League 1

League 2, Group A

League 2, Group B

First League

Second League

Third League

Fourth League

The Tokyo Big 6 Spring League opening ceremonies begin on 4/10 at 10:15am.

Admission is as follows:

Children (up to elementary school) are allowed in for free (infield and outfield seating areas).

Student seating tickets are good only for students in junior high, high school, or college.  You will be asked to provide proof of enrollment.

Outfield seating is free to women, as well as junior high school groups.

Please see the official Tokyo Big 6 site for more detailed information on admission costs.

The Japan Student Baseball Association met on the 5th to determine punishments for 3 universities and 25 high schools.

They are as follows:

Warnings - Universities

Josei University baseball club and the director - breaking rule 12 of the charter

Aichi Toho University manager - violence towards players

Bukkyo University - blackmail

Game Suspension

Momoyama High School (Kyoto) 1/12 - 4/11 - violence within the team, extortion

Hoji High School (Ehime) 12/26/2009 - 6/25 - violence within the team, bullying

Tokai University Sugano High School (Tokyo) 1/25 - 2/24 - violence within the team

Fukuchiyama Seibi High School (Kyoto) 2/9 - 8/8 - violence outside the team, abusive language

Tohoku Seikatsu Bunka University High School (Miyagi) 2/9 - 5/8 - shoplifting

Fusa (Chiba) 2/5 - 5/4 - shoplifting, smoking

Komaki (Aichi) 1/26 - 2/25 - peeping

Suspensions

Katsushika Shogyo High School (Tokyo) baseball director - 3 months beginning on 1/20 for manager's violent actions

Tokunoshima High School (Kagoshima) manager - 3 months beginning on 2/2 for manager's violent actions

Yanagigaura High School (Ohita) baseball vice director - an indefinite period for the death of members of the baseball team in a bus accident

Warnings

Tsuwano High School (Shimane) baseball club and director - violent club members, bullying

Nissei Gakuen Dai-Ni High School (Mie) - violent club members, smoking

Doremus School (Tokyo) - violent club members

Hashima High School (Gifu) - violent club members

Nirasaki Kogyo High School (Yamanashi) - disorderly conduct by club members

Ohami High School (Chiba) - disorderly conduct by club members, damaged property

Toyohashi Chuo High School (Aichi) - stealing a bike and riding without a license

Ube Shogyo High School (Yamaguchi) - smoking

Orio High School (Fukuoka) - smoking

Takasaki Shogyo High School (Gunma) - giving / receiving stolen property

Teikyo Hachioji High School (Tokyo) - unsolicited mail

Kawaguchi High School (Saitama) - coerced indecency

Tsuna High School (Hyogo) - gambling with cards

Katsushika Shogyo High School (Tokyo) manager - manager's violent actions

Asahikawa Kogyo High School (Hokkaido) manager - manager's violent actions

Bunsui High School (Niigata) manager - breaking the amateur baseball rules

=== 4:23pm JST

Cal State Fullerton beat Waseda 3-0 on the 9th.  Yuki Saito started for Waseda, followed by Yuya Fukui, Kensuke Ono, and finally Tatsuya Ohishi.  The final lines:

Saito: 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 16 AB, 16 BF, 54 NP

Fukui: 2.1 UP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 11 AB, 14 BF, 31 NP

Ohishi: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2 AB, 3 BF, 15 NP

Ohishi also went 2-for-4 with a strike out at the plate.

You can view the complete box scores at the Cal State Fullerton website.

=== 3/11/2010 2:22am JST

Giants' scout Junya Orita arrived in the US on the 7th to catch the remaining Waseda practice games.  On the 8th, he caught Waseda's game against UC Santa Barbara (A Lotte scout was also in the stands).  Saito, Fukui, and Ohishi did not pitch in the game.  Ohishi was in the starting line-up in center and went 0-for-4 with a walk and strike out.  Waseda beat UC Santa Barbara, 4-1.

The boxscore can be found at the UC Santa Barbara website.

=== 3/7/12:54pm JST

Waseda watched the Los Angeles Dodgers play an exhibition game on the 6th.

Yuki Saito had a chance to watch Hiroki Kuroda pitch a bullpen session and even shook Manny Ramirez's hand.

The team will now return to Los Angeles to continue their practice through the 11th.

=== 3/6/2010 1:25pm JST

Waseda worked out in Glendale, AZ on the 5th after leaving Los Angeles in the early morning and riding a bus for about 6 hours.  They are also scheduled to watch a Los Angeles Dodgers' exhibition game on the 6th.  Meiji University also apparently nearby.

Yuki Saito told reporters that his desire to pitch in the Majors has grown stronger during his current stay.

=== 3/5/2010 12:39pm JST

Waseda beat Long Beach State on Wednesday, 4-2.

Yuya Fukui: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 18 AB, 25 BF, 95 NP, 95/61

Tatsuya Ohishi: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 10 AB, 10 BF, 37 NP, 37/24

Ohishi also went 0-for-3 at the plate with a walk.

Final boxscores from the game can be found at the official Long Beach State website.

=== 12:40pm JST

A little more from the game:

7 of the 8 strikeouts Ohishi racked up, were on swinging strikes; and he topped out at 146km/h.

Scouts the the game: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians.

=== 3/4/2010 11:01am JST

UCLA beat Waseda, 6-4 on Tuesday.  Tatsuya Ohishi got the start.  Yuki Saito pitched in relief.

Ohishi's final line: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 17 AB, 19 BF, 91 NP, 91/61 Pitches/Strikes

Saito's final line: 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 8 AB, 11 BF, 43 NP, 43/24 Pitches/Strikes

The final boxscore from the game can be viewed at the UCLA website.

=== 3/3/2010 10:24am JST

Waseda played Cal State University, Northridge on the first and lost, 9-4.  Yuki Saito started the game and gave up 4 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits over 6 innings of work.  He also showed off his new cutter.  Saito topped out at 143km/h and threw 80 pitches (55 of which were fastballs and cutters).

Final line: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 25 AB, 26 BF, 77 NP

Tatsuya Ohishi also went 2-for-4 at the plate.

Scouts from the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were in the stands.

Dan Evans on Saito: He watches his opponents and pitches accordingly.  He's like a Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Tom Seaver type pitcher.

John Cox on Saito: He a solid young pitcher.  He has good control and throws strikes.  We're definitely going to keep our eye on him.

You can see boxscores from the game at the Cal State University, Northridge site.

=== 3/2/2010 12:04pm JST

Ohishi's decision to start his career in Japan remains strong despite his current visit to the US.  Said Ohishi,  "I have aspirations to play in the Majors, but I'd like to start my career in Japan."  Ohishi also told reporters that he's having some difficulty getting used to the harder pitching mounds.

He is scheduled to start a practice game against UCLA on the 2nd and was set to start in center and bat left in a practice game on the 1st.

=== 3/1/2010 12:36pm JST

San Francisco Giants Pacific Rim scout John Cox dropped by to watch Yuki Saito working out Anaheim (practice started in Compton but moved to Anaheim due to the rain) on the 27th.

Saito threw 150 pitches in the bullpen.  He told reporters he wasn't really concerned with the idea that MLB scouts were checking him out.

=== 2/28/2010 10:02pm JST

Waseda held a 3-hour practice at Dodgers Stadium on the 26th.  Saito threw 40 pitches off he mound

Saito told reporters he's been dreaming of pitching at Dodgers Stadium since he was a kid.  When asked what thoughts came to mind when thinking about the Dodgers, he mentioned Hideo Nomo and Tommy Lasorda.  Saito mentioned that he had an interest in pitching in the Majors at some point in his career.

Ohishi also threw off the mound and said that he found it hard to throw on than the one's in Japan.  He also said that it pitched thinking it would be his last time on the mound at Dodgers Stadium.

=== 2/27/2010 1:24pm JST

Saito worked out at the Urban Youth Academy for about 2 hours after arriving in Los Angeles (2/25).  His workouts included long throws and sprints.  Saito apparently couldn't sleep a wink during the 9-hour flight.

Manager Atsushi Otake told reporters that he could use Ohishi as a starter.

=== 2/26/2010 5:24pm JST

Waseda plans on using three pitchers (Yuki Saito, Tatsuya Ohishi, and Yuya Fukui) for their 6-game schedule -- the starter will go 6 innings, the reliever 3 innings, and the third pitcher will rest.

Saito told reporters that he plans on throwing about 200 pitches a day.

As a general rule, players will also not be allowed to venture out on their own.

=== 2/25/2010 6:31pm JST

Waseda University headed for Los Angeles on Thursday.  They are scheduled for a return on 3/12.

Yuki Saito is will be starting 2 of the 6 games on the US schedule for Waseda.

=== 2/26/2010 1:45am JST

Bukkyo University held a press conference on Thursday and announced that the team suspension will run for a period of one month (from 2/17 until 3/16).

According to university officials, an unidentified player on the team pressured a second year player into lending him upwards of 200,000 yen between April and May of 2009. In March the same year, the player also forced younger player on the team to fake a traffic accident in order to con money out of the parties involved.

Both the manager of the team and the chief of the baseball department resigned to take responsibility for their player's actions. Replacements have yet to be named.

=== 2/25/2010 6:25pm JST

The media found out on Thursday (2/25) that Bukkyo University (Keiji University Baseball League) suspended baseball activities on 17th. According to the PR offices, it seems the suspension was handed down due a scandal caused by one (or more) of its players. The suspension runs through to the end of the month.

Bukkyo University will be hold a press conference on Thursday evening to release more information.

Yudai Ohno, a top pitching prospect, plays for Bukkyo University.

A final revised version of the Japan Student Baseball Association (JSBA) charter was unanimously approved on Wednesday.  The new charter will take effect in 4/1 and includes modified language that allows for the possibility of exhibition games to take place between pro and amateur teams (I think this is covered in section 15) and for player scholarships (I think this is covered in section 23).

The JSBA mentioned that they will let the Japan High School Baseball Federation (JHBF) figure out the exact specifics behind player scholarships.

The new charter also contains statements that point to baseball as being a part of the education system.

You can view the revised charter at the JSBA website.  Direct link [Japanese pdf file]

UPDATE 2/26/2010 1:50am JST: The JSBA and the NPB are establishing a committee that will be working on the rules / guidelines behind pro-amateur games and practices.  They are also hoping to hold the committee's first meeting sometime in April.

===

The All Japan University Baseball Federation (JUBF) announced on Wednesday that Hideitsu Ohhashi will be taking over as the new chairman.  The previous chairman, Eiji Hatta, becomes the new chairman of the Japan Student Baseball Association.  Both positions carry two year terms.

The All Japan University Baseball Federation (JUBF) announced on Wednesday that the 2010 5th World University Championships will take place between 7/30 and 8/7.  There will be four venues, including Jingu Stadium and Yokohama Stadium.

The JUBF also announced that the Meiji Jingu Baseball Tournament will run for a period of 5 days beginnings on November 13th.  Eleven universities and 10 high school will take part in the event.

Spring camp for Toyo University, out of the Tohto University Baseball League, started on Tuesday.  They held an intra-squad game on the first day of camp.  Scout from the Buffaloes were on hand to watch Masahiro Inui and Keisuke Kanuma.

The Meiji University baseball team took off the US on Sunday.  They will spend some time in Los Angeles, checking out Dodgers Stadium, before heading out to Arizona, where they'll play 5 exhibition games.  They will also watch the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Chicago White Sox with members of the Waseda University baseball team (they leave for the US on the 25th).