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Japan baseball players present gift to U.S. envoy

TOKYO, Japan - Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kenta Maeda (R) and Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima (L) present a gift to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy at a reception hosted by her at the envoy's official residence in Tokyo on Nov. 14, 2014, for the visiting U.S. Major League All Star team and its Japanese counterpart.

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Carp ace Maeda among 6 named to Samurai Japan squad

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken on July 17, 2014, in Tokyo shows Japan baseball manager Hiroki Kokubo (C) and the first six members of this year's national team -- (from L) Yomiuri Giants shortstop Hayato Sakamoto, Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima, Orix Buffaloes outfielder Yoshio Itoi, Buffaloes ace Chihiro Kaneko, Hiroshima Carp ace Kenta Maeda and Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Sho Nakata. The team's big test this autumn will be five games against a team of visiting major leaguers in November.

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Rakuten clinches 1st PL pennant title

TOKOROZAWA, Japan - Rakuten Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka celebrates after the Eagles beat the Seibu Lions 4-3 at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on Sept. 26, 2013, to clinch their first ever Pacific League title. Catcher Motohiro Shima is visible in back.

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NPB ball change revelation

SENDAI, Japan - Motohiro Shima, head of Japan's pro baseball players association, holds a press conference in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on June 12, 2013, after Nippon Professional Baseball admitted the previous day that it had changed its official ball for the 2013 season.

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Hawks catcher Tanoue lunges for ball

FUKUOKA, Japan - Softbank Hawks catcher Hidenori Tanoue lunges for a ball hit by Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima during the first inning of a game at Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka on July 28, 2010.

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Baseball: Rakuten dominate All-star fan voting

SENDAI, Japan - Seven Rakuten Eagles players named July 2 to the upcoming All-Star series pose for photographers at Fullcast Stadium in Sendai. (Back row, from L to R) rookie pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, slugger Takeshi Yamasaki, outfielder Teppei, catcher Motohiro Shima. (Front row, from L to R) outfielder Koichi Isobe, infielder Yosuke Takasu, pitcher Kazuo Fukumori. Yamasaki, who has hit 28 home runs and 61 RBIs this season -- both Pacific League highs -- was the top vote-getter overall with 1,094,803 as Rakuten, with eight players named to the All-Stars, dominated the 12 sections in the PL for the July 20-21 series at Tokyo Dome and Fullcast Stadium.

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Baseball: Rakuten dominate All-star fan voting

SENDAI, Japan - Seven Rakuten Eagles players named July 2 to the upcoming All-Star series pose for photographers at Fullcast Stadium in Sendai. (Back row, from L to R) rookie pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, slugger Takeshi Yamasaki, outfielder Teppei, catcher Motohiro Shima. (Front row, from L to R) outfielder Koichi Isobe, infielder Yosuke Takasu, pitcher Kazuo Fukumori. Yamasaki, who has hit 28 home runs and 61 RBIs this season -- both Pacific League highs -- was the top vote-getter overall with 1,094,803 as Rakuten, with eight players named to the All-Stars, dominated the 12 sections in the PL for the July 20-21 series at Tokyo Dome and Fullcast Stadium. (Kyodo)

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Baseball: Players association against mid-year collision rule change

Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima, currently chairman of the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association, speaks at a press conference in Fukuoka on July 15, 2016. The association decided to oppose Nippon Professional Baseball's potential mid-year introduction of revised guidelines on preventing home plate collisions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Rakuten catcher Shima out with broken left hand

Rakuten Eagles manager Masataka Nashida (L) looks anxiously at Motohiro Shima after the catcher was hit with a foul tip on his left wrist in the first inning of a 10-2 loss to the Orix Buffaloes at Iwate Prefectural Stadium on May 18, 2016. Shima was deactivated a day later due to a broken bone. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ex-MLB close Saito retires

The Rakuten Eagles' former major league All-Star closer Takashi Saito holds his teammate catcher Motohiro Shima after concluding his last pitching appearance in the ninth inning of a game against the SoftBank Hawks on Oct. 4, 2015, in Sendai, northeastern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Floral tributes to players killed in WWII battlefields

Akihiro Higashide of the Hiroshima Carp (front) and Motohiro Shima of the Rakuten Eagles (2nd foreground) offer flowers to the cenotaph, dedicated to Japanese professional baseball players who were sent to the battlefields of World War II and never returned, near Tokyo Dome on July 17, 2015. (Pool photo by Tokyo Chunichi Sports) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Baseball players mourn players killed in WWII battlefields

Tomoya Mori of the Seibu Lions, Motohiro Shima of the Rakuten Eagles and Akihiro Higashide of the Hiroshima Carp (from L) visit the cenotaph, dedicated to Japanese professional baseball players who were sent to the battlefields of World War II and never returned, to pay floral tributes on July 17, 2015, near Tokyo Dome. (Pool photo by Tokyo Chunichi Sports) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Kokubo names Japan-based candidates for Premier 12

Japanese national baseball team manager Hiroki Kokubo (C) and six players pose for photos in Tokyo on July 16, 2015. The six are among Kokubo's 65 candidates to play in the inaugural Premier 12 tournament, to be held in Japan and Taiwan in November: (From L to R) Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami, Softbank Hawks outfielder Yuki Yanagita, Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kenta Maeda, Kokubo, Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima, Nippon Ham Fighters first baseman Sho Nakata and DeNA BayStars outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Hawks catcher Tanoue lunges for ball

FUKUOKA, Japan - Softbank Hawks catcher Hidenori Tanoue lunges for a ball hit by Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima during the first inning of a game at Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka on July 28, 2010. (Kyodo)

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Japan baseball players present gift to U.S. envoy

TOKYO, Japan - Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kenta Maeda (R) and Rakuten Eagles catcher Motohiro Shima (L) present a gift to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy at a reception hosted by her at the envoy's official residence in Tokyo on Nov. 14, 2014, for the visiting U.S. Major League All Star team and its Japanese counterpart. (Kyodo)

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Baseball: Eagles advance to Climax Series final stage vs Hawks

Rakuten Eagles closer Yuki Matsui (L) and catcher Motohiro Shima celebrate after a 5-2 victory over the Seibu Lions in Game 3 of the best-of-three Pacific League Climax Series first stage at MetLife Dome in Tokorozawa, Japan, on Oct. 16, 2017. The Eagles advanced to the final stage against the SoftBank Hawks. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Baseball: Eagles advance to Climax Series final stage vs Hawks

Rakuten Eagles closer Yuki Matsui (L) and catcher Motohiro Shima celebrate after a 5-2 victory over the Seibu Lions in Game 3 of the best-of-three Pacific League Climax Series first stage at MetLife Dome in Tokorozawa, Japan, on Oct. 16, 2017. The Eagles advanced to the final stage against the SoftBank Hawks. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo