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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 25 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Japanese Baseball
| The St. Louis Cardinals were famous for their huge minor-league chain which contracted hundreds of players. How many minor-league affiliates does the average Japanese team have? | 'Yakyu' - Japanese Baseball
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1. Each team has just one junior-varsity-like squad to back up the major leaguers. They wear the same uniforms and generally play in the vicinity of the big {club;} entirely different from the small-town fun atmosphere of a lot of American minor-league clubs. Perhaps Japanese teams would fare better against their US counterparts in international competition if they focused more on minor-league development...
| The single-season home run record in the Japanese majors is 55, held by former Giant Sadaharu Oh. But in 1985, this Hanshin Tiger first baseman had 54 going into the last game of the season, which happened to be against the Giants. Giants pitchers intentionally walked this man four times, taking away any chance to get the record. Who is he? | 'Yakyu' - Japanese Baseball
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Randy Bass. It was Randy Bass. Rather obscure in America, he became a major star with the Hanshin Tigers and set the single season batting average record (.389) while playing first base for their first championship team in 19 years. The other three answers were also Tigers (and also wore No. 44). Cecil Fielder was playing in 1985, but he was a rookie with the Blue Jays.
| In April, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's career record. Then later, Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants set the 'world' record with his 756th homer. (He went on to hit 868.) The question is ... which player participated in both games? | 'Yakyu' - Japanese Baseball
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Davey Johnson . Davey Johnson played second base for both the Braves and the Yomiuri Giants, and holds the single season record for homers at that position (with 42). He later managed the 1986 Mets to the World Championship.
Joe Lutz. Joe Lutz lasted less than a month at the helm of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, in 1975. In 1979, Don Blasingame was hired to manage the Hanshin Tigers.
| Who was the foreign player who pitched for the Tokyo Giants in 1936? | Japanese Baseball
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Victor Starfin. Victor Starfin was Russian to boot.
| What was the nickname of notorious Tokyo Giants pitcher Suguru Egawa? | Japanese Baseball
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Dirty. Other nicknames included 'Enemy of the People' and 'The Giant Devil'... obviously a well-regarded player, was Mr. Egawa.
| The greatest home run hitter in Japanese Baseball history is Sadaharu Oh. He was not pure Japanese, as his father was Chinese. Oh in fact carried a foreign passport. From what country was this passport? | Japanese Baseball
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Taiwan. Although of foreign extraction, Sadaharu Oh was born in Tokyo, and thus was considered Japanese by Major League rules.
| What are the large, highly regimented, cheering groups of fans called? | Japanese Baseball
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| What record did the visiting Major League All-Stars compile in 1988, during their tour of Japan? | Japanese Baseball
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| Which very popular American player was fired by his team, for extending his emergency medical leave in San Francisco? | Japanese Baseball
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Randy Bass. Randy Bass's son Zachary was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The Hanshin Tigers released Bass and hired Ruppert Jones as a replacement.
| What are the names of the two leagues in which Japanese teams compete? | Japanese Baseball
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Pacific League and Central League. In 2002, each league consisted of six teams, the top two of which play off against each other in the Japan Series every October/November.
| Who was the first Japanese player to play in an American World Series? | Japanese Baseball
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Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Shinjo appeared for the San Francisco Giants on October 19, 2002.
| Which Japanese team won the most Japan Series Championships between 1991 and 2001? | Japanese Baseball
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Yakult Swallows. Though dwarfed in revenues and fan support by their neighbours the Yomiuri Giants, the Swallows have been consistent, winning titles in 93, 95, 97 and 2001.
| Which notorious underachievers retain a huge fan base despite not winning a Japan series from 1985 through the 2003 season? | Japanese Baseball
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Hanshin Tigers. Hanshin finished last in the Central League four years in a row, from 1998-2001. They recorded the third highest crowd figures in Japanese baseball in 2001, were number one in merchandising receipts and had a feature film made about a fictional succesful team. The team finished runner-up to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 2003.
4. Each playoff series is played on a best of seven basis.
| Which team did Ichiro Suzuki play for before joining the Seattle Mariners in 2001? | Japanese Baseball
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Orix BlueWave. Ichiro played eight years with Orix before moving to the United States.
New York Yankees. Matsui joined the Yankees from the Japanese team, Yomiuri Giants.
Sadaharu Oh. Oh hit 55 home runs in 1964, which still stood at the close of the 2002 season. In 1985 as a manager he instigated Japanese baseball's most controversial moment - he ordered his Yomiuri Giants pitchers to pitch wide of the plate to Randy Bass (Hanshin Tigers) to avoid the latter breaking his record.
1873. Baseball was brought by American teachers and professors to Japan in the 1870's. The first profesional league began in 1936.
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