to MLB, problems began to arise in the late 1990s. Some NPB teams lost star players without compensation, an issue highlighted when NPB stars Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano left to play in MLB after using loopholes to void their existing contracts. A further problem was that NPB players had very little negotiating power if their teams decided to deal them to MLB, as when pitcher Hideki Irabu was traded to an MLB team for which he had no desire to play. In 1998, the Agreement was rewritten to address both problems; the result was dubbed the "posting system".
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 fanbase, 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.
The MLB Japan All-Star Series is an irregularly 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).
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.
Leon Lee is a former professional baseball player and manager, primarily known for his career in Japan. He played first base, third base, and catcher during his career, batting and throwing right-handed. Lee had a ten-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). At the conclusion of his playing career, he was considered one of the greatest foreign players to have played in the NPB. Later, he became the first African-American manager in Japanese baseball history.
Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Brandon Lee Dickson is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes.
Yusei Kikuchi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kikuchi formerly played for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League.
Matthew Terry Clark is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Bravos de León of the Mexican League. He has played for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chunichi Dragons and Orix Buffaloes (NPB). Prior to beginning his professional career, he played college baseball at UC Santa Barbara and Louisiana State University. Clark has also competed for the United States national baseball team. He plays on the 2019 Mexico national baseball team.
Shogo Akiyama is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Nicholas Andres Martinez is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
The 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 71st season of professional baseball in Japan since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There were 12 NPB teams, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League.
Cristopher Crisostomo Mercedes is a Dominican professional baseball starting pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in 2011. Mercedes is listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 180 pounds (82 kg) and bats and throws left handed.
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