Brad Lefton
Posts
Japan’s High School Baseball Tournament is the Sound of Summer
Created 75 years ago for the country’s prestigious high school baseball tournament, Yuji Koseki’s “The Crown Will Shine on You” stirs memories as it inspires...
Japan’s High School Baseball Tournament is the Sound of Summer
Created 75 years ago for the country’s prestigious high school baseball tournament, Yuji Koseki’s “The Crown Will Shine on You” stirs memories as it inspires...
Randy Bass and Alex Ramirez are Inducted Into Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Randy Bass and Alex Ramirez found unexpected stardom in Japan, and now they have gained the rarest of distinctions for foreign players with no Japanese...
How Five Former Mets Players Ended Up Managing in Japan
Five of the 12 managers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball have M.L.B. experience. All of them played for the Mets.
How Five Former Mets Players Ended Up Managing in Japan
Five of the 12 managers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball played in the U.S. All of them spent time in Queens.
At WBC, Cardinals Outfielder Lars Nootbaar Was a Hit With Japan
Lars Nootbaar, a high-energy outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, was the first player born outside Japan to play for its national team. He put...
How Mr. Baseball Became a Go-To for Players Headed to Japan
Thirty years ago, a Tom Selleck comedy introduced Americans to Japanese baseball. It remains a go-to resource for foreign players.
Japan Celebrates 150 Years of Baseball
Japan is celebrating the sport’s introduction there in 1872. The living descendants of the American teacher who took the game to Tokyo only learned of...
DJ Suonandajie and Other Chinese Players Sets Sights on MLB Draft
Players from China have signed as international free agents, but a new wave of recruits is trying a different path: attending a U.S. college to...
How Seiya Suzuki Used Mike Trout as Inpiration to Get to Cubs
A surprising comparison from a veteran teammate led Suzuki to emulate Mike Trout. Thus far, the comparison seems apt.