Adjust Font Size: A A       Guest settings   Register

"New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League

Discussion in the Open Talk forum
"New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League
I just found this site and wanted to say hi. I went to about 20 Hawaii Winter Baseball games this past fall, and now have an interest in Japanese baseball. I was lucky enough to get all of the players' autographs in the league, and had a great time. As if that wasn't enough, I went to my friend Paul's restaurant here in Connecticut a few weeks ago and Paul had a friend there, Bobby Valentine!

I look forward to checking in here to see how some of the guys I met in Hawaii are progressing. I'll be back in Honolulu in the fall to see more games. If you can you should check out HWB. Mr. Duane Kurisu has put together an excellent program. You can post here if you have any questions about HWB, maybe I can answer them.

Take care.
Comments
Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: Guest: Lance | Posted: Sep 11, 2007 12:32 AM ]

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?
Re: Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: Sharks410 | Posted: Sep 15, 2007 5:54 AM ]

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
Re: Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: Guest: Lance | Posted: Sep 17, 2007 10:51 AM ]

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.
Re: Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: Jbroks86 | Posted: Sep 19, 2007 5:18 AM | SFT Fan ]

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.
Re: Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: Christopher | Posted: Sep 19, 2007 8:26 AM | HAN Fan ]

I understood the Tigers had also decided not to send any players this year either.
Re: Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: Jbroks86 | Posted: Sep 19, 2007 8:16 PM | SFT Fan ]

According to Baseball America, Hanshin sent two pitchers: Yutaka Tamaki and Kento Tsujimoto.
Re: Hawaii Winter League 2007
[ Author: BigManZam | Posted: Sep 19, 2007 11:14 AM | CLM Fan ]

Very smart move for Lotte to send Kobe over there. He could be a beast in the near future.
Re: "New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Sep 20, 2007 12:52 PM | YBS Fan ]

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.
Re: "New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League
[ Author: Hawaiian Winter | Posted: Oct 13, 2007 10:05 AM ]

[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.
Re: "New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League
[ Author: Guest: Lance | Posted: Oct 30, 2007 3:45 PM ]

[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.
Re: "New" NPB Fan, Thanks to Hawaii Winter League
[ Author: Guest: Lance | Posted: Nov 20, 2007 12:57 AM ]

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.
About

This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.

It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.

Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder

Search for Pro Yakyu news and information
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.