 Since baseball originally came
from America, the Japanese use many terms that are the
same in the Major League sport. Over the years, some of
those terms have changed, particularly during the Second
World War when English terms were banned from the game.
The below phrases can often be heard on TV and read in
Japan's sports pages.
anchi
kyojin: anti-Yomiuri Giants; fans of most
other ball clubs. The Giants have dominated Japanese
baseball so much in the past, that the team has created
it's own backlash.
bakku
sukuriin: back
screen. At straight-away center field, in front of the
scoreboard, there are no seats at any Japanese ballpark.
At Jingu Stadium, for example, a large net prevents home
run balls from crashing into the concession stands which
lie under the scoreboard.
banto: bunt.
batta: batter
batta
bokkusu: batters
box
besuboru: baseball
besuto
nain: best nine
boru: ball
chenji
appu: change-up
pitch
daburu
pure: double play
deddo
boru: deadball, a
pitch that hits a batter; hit by a pitch
de
gemu: day game (as
opposed to naita)
domu: dome
era: error
fain
pure: fine play
famu: farm team or farm system
fasuto: first baseman (also called ichiruishi)
fauro: a foul ball
fensu: fence
foa
boru: four ball; a
walk
foku
boru: fork ball
furu
besu: full bases;
bases loaded
furu
kaunto: full
count. In Japan, strikes are called before balls.
Therefore, a 2-3 count is considered full.
gaijin or gaikokujin: foreigner, foreign player (also suketto); though gaijin may not
necessarily be used as a pejorative term, suketto (helper)
generally is. Defining foreign players as suketto is the
usual way to dismiss their contributions to the team and
Japanese baseball. They aren't real players, they are
helpers.
ganbare: good luck, do your best. Fans
often scream, "ganbare," to their favorite
players.
gattsu
pozu: guts pose;
hot-dogging Japanese-style. After hitting a home run, a
batter may punch the air with his fist, thereby striking
the gattsu pozu. Japanese sports photographers love to
catch this scene on film. Recently, local players have
begun emulating major league sluggers who watch the ball
sail over the fence before turning toward first base.
gemu
setto: game set or
game over.
goro:
ground out
gurobu:
glove
gyakuten
chansu: come-from-behind
chance.
heddo
surraidingu:
head-first slide
herumetto: batting helmet
hiiro
intabyu: post-game
hero interview
homuin: home in, a run
homuran: home run
ichiruishu: first baseman
jigoku
ni ochiro jiantsu:
go to hell Giants; a refrain often heard at other Central
League ballparks
kantoku: manager
kattobase: a generic cheer used by most teams
oendan, usually followed by a player's name
(i.e. "Kattobase Nomura").
koochi:
coach
korudo
gemu: called game,
usually because of rain
kyatcha:
catcher (also
called hoshu)
kyojin: the original nickname for the
Yomiuri Giants
kyujo: stadium
manrui
homa: grand slam
home run
maundo:
pitchers mound
naisu
pure: nice play
naita: night game
niruishu: second baseman
oendan:
cheering section
opun
sen: pre-season
exhibition games
pa
riigu: Pacific
League
pasu
boru: passed ball,
a pitch that rolls past the catcher
pinchi
hitta: pinch
hitter
pinchi
ranna: pinch
runner
pitcha: pitcher (also called toshu)
pitchingu
sutaffu: pitching
staff
pure
boru: "Play
ball!"
raina: a line drive
raito:
right fielder
rakii
sebun: lucky
seven; the Japanese version of the seventh-inning stretch
in which fans release thousands of condom-shaped balloons
ranningu
homuran: running
home run; an inside-the-park home run
refuto: left fielder
ririfu
pitcha: relief
pitcher (also called osai and kyuen toshu)
rukii: rookie (also called shinjin
-- new person)
saado: third baseman
saikuru
hitto: cycle hit;
hitting for the cycle (a hit, double, triple and home run
in the same game)
sanruishu: third baseman
sanshin: strikeout
sayonara
homuran: a
game-winning home run
sebu: a save
sekando: second baseman
senta: center fielder
se
riigu: Central
League
shiiso
gemu: seesaw game;
a game in which both teams trade the lead throughout the
game
shimei
dasha: designated
hitter
shinpan:
umpire
shoto: shortstop; also called yukeki
shu
shuto: a variation on the screwball that
is popular among Japanese pitchers
suitchi
hitta: switch
hitter
sukoa
bodo: scoreboard
supuritto
finga fasuto boru:
a split finger fastball
suraida: a slider
sutoraiku: a strike
sutoreto: straight ball; also fastball
tatchi
appu: touch up; when a runner tags a base before scoring on
a sacrifice fly
tatchi
auto: touch out,
when a runner is tagged out
taimurii
tsu besu: timely
two base hit; a clutch double
wairudo
pitchi: wild pitch
yakyu: field ball; the Japanese name for
baseball
yameroo: quit, resign; often yelled at
managers whose teams are floundering
yonban
batta: number four
hitter; clean-up hitter
yusho: victory, as in yusho party,
yusho celebration
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