Shosei Togo was rocked for 4 runs in the 5th inning and the offense could only muster 4 hits and 2 walks throughout the night as Samurai Japan had their 27-game win streak in major international tournament games snapped in the Premier12 Championship Game, getting shutout 4-0 by Chinese Taipei who captured their first ever professional baseball title in international competitions. After pitching 4 scoreless frames, Togo surrendered a leadoff home run to catcher Lin Chia-Cheng which put the visitors up 1-0. Three batters later Chen Chieh-Hsien blasted a 2-run homer well into the right field bleachers to give Chinese Taipei a commanding 4-0 lead much to the delight of the thousands of Taiwanese supporters who managed to secure a ticket in the Tokyo Dome. Chinese Taipei starter Lin Yu-min and reliever Chang Yi combined to pitch 7 strong innings, allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while recording 6 strikeouts against a Samurai attack that had scored 63 runs over their 8 games leading up to Sunday's final. The game's final play resulted when first baseman Chu Yu-hsien grabbed Ryoya Kurihara's liner and doubled off runner Shota Morishita for an unassisted double play that set off tears of emotional joy for the players, fans and people of the Republic of China. An unforgettable night for all.
Manager Hirokazu Ibata, post-match conference: "It's my fault that we couldn't win. I take full responsibility.” When asked about Shosei Togo’s long leash in the 5th, he said he believed in Togo due to his WBC experience and ace status with the Yomiuri Giants. On leadoff hitter Masayuki Kuwahara who batted .209 (6-for-29) while Shogo Sakakura, who averaged .444 (8-for-18), remained in the 9-hole: “Kuwahara performed very well in the Japan Series. I considered moving him but that would’ve created other problems for the lineup in terms of lefty/righty matchups. I believed he would come around but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Sakakura stayed at the bottom of the order because I needed to keep playing him as our primary catcher (likely referring to load management). It’s something I discussed with him and he agreed with.”
2024 "BEST NINE", as voted by NPB reporters. CENTRAL LEAGUE P: Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) C: Yudai Yamamoto (BayStars) 1B: Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 2B: Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) 3B: Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) SS: Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) OF: Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) OF: Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) OF: Domingo Santana (Swallows)
2024 "BEST NINE", as voted by NPB reporters. PACIFIC LEAGUE P: Kohei Arihara (Hawks) C: Toshiya Satoh (Marines) 1B: Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 2B: Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 3B: Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) SS: Kenta Imamiya (Hawks) OF: Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles, dressed in Shogun costume) OF: Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) OF: Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) DH: Franmil Reyes (Fighters)
2024 BEST NEWCOMER (Rookie of the Year) CENTRAL LEAGUE RHP Hiromasa Funabasama 190 votes LHP Takumi Kurohara 41 OF Shogo Asano 8 IF Mikiya Tanaka 8 OF Ryuki Watarai 4 RHP Hiromasa Funabasama (Yomiuri Giants) 51 games 4 wins 0 loss 22 holds 2.37 ERA 38.0 innings pitched 23 strikeouts 12 runs allowed 10 earned runs PACIFIC LEAGUE LHP Natsuki Takeuchi 242 votes RHP Seiryu Kotajima 16 LHP Tatsuki Koja 1 LHP Natsuki Takeuchi (Seibu Lions) 21 games 10 wins 6 loss 1 complete game 1 complete game shutout 2.17 ERA 145.1 innings pitched 107 strikeouts 39 runs allowed 35 earned runs
2024 BEST PLAYER (Most Valuable Player) CENTRAL LEAGUE RHP Tomoyuki Sugano 1,357 points (253 1sdt place votes) IF Kazuma Okamoto 571 (21) RHP Shosei Togo 335 (17) IF Naoki Yoshikawa 99 (3) RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri Giants), 3rd award winner 24 games 15 wins 3 loss 3 complete games 1 complete game shutout 1.67 ERA 156.2 innings pitched 111 strikeouts 31 runs allowed 29 earned runs PACIFIC LEAGUE OF Kensuke Kondoh 989 points (158 1st place votes) IF Hotaka Yamakawa 694 (78) RHP Kohei Arihara 294 (9) . OF Kensuke Kondoh (SoftBank Hawks) 129 games 436 at-bats 37 hits .314 average 19 home runs 72 RBIs .521 SLG .439 OPS
2024 SAYONARA OF THE YEAR Unrelated to the NPB Awards, this is sponsored by SKY PerfecTV! JSAT Corporation and is determined by a fan vote from the monthly "SKY PerfecTV! Sayonara Award" given to the player who achieves the most impactful walk-off hit during the regular season. CENTRAL LEAGUE IF Hideki Nagaoka (Yakult Swallows) Sunday 28 July Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs Hiroshima Carp Bottom of the 9th inning, Carp leads 4-3, 2 outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd. Nagaoka hit a two-run walk-off RBI double to left-center field to give the Swallows a 5-4 victory. PACIFIC LEAGUE IF Ryusei Ogawa (Lotte Marines) Tuesday 30 July ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba Lotte Marines vs Seibu Lions Bottom of the 9th inning, score tied 6-6, two outs, bases loaded. Ogawa executed a perfect safety squeeze bunt to third base for an RBI infield hit giving the Marines a 7-6 win.
2025 MLB Tokyo Tour Schedule March 15 Hanshin Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs Yomiuri Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers March 16 Hanshin Tigers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Yomiuri Giants vs. Chicago Cubs March 18/19 Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB regular season openers)
Long time ace of the Yomiuri Giants and recently named Central League MVP, 35 year old Tomoyuki Sugano lands in Baltimore. Congrats! 菅野 智之投手、オリオールズへようこそ！Welcome to the O’s, Tomoyuki! pic.twitter.com/MghW5OIpIF— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) December 17, 2024
Yakyu Cosmopolitan looks at the 4 Japanese players - all pitchers - leaving NPB hoping to sign with an MLB club. Koyo Aoyagi Shinnosuke Ogasawara Tomoyuki Sugano (signed with the Baltimore Orioles) Roki Sasaki Lance Brozdowski on Sasaki
Following 7 successful seasons with the New York Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka returned to his former NPB club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, in 2021. Tanaka struggled in his four seasons with his old team, going 20-33 with a 3.73 ERA. Following the 2024 campaign where he made just one end-of-season start following arm surgery, The Eagles decided not to re-sign their legendary hurler. Last week the 36 year old signed with the Yomiuri Giants, and was presented to the media on Wednesday. He will wear the number 11 jersey. 田中将大投手の背番号は「11」です！ pic.twitter.com/ZKMjQ9gmSk— スポーツ報知 巨人取材班 (@hochi_giants) December 25, 2024 ／田中将大投手からファンの皆様へ！＼本日入団会見を行った #田中将大 投手から、ジャイアンツファンの皆様へメッセージです‼️ #新風 #giants_90th #ジャイアンツ #giants #東京 #tokyo #野球 #プロ野球 pic.twitter.com/F3rQiKioLQ— 読売巨人軍（ジャイアンツ） (@TokyoGiants) December 25, 2024