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Baseball: GM meetings in Las Vegas

Baseball agent Scott Boras meets the press as Major League Baseball's general manager meetings get under way in Las Vegas on Nov. 12, 2025. Boras said his client Tatsuya Imai, pitcher of Japan's Seibu Lions, will be posted for MLB teams on Nov. 19.

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World Baseball Classic

Members of the Japan national baseball teams line up at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo ahead of their World Baseball Classic Pool B game against Australia on March 12, 2023.

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World Baseball Classic

Members of the Japan national baseball teams line up at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo ahead of their World Baseball Classic Pool B game against Australia on March 12, 2023.

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Japan's pro baseball league to delay season over coronavirus

TOKYO, Japan, March 9 Kyodo - Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Atsushi Saito speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on March 9, 2020, after an extraordinary meeting of representatives of Japan's 12 professional baseball teams. The decision was reached at the meeting to delay the start of the season, originally scheduled for March 20, due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

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NPB admits changing ball for current season

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in Tokyo in August 2010 shows Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato showing off a new ball, as well as its cross section, to be used by the 12 professional baseball teams of the Japanese Central and Pacific leagues from the 2011 season. NPB admitted June 11, 2013, that it had changed its official ball prior to the start of the current season, which has seen markedly more home runs.

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Japan to use MLB-like baseballs

TOKYO, Japan - Nippon Professional Baseball said Aug. 23, 2010, that a new ball (R) will be used as a standardized ball by the 12 baseball teams of the Japanese Central and Pacific leagues from next season. A cross section of the new ball is shown in front, while a ball currently used is on display at left.

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Japan to use MLB-like baseballs

TOKYO, Japan - Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato shows off a new ball and its cross section to be used as a standardized ball by the 12 professional baseball teams of the Japanese Central and Pacific leagues from next season on Aug. 23, 2010, in Tokyo. The specifications of the new ball will be closer to that of Major League Baseball. NPB hopes using the new balls will give Japanese players an edge in international tournaments like the World Baseball Classic.

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Kikuchi says all 12 domestic clubs are appealing

HANANOMAKI, Japan - Highly touted Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi speaks to reporters in Hananomaki, Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 17, 2009 after meeting each of the 12 domestic baseball teams on Oct. 16 and 17. The 18-year-old from Hanamaki Higashi High School is scheduled to meet eight major league teams on Oct. 19 and 20.

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Baseball owners agree on new amateur draft system

TOKYO, Japan - Orix Buffaloes owner Yoshihiuko Miyauchi speaks at a press conference following a meeting of 12 Japanese professional baseball owners at a Tokyo hotel on July 19. Miyauchi, who chaired the meeting, said that the owners approved the introduction of a new amateur draft system that will see high school players picked separately from other draft choices, including collegiate and corporate league players. The new system calls for the 12 Central and Pacific League teams to get together in early October to select high school players before meeting again in mid-November for the selection of other players.

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Baseball representatives discuss ways to avoid strike

TOKYO, Japan - Representatives from Japan's 12 professional baseball teams meet Sept. 13 in a Tokyo hotel to discuss measures, including the introduction of interleague play, to avoid a pending strike by the players' association.

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(1)Japan's pro baseball teams kick off spring training

ISHIKAWA, Japan - The defending Central League champions Hanshin Tigers nine jog at Ishikawa Ball Park in Okinawa Prefecture after being forced to shift their training cite due to rain on Feb. 1, the opening day of spring training for all 12 teams ahead of the 2004 season.

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Ex-Hanshin ace Koyama named to Hall of Fame

TOKYO, Japan - Former Hanshin Tigers ace Masaaki Koyama (L) and ex-Hiroshima side-arm pitcher Ryohei Hasegawa (R) pose for pictures Jan. 12 after being named to the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame. Also named along with them were the late Rikuo Nemoto, the architect of championship teams for Hiroshima, Seibu and Daiei, and the late Tsutomu Takeda, who helped popularize college baseball.

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Baseball representatives discuss ways to avoid strike

TOKYO, Japan - Representatives from Japan's 12 professional baseball teams meet Sept. 13 in a Tokyo hotel to discuss measures, including the introduction of interleague play, to avoid a pending strike by the players' association. (Kyodo)

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Baseball owners agree on new amateur draft system

TOKYO, Japan - Orix Buffaloes owner Yoshihiuko Miyauchi speaks at a press conference following a meeting of 12 Japanese professional baseball owners at a Tokyo hotel on July 19. Miyauchi, who chaired the meeting, said that the owners approved the introduction of a new amateur draft system that will see high school players picked separately from other draft choices, including collegiate and corporate league players. The new system calls for the 12 Central and Pacific League teams to get together in early October to select high school players before meeting again in mid-November for the selection of other players. (Kyodo)

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Japan, S. Korea managers on eve of Premier 12 opening day

Japan's Premier 12 baseball manager Hiroki Kokubo and his South Korean counterpart Kim In Sik shake hands after a press conference in Sapporo on Nov. 7, 2015. The two teams will play the opening game of the inaugural 12-team tournament at Sapporo Dome the following day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan, Puerto Rico meet press for Premier 12 warm-up games

Japan's Premier 12 baseball manager Hiroki Kokubo (L) and his Puerto Rican counterpart Edwin Rodriguez shake hands during a press conference in Fukuoka on Nov. 4, 2015. The two teams will play warm-up games at Yahuoku Dome in Fukuoka on Nov. 5 and 6 before the Nov. 8 start of the inaugural 12-team tournament. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Players of 12 teams gather for Under-18 Baseball World Cup in Japan

Japanese captain Ryo Shinohara (far R, front row) and other representatives of 12 national teams for the Under-18 Baseball World Cup pose for photos in Osaka on Aug. 27, 2015, on the eve of the opening of the competition. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan to use MLB-like baseballs

TOKYO, Japan - Nippon Professional Baseball said Aug. 23, 2010, that a new ball (R) will be used as a standardized ball by the 12 baseball teams of the Japanese Central and Pacific leagues from next season. A cross section of the new ball is shown in front, while a ball currently used is on display at left. (Kyodo)

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Japan to use MLB-like baseballs

TOKYO, Japan - Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato shows off a new ball and its cross section to be used as a standardized ball by the 12 professional baseball teams of the Japanese Central and Pacific leagues from next season on Aug. 23, 2010, in Tokyo. The specifications of the new ball will be closer to that of Major League Baseball. NPB hopes using the new balls will give Japanese players an edge in international tournaments like the World Baseball Classic. (Kyodo)

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Japan's pro baseball league to delay season over coronavirus

Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Atsushi Saito speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on March 9, 2020, after an extraordinary meeting of representatives of Japan's 12 professional baseball teams. The decision was reached at the meeting to delay the start of the season, originally scheduled for March 20, due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan's pro baseball league to delay season over coronavirus

Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Atsushi Saito attends a press conference in Tokyo on March 9, 2020, after an extraordinary meeting of representatives of Japan's 12 professional baseball teams. The decision was reached at the meeting to delay the start of the season, originally scheduled for March 20, due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan's pro baseball league to delay season over coronavirus

Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Atsushi Saito speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on March 9, 2020. Japan's 12 professional baseball teams decided later in the day to delay the start of the season, originally scheduled for March 20, due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Gundam in baseball colors

Plastic models of anime robot Gundam adorned with colors of 12 Japanese pro baseball teams are displayed in Tokyo on Jan. 30, 2019, as part of celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the popular anime series. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Kikuchi says all 12 domestic clubs are appealing

HANANOMAKI, Japan - Highly touted Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi speaks to reporters in Hananomaki, Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 17, 2009 after meeting each of the 12 domestic baseball teams on Oct. 16 and 17. The 18-year-old from Hanamaki Higashi High School is scheduled to meet eight major league teams on Oct. 19 and 20. (Kyodo)

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Ex-Hanshin ace Koyama named to Hall of Fame

TOKYO, Japan - Former Hanshin Tigers ace Masaaki Koyama (L) and ex-Hiroshima side-arm pitcher Ryohei Hasegawa (R) pose for pictures Jan. 12 after being named to the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame. Also named along with them were the late Rikuo Nemoto, the architect of championship teams for Hiroshima, Seibu and Daiei, and the late Tsutomu Takeda, who helped popularize college baseball.