"New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League

I'm going again this year. I will be there from October 24 and will go to about 20 games. No games at the University of Hawaii this year due to renovations. This will make commuting from Waikiki difficult, but it will be worth it. Anyone else going?

Hello Lance,

I was very lucky last year, company funded my travel to Hawaii, and was able to attend a couple of games. Last year they definitely had some talent i.e. Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, etc. But this year it looks like they were able to secure a lot more high draft picks, etc.

Hopefully, I can make it back to Hawaii. The games that I went to were a lot of fun and it is extremely easy to get player autographs, pictures, etc.

Regards,
Scott

The season starts in two weeks. Glad you enjoyed it last year Scott. I'm assuming there will be Nippon players returning, although I haven't heard. Other MLB organizations are sending players this year as well.

Yes, NPB players are returning. Baseball America has the rosters.

The NPB players appearing on it are:

P's- Shingo Matsuzaki, Ryohei Tanaka, Tatsuya Uchi, Takashi Kamoshida, Shinya Nakayama, Takashi Maruyama, Kyohei Muranaka, Yutaka Tamaki, Kento Tsujimoto, Fumikazu Kimura, Ken Miyamoto, Kazunori Yamamoto
IF's- Shoji Ohhiro, Masahiro Nagata, Hidekazu Hoshi
OF's- Takumi Kobe, Fuminori Yokogawa, Shintaro Yoshida

The Yomiuri Giants, Softbank Hawks, Chunichi Dragons, Hiroshima Carp, and Yokohama BayStars will not be sending players this year. Hiroshima and Yokohama didn't send players to the HWB last year. Overall it's disappointing the above teams have decided not to send players.

I understood the Tigers had also decided not to send any players this year either.

According to Baseball America, Hanshin sent two pitchers: Yutaka Tamaki and Kento Tsujimoto.

Very smart move for Lotte to send Kobe over there. He could be a beast in the near future.

The Japanese players as of September 12 according to HWB's site are:

Pos  T/B  Name               Team
===  ===  =================  ============================
P    L/L  Ken Miyamoto       Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
P    R/R  Keisaku Itokazu    Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
P    R/R  Fumikazu Kimura    Seibu Lions
P    L/L  Takuya Furuya      Chiba Lotte Marines
P    R/R  Ryohei Tanaka      Chiba Lotte Marines
P    R/R  Tatsuya Uchi       Chiba Lotte Marines
P    R/R  Takashi Kamoshida  Orix Buffaloes
P    L/L  Shinya Nakayama    Orix Buffaloes
P    L/L  Shingo Matsuzaki   Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
P    R/R  Kent Tsujimoto     Hanshin Tigers
P    R/R  Yutaka Tamaki      Hanshin Tigers
P    L/L  Takashi Maruyama   Tokyo Yakult Swallows
P    L/L  Kyohei Muranaka    Tokyo Yakult Swallows

Pos  T/B  Name               Team
===  ===  =================  ============================
IF   R/L  Hidekazu Hoshi     Seibu Lions
IF   R/L  Masahiro Nagata    Orix Buffaloes
IF   R/R  Shoji Ohhiro       Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Pos  T/B  Name               Team
===  ===  =================  ============================
OF   R/L  Takumi Kobe        Chiba Lotte Marines
OF   L/L  Shintaro Yoshida   Orix Buffaloes
OF   R/L  Fuminori Yokogawa  Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Coaches:  Name               Team
          =================  ============================
          Hiroshi Takamura   Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
          Kosuke Yoshihara   Orix Buffaloes
          Futoshi Yamabe     Tokyo Yakult Swallows
          Lyle Yates         Chiba Lotte Marines

Hope this helps.

[Old thread]

Kobe is a monster. I like him. He hit two triples recently and has a nice approach. He also has a big strike zone, but seems to deal with it okay. He can be fooled by strong inside pitches, but he seems to be dealing with them. On Sunday he had 4 hits and 2 triples. Pretty good. He has a ways to develop, but man, I think he will be pretty good. He seems to move reasonably well for a guy his size. He is nearly as big as Ryan Harvey to me.

If anyone needs help finding Han L'Orange park let me know. It's still a very intimate park and really easy to get autographs.

Sorry I haven't posted much, just been busy.

[Old thread warning!]

Heading there tomorrow. It is a pain in the rear to get there from Waikiki - so I may limit it to two days a week. I am also disappointed that the park has been remodeled in such a way that the game must be viewed through a fence.

The good thing is that I know I'll be glad I went once the game starts. I hope the league thrives and returns to UH next year.

Random thoughts from Waikiki.

Hawaii Winter Baseball wraps up tonight. It was a long ride to Waipahu for the games, but was well worth it. I'll post at a later time about some players that stood out. You can check on the Japanese prospects at hawaiiwinterbaseball.com.

Shingo M. from the Sharks was kind enough to give me a Nippon Baseball, which was quite unexpected. His kindness is one of the highlights of my trip since I never thought I would have one of these. I have about six different league balls now, none of which are American Major League balls, which I hope to get this year.

Another great season of HWB closes, but it will live on in memory for years to come as the fans who attended can watch the young prospects progress through their respective organizations.

I traveled from Connecticut (next to New York and Bobby Valentine's home state) to watch baseball here this year because it was so much fun last year, and it did not disappoint.

Next year 1/2 the games will return to University of Hawaii. I encourage anyone with travel plans to factor this in, as it is a great experience. You can take the bus right from Waikiki for 2 dollars, and it is a short ride. You can talk with the players, take pictures, and get autographs, things you can't do at a Yankees or Swallows game.

On the web at hawaiiwinterbaseball.com.