An in-depth look at the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Jingu Stadium, the Central League, and Japanese Pro Baseball
The regular season ended on Monday when Tokyo came from behind to beat Yomiuri, and the Swallows’ resulting 71-72-1 record earned them praise for a modest improvement over last year and the team’s first ever advancement to the Climax Series. The team’s solid play at the end of 2009 was a refreshing bookend to a [...]
Well, it’s been a rough start to the second half of the season, folks. The birds have only won four of their 12 games that they’ve played since the All-Star Break in late July. The Tokyo Swallows are now 7.5 games behind the first place Giants. A lot of things aren’t clicking at the moment: [...]
A common conundrum encountered by enthusiasts of NPB is that of the sac bunt. It happens all the time, especially in the Central League where there’s no designated hitter (DH). And because of the absence of a DH, the pitcher often has to hit. You can occasionally find guys that know how to swing a [...]
