I think we all know that securing pitching is priority #1 for the Swallows this off-season. We already picked Yuto Nakamura in the draft and there is still hope for 2021 first round pick Hikaru Yamashita and obviously Nishidate when he's fully recovered.

Apparently we're also interesting in Hawks pitcher Shuta Ishikawa, who would be the perfect addition to this pitching staff. He won 7 games last year while pitching to a 2.56 ERA, although he was limited to 63.1 innings pitched.

If we want any shot, we need to lower that starters ERA of 4.02. This would be a great start and negotiations can begin tomorrow I believe.

Source = Nikkan Sports

Mogi can play all infield positions although he's a shortstop by trade, and acquired domestic free agent rights last season.

He was an All Star back in 2019 but was restricted to just 46 games last season with a like of .265/.397/.311, striking out 13 times in 75 plate appearances and walking 5 times.

According to Nikkan Sports

Congratulations to Yoshimura who won the monthly MVP award for September and October!

Yoshimura's comment: "I'm very honored and happy to receive this award. I'm grateful that I received it thanks to the support of so many people. I still have a lot of room to grow, so I'll keep working hard towards next year."

I was taking a look at the team statistics after that disappointing season to see where we need to improve if we want to challenge in 2025 and I thought I'd share as it's good to take stock, and I also thought it would help new fans to the team.

Offensive Stats

Runs - 506 (4/12)
Hits - 1141 (8/12)
Home Runs - 103 (3/12)
Stolen Bases - 67 (6/12)
Strikeouts - 1042 (9/12)
Walks - 436 (T2/12)
Average - .243 (6/12)
OBP - .311 (5/12)
OPS - .660 (4/12)

Pitching Stats

ERA - 3.64 (11/12)
FIP - 3.69 (12/12)
WHIP - 1.34 (12/12)
Hits Allowed - 1,306 (12/12)
HR's allowed - 108 (11/12)
Strikeouts - 946 (11/12)
Runs allowed - 556 (11/12)

I think it's pretty clear where our focus needs to me and it's probably why we're being heavily linked to Yumeto Kanemaru in the draft.

After a very disappointing season (62-77) finishing 5th in the Central League, some changes were expected and they've started with the coaching staff.

Taku Ino, Naoyuki Nishiura, and Kotaro Yamazaki have all joined the staff and have already started work.

Three new coaches join Yakult's fall training. Coach Yamazaki on the left, Coach Nishiura in the center, and Coach Ino on the right.

Nishiura retired at the end of this season - "I am truly grateful to have been invited as a coach, so I would like to repay the favor in a way that I can. I have a long way to go as a coach, though. My body is still young, so I would like to work hard with the players and support them."

Who do people hope the Swallows nominate in the first round?

Was reading some bits from Japanese media that manager Shingo Takatsu has basically said that Kansai University's left-handed pitcher Yumito Kanamaru is someone the team are very interested in:

"If you think about it normally, there are very few starting pitchers or left-handed pitchers. That's one of our weaknesses, so of course we want to strengthen that,"

They obviously won't be the only ones who put him as their nomination. Chunichi are almost certainly going to and so will the Giants, probably DeNA and the Hawks too. So we need the lottery to fall our way.

But if it isn't Kanamaru who do you think it should be? For me I'd go Yuto Nakamura.

Hi, we are a New Zealand family (kids 11 and 8) having a blast travelling Japan. We’d love to experience a baseball game while in Tokyo this weekend, as we hear it is an amazing experience, but am having trouble tracking down any tickets. Am I too late to get tickets to the Giants or the Swallows? Is it poss to buy these secondhand? Thanks in advance.

What are the chances that there is ticket availability on site if it says sold out? The information online seems to be from several years ago.

It would be for Saturday or Sundays game.

My wife and I travelled from Australia for our honeymoon and only just got to Meiji Jingu to find the game was cancelled due to rain. (Figured they’d tarp the field and push it to first pitch). So we are without a game, which was our main reason for being in Tokyo on these dates.

We see that there are games 3-5 September and we can make the game on the 5th but it seems like the game is sold out. No one at Meiji Jingu knows or can help us get tickets.

Really hoping someone here knows a way we can get reasonable (not $225/pp) tickets? It would make our trip!

Hey I'm in America. Is there any good way to watch Swallows games? I found a kinda sketchy streaming site but it constantly buffers the video (en.sportsplus.live). How do you all watch games? It would be super nice to watch the full game after it happens, since most these games start at 4am my time.

I picked them because they are located in Tokyo, and they aren't the Giants. I also love their orange pinstripe uniforms. What should I know about this team? Who are our good players? Thanks!

Hello Swallow fans,

I am looking for the best website to list and sell tickets to a game. I live in America and do not read or speak Japanese but have 17 tickets to the 7/5/24 game against the Giants.

We have several websites that we use to buy and sell tickets (StubHub, TicketMaster) but would like am hoping to list them on a site that people in Tokyo are likely to use.

• To be clear I am not looking to sell any tickets here through Reddit, I am only looking for a place to sell them.

Long story:

A large group of friends and family are traveling from California and Hawaii to Japan next month to hike Mount Fuji. One of the activities we're most excited about is attending a baseball game. As the biggest baseball fan in the groups I volunteered to research, plan and book the event.

I feel like I found the perfect game in the perfect stadium. Sadly I accidentally purchased tickets for the wrong date. Fortunately I was able to purchase the correct tickets after realizing my mistake.

Now I have 17 tickets to a game that I will not be in the country for. I paid ¥4,680 per ticket and would like to recoup as much of that as possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Some details regarding the game and seats if it's pertinent:

• 7/5 6:00PM
• Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs. Yomiuri Giants 2024.Jul.
• Reserved seat B2 (the third base side)

The seats are broken into several small groups:

　#1 ３塁側/11/12入口/２９段/191番

　#2 ３塁側/11/12入口/２９段/190番

　#3 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/185番

　#4 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/184番

　#5 ３塁側/11/12入口/２９段/165番

　#6 ３塁側/11/12入口/２９段/164番

　#7 ３塁側/11/12入口/３１段/164番

　#8 ３塁側/11/12入口/３１段/163番

　#9 ３塁側/11/12入口/３１段/162番

　#10 ３塁側/11/12入口/３１段/161番

　#11 ３塁側/11/12入口/３１段/160番

　#12 ３塁側/11/12入口/３１段/159番

　#13 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/174番

　#14 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/173番

　#15 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/172番

　#16 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/171番

　#17 ３塁側/11/12入口/３４段/170番

Hey folks as some of you may already know this sub was banned for a little while due to being unmoderated and fairly inactive. I made a successful request to Reddit to take it over with the plans of revival. Expect some changes and updates to the theme, sidebar, rules, etc in the near future. Hope to see you around!

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 10 posts:

• "THE TOKYO YAKULT SWALLOWS ARE THE 2021 CHAMPIONS OF JAPAN. 東京ヤクルトスワローズは2021年の日本の覇者をです！" by u/runthemoose
• "胴上げの瞬間に密着！" by u/lavitz_8
• "Uhh what are you reading there Tsubakuro?" by u/runthemoose
• "覇者です！" by u/runthemoose
• "Murakami hits #56 on the final day of the season. Becomes youngest player to ever win Triple Crown!" by u/runthemoose
• "Beautiful Jingu covered in snow❄️" by u/lavitz_8
• "Happy Cakeday, r/Swallows! Today you're 4" by u/AutoModerator
• "the now retired entaro reminds me kinda of wladimir balentien for some reason" by u/AmadeusPrower
• "2021 Japan Series 日本シリーズ Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs Orix Buffaloes | Game 6 (Highlights)" by u/lavitz_8
• "Tetsuto Yamada hits career home run #250!" by u/runthemoose

First title since 2001! 前回の勝利から20年!

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 9 posts:

• "2021 Central League Champs!" by u/runthemoose
• "With opening day around the corner, here's a couple of wallpapers (phone and desktop) - Official Tokyo Yakult Swallows wallpaper page" by u/lavitz_8
• "村上宗隆が8本塁打を放つ。 リーグをリードします！" by u/runthemoose
• "First win of the 2021 season! - Swallows v BayStars" by u/lavitz_8
• "Murakami and Yamada battle for the HR lead" by u/runthemoose
• "山田の5号" by u/runthemoose
• "Wladimir Balentien’s Journey to become Home Run King" by u/runthemoose
• "Swallows v BayStars - Game 2 highlights (2021-03-30)" by u/lavitz_8
• "Happy Cakeday, r/Swallows! Today you're 3" by u/AutoModerator