Nippon Ham Fighters will spend part of Spring Training in Arizona

The Nippon Ham Fighters will spend a part of the 2016 Spring Training at the Peoria sports complex, used by the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners.

BTW, don’t misuse their name, like I did. It is not Nippon HamFighters but Nippon Ham (as name of the company) Fighters, former club of Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish.

Normally all Japanese teams have Spring Training at Okinawa, but according to club president Kenso Takeda, a different environment will will act as a stimulus that will strengthen the team.

The current spring training facility in Nago is a little bit run down. The club has asked for an upgrade / renovation, but so far in vain. To get away from the old facility, the club will spend time in Peoria AZ from February 1st until the middle of the month.

It is not the first time that an NPB club spends time abroad during spring training. The Fighters spent time overseas in 1987. The last team to have spring training overseas was the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2007, when they headed to Australia.

The Peoria Sports Complex looks like a nice facility