There are high hopes for Tsuyoshi Shinjo's Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters this season.
In their third season under the charismatic manager and former player, the Fighters finished second in the Pacific League standings in 2024 with a 75-60-8 record.
That still left them 13½ games behind the high-flying PL champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who had the best record in Japanese baseball, but it was an impressive showing for Shinjo's team.
The Fighters beat the Chiba Lotte Marines two games to one in the first stage of the PL Climax Series before being swept in three games by the Hawks in the second stage.
With some valuable playoff experience under their belt, the hope is that the Fighters are ready to contend for the Japan Series in 2025.
When Shinjo took over as manager in 2022, it was widely accepted there would be growing pains as the 53-year-old former outfielder found his footing as a bench boss.
Indeed, the team struggled with back-to-back last-place finishes in 2022 and 2023.
But 2024 was a breakout season as the team showed it had matured and was ready to contend with the top teams.
Shinjo spoke about the upcoming season in a recent interview with NHK.
"I didn't think I would have a fourth year as manager," Shinjo said. "I thought it would end in three years."
Added the former outfielder "I've been thinking about what kind of baseball I want to play this season and I'm looking forward to it because our lineup is so strong."
Nipponham Fighters Getting Ready for Preseason Opener
The Fighters' preseason schedule opens on Saturday, February 22 with a game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
So far, in practice games ahead of preseason contests, Shinjo has been using a batting order that features Kotaro Kiyomiya, Yuki Nomura and Chusei Mannami in the 3-4-5 positions.
There is a good chance Dominican slugger Franmil Reyes will also be in the heart of the order after connecting for 25 homers last season, his first in Japan.
Kiyomiya Looking for More Productivity
It will be interesting to see how Kiyomiya performs in 2025.
Kiyomiya was chosen by seven teams in the first round of the 2017 NPB draft and signed with the Fighters, who won the right to negotiate with him after winning the lottery.
Kiyomiya struggled to adjust to the pro level in his first three seasons with Nipponham, hitting .200, .204 and .190, respectively, as he bounced between the minors and the top team.
Things got better in 2022 and 2023 when he started to live up to his potential by raising his batting average slightly and hitting 25 homers in '22 and 20 the following season.
Kiyomiya had his best season last year when he finished with a .300 batting average, 15 homers, 51 RBIs and a career-high .374 on-base percentage in 89 games. Simply put, he became a more consistent hitter.
With a productive campaign under his belt, Kiyomiya will be looking for bigger and better things in 2025, especially if he can hold on to a coveted spot in the batting order.
Ito, Yamasaki Lead Nipponham's Pitching Staff
On the pitching front, the Nipponham Fighters will have veterans Hiromi Ito (10-9, 2.90, 141 strikeouts) and Sachiya Yamasaki (10-6, 3.17, 74 Ks) to lead a strong starting rotation.
But the Fighters won't have the services of right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa.
Uwasawa spent nine seasons with Nipponham. In 2023, he was a solid 9-9 with a 2.69 ERA and 124 strikeouts.
But after qualifying for international free agency, Uwasawa played for the Boston Red Sox appearing in only two games for the American League team.
Unable to catch on in MLB, Uwasawa returned to NPB for this season and signed with the rival Hawks.
Uwasawa was the second former Fighters pitcher to make such a move following Kohei Arihara, who was posted after the 2020 season, played in the majors for two seasons then came back to Japan to join SoftBank.
That move didn't sit well with Shinjo, who played for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.
"I don't want this trend to continue," Shinjo said, according to Kyodo News.
One can understand his frustration. Uwasawa and Arihara are two top-grade pitchers but Shinjo himself played for the Hanshin Tigers before he left for Japan and came back to join the Fighters.
Yonamine Signs with the Fighters
In other news from the Fighters camp, the team announced on Friday, February 14 that it has signed Micah Yonamine to a minor league contract.
Yonamine is the grand nephew of the legendary Wally Yonamine, who played for the Yomiuri Giants in the 1950s.
Micah Yonamine is a 24-year-old first baseman/catcher who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 29th round of the 2019 June Amateur Draft.
In 2024 with the Boise Hawks of the Pioneer League, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound (190-cm, 99-kg) Yonamine posted a .338 batting average with 24 homers and 96 RBIs in 96 games.
Wally Yonamine, a Nisei Japanese American born in Hawaii in 1925, played for Yomiuri from 1951 to 1960 and the Chunichi Dragons from 1961 to 1962.
An 11-time All-Star and three-time batting champion in the Central League, the soft-spoken Yonamine was known as a fierce competitor.
His aggressive base running style was said to have changed the way Japanese thought about the game.
Yonamine was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 for his achievements during a 12-year career with the Giants and Dragons.
He managed the Dragons between 1972 and 1977 when he became the first foreigner to be a manager in Japan.
Yonamine passed away on February 28, 2011, in Honolulu at the age of 85.
Swallows Bolster Pitching Staff
The Swallows have acquired former major league pitcher Pedro Avila.
"I'm very happy to be joining the Swallows," Avila said in a statement released by the team on Friday, February 14. "I will do everything I can to help the team and will practice very hard so that I can become a member of the starting rotation and pitch a lot of innings."
Avila, a native of Venezuela, is a 28-year-old right-hander who played for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 when he went 5-1 with a 3.81 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 54 mound appearances.
Prior to playing for Cleveland he was with the San Diego Padres for five years. Avila has an 8-4 MLB career record with 151 strikeouts and a 3.51 ERA.
The Swallows finished fifth last season in the six-team Central League and are eager to return to the "A-Class" which includes the top three teams.
The Tokyo-based team has been looking for pitching help since it announced it would not re-sign American Cy Sneed, who had 24 wins and 24 losses over the past four seasons with the club.
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Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.
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