Yamato Baseball Club
| Yamato Baseball Club | |
|---|---|
| League | Japanese Baseball League |
| Ballpark | Korakuen Stadium |
| Year established | 1937 |
| Former name(s) |
Korakuen Eagles (1937–1939) Kurowashi (1940–1941) |
| Ownership |
Dai-Nippon Beer (1939–1941) Yamato Ironworks (1942–1943) |
| Manager | Kazutaka Terauchi (1940–1942) |
The Yamato Baseball Club was a Japanese baseball team in the Japanese Baseball League (JBL). Based in Tokyo, the franchise was founded as the Korakuen Eagles before the 1937 season and was dissolved before the 1944 season.
In October 1940 (responding to rising hostility toward the West due to World War II), the league outlawed the use of English in Japanese baseball.[1] and the team changed its name to Kurowashi (Black Eagles in Japanese) through 1941. The team was owned by Ryutaro Takahashi (of Dai-Nippon Beer) from 1939 to 1941.
Kenkichi Saeki, president of Yamato Ironworks, purchased the team in 1942. As a result, the team changed its name to the Yamato Baseball Club.[1]
During its nine seasons of existence (including split fall and spring campaigns in 1937–1938), the franchise only had two winning campaigns and never finished higher than third in the JBL standings. (They usually finished in the second division.) As a result, the team was dissolved before the 1944 season (along with another JBL team, the Nishitetsu Baseball Club).
Team statistics
| Year | Team name | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win/Loss Percentage | Standings | Games behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 (spring) | Eagles | 12 | 44 | 0 | .214 | 8 | 30 |
| 1937 (fall) | Eagles | 28 | 19 | 2 | .596 | 3 | 10.5 |
| 1938 (spring) | Eagles | 18 | 15 | 2 | .545 | 4 | 10 |
| 1938 (fall) | Eagles | 15 | 20 | 5 | .429 | 7 | 13 |
| 1939 | Eagles | 29 | 65 | 2 | .309 | 9 | 38 |
| 1940 | Kurowashi | 46 | 54 | 4 | .460 | 6 | 28 |
| 1941 | Kurowashi | 28 | 56 | 1 | .333 | 7 | 34 |
| 1942 | Yamato | 27 | 68 | 10 | .284 | 8 | 43.5 |
| 1943 | Yamato | 35 | 43 | 6 | .449 | 6 | 17.5 |
References
- 1 2 "Kurowashi," Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed Mar. 7, 2015.