Source: Nikkan Sports Tigers infielder Kento Itohara, who is recovering from a broken hamate bone in his right hand, started playing catch at the team’s farm facility in Naruohama on August 4th, according to reports. The bone was broken in the July 22 game against the Hiroshima Carp (at Koshien), and he had surgery on…
Sources: Nikkan 1 / Nikkan 2 Right-handed reliever Koki Moriya (26) has slowed down his rehabilitation program recently. His right shoulder is not ready to ramp things up, and so he has been simply staying behind at Naruohama and working on his fitness. Moriya appeared in a farm game on July 28 (@ Hawks) but…
Source: Sanspo The Japan High School Baseball Federation held an online meeting on May 20 and determined that the summer tournament, scheduled to be held at Koshien Stadium from August 10, would be cancelled due to the spread of novel coronavirus. This is the third time in history that the tournament has been cancelled, and…
Source: Newspost Seven According to Tokyo Shoko Research, the sixth company to declare bankruptcy in direct correlation to the spread of COVID-19 in the Tokyo area was toymaker Marusa Saito Gom Co, Ltd (Sumida Ward), manufacturers of rubber balloons sold at convenience stores, supermarkets and large retailers. Not only has it become increasingly difficult to…
Sources: Daily / Sponichi / Daily Hanshin outfielder Hayata Itoh, who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 26, was released from hospital on April 5th, becoming the first of the three hospitalized Tigers to be discharged. He will spend an indefinite period in isolation in his home, and had this to say through the team:…
Source: Sponichi Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami underwent a PCR test for COVID-19 at an Osaka hospital on March 26, and it came back positive. He is the first NPB player to be diagnosed. In the days prior to his test, he complained of having lost his sense of smell, and went to several hospitals…
Sources: Sanspo / Nikkan All 12 NPB club presidents gathered in Tokyo with a team of experts and have agreed to make preparations to start the regular season on April 24. It was the fourth such gathering, and while the season was first rescheduled to begin on April 10, it has now been determined that…
Sources: Yahoo / Mainichi Nippon Professional Baseball brought representatives from all 12 teams together on the 9th in Tokyo, and have agreed to delay the start of the 2020 regular season, which was scheduled to start on March 20. When asked about when the season might start, league commissioner Atsushi Saitoh said, “We aim to…
Sources: Yahoo / Daily / Daily The Chiba Lotte Marines announced on March 10 that they have signed ex-Hanshin Tigers infielder Takashi Toritani (38) to a one-year deal for the 2020 season. He will earn an estimated ¥16 million ($150,000) and wear #00. Marines’ skipper Tadahito Iguchi had this to say about signing Toritani: “He…
Source: Yahoo / Sponichi Katsumi Hirosawa (KH), who was the team’s 81st ever #4 hitter, sat down to talk with new infielder Justin Bour (JB), who is primed to become the 105th #4 hitter in team history. They talked about the right-field winds at Koshien Stadium (a.k.a. hamakaze), making adjustments to Japanese baseball, home runs……