The Angels superstar became the first player in Major League Baseball history with 30 or more homers and 10 or more wins in the same season.
The hosts pulled away over the final 20 minutes in Okinawa, outscoring the Central Asian national squad by 25 points in that span.
The achievements by the Japanese skaters, all of whom are coached by Mie Hamada, were especially noteworthy, as all four medalists made their JGP debuts.
Young Nadeshiko trailed 3-0 at halftime in a rematch of the 2018 championship match, and a spirited comeback attempt in the second half came up short.
The veteran forward, who made his NBA debut with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018, spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Raptors.
The wise course of action for Ohtani is to move on to a franchise that has a history of winning and attracting other players who know...
The 25-year-old, who’s ranked No. 1 in the world, scored seven straight points in the third game to take the momentum back from China’s Yufei Chen.
Ichiro, who arrived in Seattle in 2001 as an established superstar with seven Pacific League batting titles, became the 10th member of the special fraternity.
Ponce, a former Pittsburgh Pirates player, became the Pacific League franchise’s first pitcher to throw a no-no since Yukihiro Nishizaki in 1995.
The 25-year-old native of Fukui Prefecture will face China’s Yufei Chen in the title match after a straight-sets victory in the semifinals.
“I hope I have created a pathway for not only Japanese players but all Asia-Pacific players to pursue the dream they have,” Nakajima said.
Veteran guard Yudai Baba scored a team-high 27 points in Tehran, but Iran outscored Japan 19-5 in the tone-setting second quarter.
