The Professional Baseball Masters League held its inaugural game on November 1, 2001, at Tokyo Dome, nicknamed Big Egg. Since then, former star players who had retired from NPB have reunited on the baseball field, bringing excitement to the league for nine years until 2009. For Masters League fans, those nine years were a dream come true.
Many fans believe that some day in the near future, this league will restart.
The following photos are from the gallery of the “Tokyo Dreams vs. Sapporo Ambitious” game held at Tokyo Dome on December 2, 2007, over 15 years ago.
The players’ charming expressions and plays are unforgettable memories for fans.
→Please click on the photos below! You can enjoy enlarged images of the players. ※以下の写真をワンクリックすると、選手の拡大画像をお楽しみいただけます！
★All images on this page were photographed by CEO Toshiya Ono, and the copyrights to these images are managed by Sports Access Corporation. Unauthorized reproduction or use of the images is prohibited.
Toshio Kato shows his tough hitting. A four-time All-Star catcher.●タフな打撃をみせる加藤俊夫。オールスターに4回出場の名捕手Former rivals Isao Shibata and Yutaka Enatsu●談笑するのはV9時代がライバルの柴田勲と江夏豊V9 warrior Isao Shibata, a prominent switch hitter●スイッチヒッターで盗塁王V9戦士の柴田勲Dump Tsuji, a catcher in the Tigers and Whales for 22 years●タイガースとホエールズで22年活躍した捕手のダンプ辻Masayuki Dobashi supports Shozo Doi●土橋正幸監督に抱えられる土井正三監督“The little great hitter,” Tsutomu Wakamatsu, has 2,173 hits and a BA of .319●通算2173安打、生涯打率・３１９はスワローズの”小さな大打者” 若松勉Hiromichi Ishige, a key player for the Lions from the 1980s to the 1990s●ライオンズの黄金時代を支えた石毛宏典Hiroshi Masumoto throws a powerful ball with a sidearm pitch●球威のあるボールをサイドスローから投げる増本宏Hiroshi Masumoto, MVP of the 2003-2004 season●チームを初優勝に導いた大黒柱の増本宏。2003－2004年シーズンMVPに輝いたTomoo Wako is a right-handed pitcher who played in the NPB for 21 years●隠れた巨人キラー若生智男はプロ21年を投げ抜いた右腕 Norihiro Komada, who had 2006 hits, batted 13 grand slams●2000本安打達成の駒田徳広は「満塁男」の異名。満塁での一発は生涯13本を記録Hiromichi Ishige, owner of 1,833 hits, said, “I wanted to be a carpenter more than a player.”●１８３３安打の石毛宏典は「野球の道より、大工が夢だった」Tetsuro Hirose is an infielder who led the team as captain of the Fighters●広瀬哲郎は、大沢親分が元気の良さからキャプテンに抜擢した日ハムの内野手Yashiki Kaname, the stolen base king, and Kenji Awaguchi, nicknamed Concord●盗塁王の屋敷要と、シュアな打撃でコンコルドと呼ばれた淡口憲治Akihiko Hourai is an impressive outfielder for the Lions●蓬莱昭彦はライオンズで印象的な活躍をした外野手Masahiro Ishii is the star player of Ambitious●石井雅博はアンビシャスの看板選手。ほとんどの試合で安打を放つYutaka Saotome is a relief pitcher for the Whales and other teams in the 1970s and 1980s●70～80年代にホエールズ等で活躍した五月女豊の力強い投球Yoshinori Sato, with 165 career wins, throws a “Yoshi Ball.”●「ヨシボール」をみせつける通算165勝の佐藤義則Masayuki Dobashi is a power pitcher who pitched over 300 innings in four seasons●シーズン３００イニングを４シーズン投げた剛腕が土橋正幸。３チームで監督も務めたKen Suzuki, the powerful hitter who batted fourth for the Lions●ライオンズの４番を打った強打者の鈴木健The legendary right arm, Yukio Ozaki’s four-seam fastball easily exceeded 170 km/h?●「怪童」尾崎行雄のストレートは、170キロを軽く超えていた？Shibata was playing against Ozaki in the summer Koshien tournament●柴田は夏の甲子園で尾崎と対戦しているShibata hits a double off Ozaki●尾崎から二塁打を放つ柴田Choji Murata, a 200-win pitcher, throws his trademark forkball●「マサカリ投法」村田兆治が、代名詞のフォークを投げるMurata is the first pitcher in Japan to undergo Tommy John surgery●村田は日本で最初にトミージョン手術を受けた投手Satoru Nakano slides headfirst into home plate. He played outfield for the Tigers●ヘッドスライディングする中野佐資。阪神の外野手として活躍したYasutomo Suzuki played for the Giants and Lions. He has been coaching for a long time●鈴木康友は巨人、ライオンズでプレー。信頼が厚くコーチ業が長いKen Suzuki’s gorgeous one-legged form●鈴木健らしい一本足打法は、左右広角に打つ技術が持ち味Hirohisa Matsunuma is a sidearm pitcher who led the early Lions●兄やん松沼博久は初期のライオンズをけん引したサイドスローSeiji Kamikawa, an infielder popular for his cheerful personality●中日、ロッテで粘り強い打撃はいまも人気の上川誠二Hideyuki Awano, a southpaw pitcher who played for the Buffaloes and other teams●新人王、最多勝など近鉄時代の活躍が素晴らしい阿波野秀幸The ace pitcher of the 1970s Nagashima Giants is Hisao Niura●70年代長嶋巨人のエース投手が新浦久夫Niura’s career spanned 22 years playing for Giants, Samsung, Whales, and other teams●新浦は巨人、サムスン、ホエールズなどで、実に現役を22年続けた左腕Catcher Kazumasa Ichikawa is popular for his strange performance of spinning his bat like a ninja while at the plate●市川和正は忍者？打席でバットを奇妙に回すワザが人気Murata Choji looked satisfied after throwing a four-seam fastball at nearly 140 km/h on this day●この日ストレートが140キロ手前を掲示。ファンにこたえる村田兆治Murata smiles during a post-match interview●試合後のインタビューに笑顔でこたえる村田兆治
