 Baseball
has been played in Japan for over a century. In that
time, the game has evolved somewhat differently from the
American sport. Here's a quick introduction to the
Japanese game:1. There are twelve Japanese teams
divided into two leagues. The Central League contains
most of the older and more popular teams. The Pacific
League uses the designated hitter. While the CL is
considered higher-status, the PL often showcases better
players and a more dynamic style of play.
2. Most teams are named after their
corporate owners, not the cities they play in. The
Swallows do not play in the city of Yakult. Instead, they
play their home games in Tokyo but are named after the
Yakult beverage company which owns the team. Eleven of
Japan's teams use the corporate name. Only the Yokohama
BayStars exclusively use their city's name, while the
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and Chiba Lotte
Marines use both city and company names.
3. Most Japanese ballparks have
"Major League" dimensions. Until the opening of
the Tokyo Dome in 1988, however, all of Japan's pro parks
were somewhat smaller. With the construction of four new
domes and two big outdoor stadiums in the last decade,
seven of Japan's twelve teams now play in ballparks with
Major League dimensions: roughly 100 meters (328 feet)
down the foul lines and 122 meters (400 feet) in center
field. Since five of the six Pacific League teams play in
the larger ballparks and only two of the Central League
teams do, players tend to hit more home runs in the CL.
4. Essentially, the rules used on the
Japanese baseball field are identical to those used in
the Major Leagues. The strike zone may be somewhat larger
and baseballs marginally smaller. There have been some
complaints that Japanese umpires (who receive no special
training) make more arbitrary calls than American umps.
5. Tie games are allowed. In the
Pacific League, if a game goes twelve innings without a
winner, the match is ruled a tie. Central League games
may go fifteen innings, but if the game is still a draw,
it must be replayed from the beginning at a later date.
Tie games have virtually disappeared from the CL.
6. Each team is allowed to have four
foreign players. In the past, many aging Major Leaguers
came to Japan to earn a few bucks at the end of their
career. That is much less common today. Today's foreign
players tend to be younger, and are often looking to gain
experience in Japan as a back door to entering the Major
Leagues. Some Taiwanese and Korean players are also
working in Japan.
While
many people consider the quota discriminatory, it serves
two purposes. First, since foreign players tend to draw
higher salaries, the limit keeps player payrolls from
ballooning. Second, it gives younger Japanese players
more of a chance to play since they don't have to compete
against more experienced foreigners.
7. According to most opinions, the
level of play is slightly lower than the Major Leagues.
Many critics now claim that Japanese Baseball is
"three and a half A," somewhere between the
Major League level and triple A. While that may be
accurate, it is also misleading.
Each
team has a few all-stars who could easily play in the
Major Leagues while other players wouldn't be able to
draw a paycheck on a North American farm team. Because
each franchise has only two teams (one minor league and
one "first-string") players on any given ball
club may widely differ in playing ability. Generally,
though, there are probably enough top-level Japanese
players to fill three or four Major League rosters.
8. Although home run kind Sadaharu Oh
is the most widely known Japanese baseball player (except
perhaps for Hideo Nomo), the most popular player in Japan
was his teammate Shigeo Nagashima. A lesser player and
generally mediocre manager, Nagashima's good
sportsmanship during the 1950s and '60s won him a lot of
fans among the older generation. Both Oh and Nagashima
played for the Japan's most popular team, the Yomiuri
Giants.
Today,
by far, the most popular player is Orix BlueWave
outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Winner of four consecutive
batting titles, Ichiro (as he prefers to be called) could
be a star anywhere.
9. Each league plays a 135-game
schedule from April to the beginning of October. There
are usually two or three all-star games in July, and the
top team from each league meets in the Japan Series. The
Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants have won the most
pennants.
10. Japanese games are nearly always
very noisy events. Each team has an official cheering
section (oendan) that plays songs, beats drums, blows
trumpets, and waves flags. Fans clap plastic megaphones
along with the oendan and sing songs for each players.
Organized better than Mussolini's trains, Japanese fans
are often more fun to watch than the actual game.
The
home team's oendan and fans sit in the right field
bleachers while the visitors' fans sit in left field.
Fans generally cheer and make noise only when their team
is batting. While some teams use obscure or traditional
Japanese songs, others modify such popular tunes as Popeye
the Sailor Man, the Mickey Mouse Theme Song, Anchors
Aweigh, and Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Yakult
fans open a sea of umbrellas whenever the Swallows score
a run -- their sarcastic way of telling the opposing
pitcher that he'll soon be headed for the showers. The
Marines oendan plays a special rendition of Old
McDonald had a Farm for Iwao (pronounced
"ee-wah-oh") Omura, in which fans change the
chorus to E-WAH-E-WAH-O. Though Tigers fans are generally
regarded as the craziest, the Hiroshima Carp have by far
the most energetic and intimidating cheering section.
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