Today, the World Baseball and Softball Confederation unveiled the new World Ranking. The top three did not change much. Japan and Chinese Taipei are still firm in first and second place, but Korea was overtaken by the USA for rank #3. Of the European countries, the Netherlands remains the strongest. As a matter of fact, …
Oosterhout Twins Adds Japanese Pitcher
Like previous years, Dutch hoofdklasse club Oosterhout Twins has added a pitcher from Japan. Just like last year, the hurler is coming from partner club Ibaraki Astro Planets. Almost a year ago, Oosterhout Twins and the Ibaraki Astro Planets signed an agreement on exchanging players. Last year, two pitchers of the club from the Baseball …
Hanshin Tigers And Yomiuri Giants go Back in Time
Turn back the clock jerseys... Something that happens quite a lot in MLB. In Japan, it is not that common. But during the coming season, the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants will wear jerseys based on those from 1936 in six games. Three of those games will be played at the famed Koshien Stadium …
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Wladimir Balentien Calls it Quits
Curaçao-born baseball player Wladimir Balentien has announced his retirement. Last year, you could read here that Balentien already hinted at his retirement. Now the word is out. Always known as a hitter with a powerful bat, Balentien broke into the Majors in 2007 with the Seattle Mariners. In that season, he played only three games …
2021 Nippon Series: Yakult Swallows Win First Japanese Title in Twenty Years
Another championship for Tokyo. But not the Giants. No, this time the other team from the Japanese capital is the best of Japan. At a cold Hotto Motto Field in Kobe, the Yakult Swallows on game six of the Nippon Series, clinching their first championship since 2001. In another close game, both teams were kept …
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Yakult Swallows One Win Away From Clinching Japanese Championship
In a surprising Nippon Series, in which the two ugly ducklings of Japanese baseball are facing each other, the Yakult Swallows are one win away from clinching their first title since 2001. The Yakult Swallows reached the finals by sweeping the Yomiuri Giants 3-0 in the Climax Series, the semi-finals of the NPB. The opponent …
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Watch 2021 Nippon Series Here
Today the Nippon Series takes off. The contestants are rather unexpected: The Yakult Swallows and the Orix Buffaloes. Both teams resided near the bottom of the standings at the half of the season. The Series will be played in a best-of-seven format in which the Buffaloes will play four home games (1, 2, 6, and …
Kingdom of The Netherlands Climbs One Spot in World Ranking
Today, the WBSC (World Baseball and Softball Confederation) released the new world ranking. As usual, there were some countries that rose some spots and there were countries that dropped some spots. First of all Japan. The land of the rising sun is unchallenged with a more than eight hundred point lead over the second place …
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Wladimir Balentien is Talking Retirement
A few weeks ago, Curaçao native Wladimir Balentien posted a somewhat mysterious Tweet about things having an end. Yours truly's first thought was "He is retiring." But from there no new Tweet or answer to the questions that came after that specific Tweet. The specific Tweet, Wladimir Balentien started all confusion with, is shown below. …
Two Milestones For Wladimir Balentien
In an inter league game vs the Yakult Swallows, Curaçoa's own Wladimir Balentien set two milestones in the NPB. Two dingers from his bat could not prevent the SoftBank Hawks from falling to the "other" team from Tokyo. In a 6-4 loss, Balentien reached two milestones. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Wladimir put …
Rick van den Hurk Gets No-Decision in Debut With Yakult Swallows
Rick van den Hurk made his debut with the Yakult Swallows today. The circumstances were far from ideal as the rain came down pouring. If it was because of the rain is not sure but of all teams, Rick did not bring his A game against the DeNA Baystars, the team with the worst record …
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SoftBank Hawks add Wladimir Balentien to NPB Roster
It has been announced that Curaçao-born Wladimir Balentien will be added to the NPB roster of the SoftBank Hawks. This will happen on May 18. The other day, Wladimir Balentien came up with a somewhat vague Tweet, saying that God's timing is perfect. https://twitter.com/cocobalentien/status/1393884698359721986 The only thing that yours truly could think of, was his …
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Rakuten Golden Eagles and Rakuten Monkeys are discussing an exchange program
Throughout the worldwide web, several messages about an upcoming cooperation between the Rakuten Golden Eagles and the Rakuten Monkeys are swirling around. A cooperation between the two clubs would not be strange as both are owned by the e-commerce company Rakuten. The Rakuten Golden Eagles are playing in the NPB (Japan), while the Rakuten Monkeys …
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Rick van den Hurk is warming up, Wladimir Balentien not so much
Still with the Ni-Gun team of the Yakult Swallows, Rick van den Hurk is slowly warming up. With Wladimir Balentien, it is quite the opposite. Until today, Rick had pitched in three games, allowed six earned runs and struck out seven. Today, against the DeNa BayStars, Rick pitched four innings in relief. He was very …
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105,000 home runs in Japanese Pro Ball
Today, Orix Buffaloes catcher Torai Fushimi hit a home run in the sixth inning of the 5-4 victory over the SoftBank Hawks. His home run proved to be a very special one. Torai Fushimi Fushimi, hammered an 0-2 pitch over the right center field wall to give the Buffaloes a 4-0 lead. His home run …
Rick van den Hurk gets no decision in second Ni-Gun start, Balentien makes his presence felt.
For the second time after being presented by the Yakult Swallows, last Monday, Rick van den Hurk took the mound in a Ni-Gun (minor league) game. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows lost to Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 5-4. Two of these runs were given up by Dutch Rick van den Hurk. After pitching three scoreless innings, …
Yakult Swallows Present Rick van den Hurk
It was a perfect day to present some new players. With no games on Monday, the Yakult Swallows had all the time to present their newest (foreign) acquisitions. Next to Dutchie Rick van den Hurk, the club presented pitcher Cy Sneed, outfielder Domingo Santana and infielder José Osuna. Four foreign players presented by the Yakult …
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Wladimir Balentien Hits Dinger in First At-Bat of Season
Wladimir Balentien is back in Japanese baseball. Not at the highest level yet. In today's Ni-Gun (Minor League) game vs the Chunichi Dragons, he made his presence felt. Wladimir Balentien in his first at-bat of 2021 After arriving in Japan in the end of March, Wladimir Balentien had to pass two weeks in quarintine. He …
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