Spring camp is officially under way!
- Spring camp started for the top team in Okinawa today. Here’s a list of the players that were invited. The Swallows’ Japanese website has a handy schedule that will give you a light peak into what’s ahead for the team.
- The top team camp has only four officially-scheduled days off, and camp concludes on February 28th.
- Aikawa was named just the third team captain since the turn of the century. Former star catcher and player-manager, Atsuya Furuta, and current third baseman, Shinya Miyamoto, were the two preceding captains.
- The farm team also started its spring training camp today. The team will practice in Tokyo until this Saturday. The fifth (Sunday) is a travel day, and camp resumes on Monday in Miyazaki Prefecture.
- Scroll down to the bottom of this article on the Tokyo Swallows’ Japanese site for some photos of the players and fans down in Okinawa. There are also a couple of photos of manager Ogawa and the team’s player rep, Takeuchi, at a shrine praying for a safe and productive spring camp and 2012 season.
- Here are a couple more photos featuring the manager and business-suited versions of Balentien and Barnette arriving at their spring training camp facility.
Former Tokyo player news:
- New Yokohama manager, Nakahata, had this to say about Alex Ramirez’s defense, “ラミレスは直線を走ったら速いんだよ。” (“Ramirez is quick when he’s running in a straight line.”)
- Josh Whitesell and Seth Greisinger were introduced to the media on Monday as two of the newest members of the Chiba Marines.
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