An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
Christopher is a budding sabermetrician and long-time supporter of Tokyo's more lovable team, the Swallows. He has publicly volunteered, several times, that he plans to buy the team at some point in the future. When he finally runs the joint, it is likely that he will fine any player who swings at the first pitch or sac bunts (unless it's a pitcher, of course). Follow him on Twitter: @chrispellegrini
We posted a poll on the 25th asking you some general questions about the state of affairs with the team. Aoki’s gone, and there are some question marks hanging over the team as spring camp gets under way down in Urasoe, Okinawa. We here at Tsubamegun tend to see these question marks as opportunities, and [...]
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. [...]
While reading all the off-season and spring training news that can be found about NPB and MLB, I came across some tidbits on former Tokyo center fielder, Norichika Aoki. A tracking poll conducted last week over at Brew Crew Ball found that 94% of respondents were in favor of the contract that Aoki signed with [...]
Chunichi Dragons Sold backup catcher, Keiji Oyama (31) to Tohoku. 2011 was Oyama’s best season so far, offensively-speaking. He hit .280/.394/.390 in 102 plate appearances. It sounds like Araki and Ibata could be reverting to their old positions, second and short, respectively. Victor Diaz is all but certain to be wearing a Chunichi uniform this [...]
The team reported that it would likely use the US$2.5 million dollars if received from the Milwaukee Brewers to help improve the farm team facilities. It was not reported whether all or part of the posting fee would be put towards stadium improvements. There is also a rumor flying around that Hatakeyama has requested a [...]
Video: Balentien taking BP during the 2011 spring camp. The following players were invited to the first team spring training camp in Okinawa: Pitchers (21 players) Yoshinori, Chang-yong Lim, Yuya Ota (rookie), Kyohei Muranaka, Ryohei Kiya (rookie), Masanori Ishikawa, Tetsuya Yamamoto, Kenichi Matsuoka, Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi, Shohei Tateyama, Tony Barnette, Masato Furuno (rookie), Yasuhiro Ichiba, Ryo [...]
**The poll is now closed. Click here to see the results of the vote. Here’s a poll to keep your mind off of what you should actually be doing at work. You will be asked for your opinions on topics such as who should get the most starts at third, and whether or not the [...]
I’ve noticed it before, but lord it’s out of control right now. Reporters, announcers, newscaster, whatever you want to call them, are dropping like flies. For whatever reason they’re marrying baseball players. Here’s a list of recent developments: January – Anri Mitsube (NHK newscaster) and Kan Otake (Hiroshima); Saho Narushima (freelance reporter) and Kenta Maeda (Hiroshima) [...]
A lot has happened since we last offered up our insights on what’s happening with your Tokyo Swallows. Some of the major goings-on include: Norichika Aoki has joined the Milwaukee Brewers Lastings Milledge was snagged as a free agent before signing with another major league club Orlando Roman was lured away from the Brother Elephants [...]
On this day in 1980, Masanori Ishikawa was born in Akita Prefecture. He joined the Tokyo Swallows at the end of 2001 when he was selected in the first round by the Japan Series champion Tokyo Swallows. There was no delay in his introduction to top team baseball, and he quickly found himself a weekly [...]
