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. Pitcher Cy Sneed pitched two seasons in…
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. After arriving in Japan in the end of March, Wladimir Balentien had to pass two weeks in quarintine. He joined the SoftBank Hawks on the thirteenth of…
The SoftBank Hawks have called up Carter Stewart Jr, the pitcher that did not sign with the Atlanta Braves after the 2018 draft, but decided to head to Japan to join the SoftBank Hawks. Stewart was considered one of the top prospects for the 2018 Major League Baseball draft, and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the…
Last week you could read here about the Yakult Swallows chasing Dutch pitcher Rick van den Hurk to bolster their rotation. Today the news was released that the 35-year old was signed by the “other” team from Tokyo. The Swallows signed Van den Hurk for 79 Million Yen, which comes close to $750,000. So with…
It appears that Rick van den Hurk is to stay in Japan for the 2021 season. According to a Japanese news website, the Dutch hurler is about to be signed by the Yakult Swallows. After forty-three victories for the SoftBank Hawks, Rick appears not to be re-signed by the team from Fukuoka. But luckily the…
The Rakuten Golden Eagles made an official announcement about the return of pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. The 32-year old pitcher returns from New York where he spend seven years with the New York Yankees. The 32-year old RHP has opted to return to Japan after the Yankees did not quite hurry to re-sign him. In fact…
Former Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka has signed a one-year deal with the Seibu Lions. The 40-year old returned to the old nest last season, the first time since he was posted back in 2006. Last season, Dice-K, how the former Red Sox ace was called by Red Sox nation, didn’t play an official game…
According to the Asahi (Sunrise) Shimbun, former MLB star Ichiro Suzuki will coach a Japanese high school team. At the end of this year, Ichiro will be at the helm of a team that has won the national championship at least once. It has always been a dream of the Japanese star to manage a…
Same opponent as last year, same result. A 4-0 sweep in games vs the Yomiuri Giants. Today’s game ended in a 4-1 victory for the Hawks, who outscored the Giants 26-4 over the stretch of four games. One can wonder if a dominance like this is good for any sport. But nevertheless, the Hawks were…
With the SoftBank Hawks having a comfortable 3-0 lead in games, it is a must win situation for the Yomiuri Giants today. But it will be hard as they play at the Pay Pay Dome, the home field of the Hawks. Today’s game will start at 18:30 local time (10:30 CET and 04:30 AM Eastern…
