Tohoku
Rakuten Golden Eagles is a Japanese professional baseball team in the Pacific
League.
The
Eagles was established in 2004 when two teams (Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and
Orix Blue wave) in the Pacific League were combined.
Their
home stadium is Rakuten Kobo Stadium Miyagi which located in Sendai city
(Miyagi prefecture).
Sendai
is in Tohoku (Northeast) region where the great disaster by earthquake and
tsunami happened in 2011.
The horrible disaster affected baseball world too. All
Eagles players were safe because they were not in Sendai when it happened. They
could go back to their home stadium 27 days after.
The Miyagi stadium was
damaged and all teams put off the opening day until April 12 that year.
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| ※Picture from excite news |
The
Eagles has kept encouraging people in Tohoku region with their play and charity
events after the disaster.
And finally in 2013, they won the league title and
became the national champion!
This winning cheered a lot of sufferers and
symbolized hope for recovery from the disaster.
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| ※Picture from Sponichi Annex |
Masahiro
Tanaka, a player of the Eagles at that time, did a great job and helped the
team win both the league and national titles this year.
He
won 24 games in a row as a starting pitcher. He didn’t lose any games during
the season!
He
went to the mound on the 9th inning as a relief pitcher in the last game of
Japan series even though after pitching the whole game the day before.
That
was because everyone believed that he was the player who led the team to the champion.
He left for New York Yankees in 2014 with large contract money!
And now he keeps attracting many fans.
↑↑ His model's items! ↑↑
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| Masahiro TANAKA ※Picture from Sponichi Annex |
He left for New York Yankees in 2014 with large contract money!
And now he keeps attracting many fans.
 |
| http://www.4860.jp/special/tanakamasahiro/ |
I
will introduce two more remarkable players this season.
Rui
Okoe is a rookie outfielder who became famous last year in the Koshien games.
This
blog already introduced him before. ↓↓
He
hoped to become a professional player and was picked in the first round by
Rakuten Eagles.
He
is good at hitting, running, and fielding. He is a five-tool player!
Now
he is training in the first team camp. He might be able to stay in the first
team when the games open.
Fans
are looking forward to watching his play.
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| Rui OKOE ※Picture from Daily Sports
|
Another
player is a southpaw pitcher, Yuki Matsui.
He
was also famous when he was a high school player. 5 teams picked him in the
first round and the Eagles got him!
He
started his career as a starting pitcher, but shifted to a closer in the second
year.
This change was successful and he got 33 saves in 2015 season. He also
pitched at Premier 12 last year.
He
pitched one inning in the pre-season game a few days ago. It was a good start
for him.
His
target for this season is 40 saves.
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| Yuki MATSUI ※Picture from Nikkan Sports |
We
have his model’s glove. Please check it out.
Mizuno Pro Swallow Sports limited Hard ball Glove for Pitchers 1AJGH81300-YMSW
 |
| http://www.4860.jp/item/504083/ |
 |
http://www.4860.jp/special/mizunopro/ |
It
has been 5 years since the disaster happened on March 11, 2011.
Some people are
still missing, living in temporary housings, and suffering from the memory of
that day.
But
people go forward!
I believe that the baseball and baseball players can be the
role of encouraging people.
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