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".
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 Chinese former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Oh's playing career spanned across four decades,during which he played for only the Yomiuri Giants. He holds the world career home run record at 868,over 100 more than MLB record holder Barry Bonds.
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 in Tokyo,the other being the Yomiuri Giants. They have won nine Central League championships and six Japan Series championships. Since 1964,they have played their home games at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
Matthew Henry Murton is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs,Oakland Athletics,and Colorado Rockies. Murton also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers.
Randall Jerome Messenger,nicknamed "Big Mess",is an American former professional baseball pitcher,best known for his time with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. He is 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall and weighs 265 pounds (120 kg). He made his Major League debut on June 22,2005 for the Florida Marlins. Messenger graduated from Sparks High School in 1999.
The Curse of the Colonel is a 1985 Japanese urban legend. According to the legend,a sports curse was placed on the Japanese Hanshin Tigers baseball team by the ghost of the KFC founder and mascot Colonel Sanders.
Hiromitsu Ochiai is a Japanese former professional baseball manager and player. He is former manager of the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He is considered to be one of the most important players in the history of Japanese baseball,winning numerous batting awards and being the only player to receive the prestigious triple crown batting award three times. With 510 career home runs,Ochiai is sixth on the all-time NPB list. Ochiai's style is called Oreryu(オレ流). Oreryu means "to do with only my style." The word described how he acted according to his personal philosophies.
Takahiro Arai is a Japanese-Korean former professional baseball player. He is the manager of Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball from the 2023 season.
Suguru Egawa is a Japanese former pitcher and current baseball analyst. Despite being one of the best pitchers of his generation,Egawa's perceived arrogance and non-conformist ways earned him the media nicknames "Dirty Egawa," "The Giant Devil," and "The Enemy of the People." This was because Egawa was single minded for the team he wanted to play for,which was the Yomiuri Giants,and the way on how he decided to try and sign with them.
Hayato Sakamoto is a Japanese professional baseball shortstop with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Takashi Toritani is a Japanese former professional baseball player,baseball commentator,baseball critic,coach.
Tomoaki Kanemoto is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and manager. In his career as a player he spent 11 years with the Hiroshima Carp before moving to the Hanshin Tigers in 2003,where he spent another 10 years. He holds the world record for consecutive games played without missing an inning and consecutive innings.
Efrén Navarro is a Mexican-American professional baseball first baseman and left fielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs,and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. He also plays on the Mexico national baseball team.
Matthew Donald Hague is an American former professional baseball first baseman and current assistant hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. Between 2012 and 2016,he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays,and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. Prior to beginning his professional career,he played college baseball at the University of Washington and Oklahoma State. In early 2020,he joined the Blue Jays organization as a coach.
Mauro Alexis Gómez Acosta is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman.
Shogo Akiyama is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
American expatriate baseball players in Japan have been a feature of the Japanese professional leagues since 1934. American expatriate players began to steadily find spots on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) rosters in the 1960s. More than 600 Americans have played NPB,although very few last more than a single season in Japan.
Sheldon Lynn Neuse is an American professional baseball infielder for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics. He played college baseball for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Robert Alexander Suárez Subero is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Hanshin Tigers.
