Never Bunt How Yakult's fearless new manager is building the most interesting team in Japanese baseball while Chunichi collapses in the background

The Chunichi Dragons are playing like it’s 1980, which is not great. And in Tokyo, Yakult’s new manager hasn’t bunted twice all season and his closer just handed a record-setting ball to a rookie because “he is special, so.”

Week 4 in NPB is in the books.

Japan's Favorite Players: No. 4, Hideki Matsui Of course they walked him. It couldn’t be helped.

Everybody knows of Godzilla and the World Series MVP with the Yankees.

It all started when he was intentionally walked 5 times in a row in high school and how he decided to become the hitter opposing teams had no choice but to fear.

Sayonara, .500 Hanshin looks like the class of the Central League again, the Dragons are already in trouble, and Lotte has a losing record for the first time ever.

The Nippon-Ham Fighters are breaking records, a strikeout record was tied in the Central League, and the Chiba Lotte Marines fall below .500 for the first time since the franchise began play in 1950.

Catch up on last week in the Japanese baseball.

I was thinking that as I was working on this. I should find out if other former Nishitetsu player-turned-managers had similar policies.

Japan's Favorite Players: No. 5, Hideo Nomo The pitcher who refused to change, crossed an ocean, and altered baseball forever

He overwhelmed Japanese baseball with his form, crossed the Pacific when almost nobody thought a Japanese star should, and changed the sport forever.

Before Ohtani, before Ichiro, there was Hideo Nomo.

It’s a beautiful and warm sunny day here in Tokyo, Kana and I have a yakiniku date this evening, the Marines came from behind to win last night, and I’m working on my next essay: about the great pioneer, Hideo Nomo.

Happy Saturday.

A No-Hitter and A Lot of Long Balls Haruki Hosono did something historic, the Fighters can't stop hitting home runs, the Swallows continue to surprise, and more from the first full week of NPB.

The first full week of baseball in Japan is in the books! My weekly recap on the happenings in NPB is below.

Last week brought a no-hitter, lots of home runs, and one of the worst endings to a game I've witnessed live.

Another beautiful day for baseball.

Japan's Favorite Players: No. 6, Hiromitsu Ochiai The three-time Triple Crown winner who did everything his own way

Hiromitsu Ochiai said spirit and effort were words he absolutely could not stand. He said he played baseball only for the money. He said ten swings was all he needed before a game.

He also won the Triple Crown three times. No one else in Japanese baseball history has done it more than twice.

One Weekend In, and Baseball Is Already Being Baseball A closer is nearly perfect in his first career start, two rookies win on Opening Day, and the standings are already making us scratch our heads

Opening Weekend in Japan is over and we already saw a near-perfect game, two rookies making history, and a lot of home runs.

It won't happen but I think it would be fun if Masanori reached 200 wins and losses. His current record is 188-193.

Play Ball! (2026) I'm continuing my Opening Day tradition of doing a post showing a baseball card from the last year that each of the 12 NPB teams won the Nip...

My annual NPB Opening Day post using an idea from @nightowlcardz.bsky.social japanesebaseballcards.blogspot.com/2026/03/play...

Japan's Favorite Players: No. 7, Tsuyoshi Shinjo The player who turned the diamond into a stage and never forgot who he was performing for

He wasn't the best player of his generation but Tsuyoshi Shinjo understood something simple: baseball is for the fans.

That mentality helped make him one of the most popular and unforgettable players Japanese baseball has ever produced.

A perfect day for baseball.

Rookie Kaito Mouri pitched 5 scoreless innings,　Kou Matsukawa (who caught Roki Sasaki’s perfect game) drive in two runs, Gregory Polanco hit a solo home run for insurance, and the Chiba Lotte Marines won on Opening Day for the second year in a row as Saburo picks up his first win as a manager.

Baseball is Back! Opening Day 2026 is Here Thoughts on all 12 NPB teams, Opening Day matchups, and more

My 2026 NPB Predictions

Central League:
1. Hanshin
2. DeNA
3. Yomiuri
4. Chunichi
5. Hiroshima
6. Yakult

Pacific League:
1. SoftBank
2. Nippon-Ham
3. Orix
4. Lotte
5. Seibu
6. Rakuten

Nippon Professional Baseball Teams: A Primer Looking at all twelve teams briefly - who are they? Why should you cheer for them?

Here's a little primer about each of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball that I did with Trevor Raichura.

If you've had a hard time following a team to root for, this is for you.

I want to believe. I think I'm mostly worried about the infield and the bullpen.

Final spring training standings for NPB.

The Giants and the Fighters finish with the highest winning percentages. My poor Marines finish at the bottom. Hopefully not a sign of things to come...

I don't think anyone needs to worry about a sub-.500 team going all the way. But I also don't think the pennant winners need more advantages.

And they did it. NPB announced changes to its postseason format yesterday.

If the first-place team wins the pennant by 10 or more games, they get two automatics wins in the second round of the playoffs instead of one. And if a sub-.500 team qualifies, the pennant winner also gets two ghost wins.

2025 BBM 35th Anniversary/Shukan Baseball 4000th Issue card of Teruaki Sato

2023 Epoch One card of Shota Morishita

Card Of The Week - the other two offensive stars (besides Ohtani) in Samurai Japan's loss last night japanesebaseballcards.blogspot.com/2026/03/card...

Japan's Favorite Players: No. 8, Daisuke Matsuzaka The pitcher who turned Koshien into theater and emerged as the Monster of the Heisei Era

Before he was Dice-K, he was a teenage Koshien monster, and the summer of 1998 remains one of those stretches where baseball starts to feel a bit supernatural. He threw 250 pitches in one game and somehow that was only the beginning.

My latest is on Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Monster of the Heisei Era.

2009 Konami Baseball Heroes WBC card of Alfredo Despaigne

2020 Epoch Buffaloes Rookies & Stars card of Masataka Yoshida

Card Of The Week - Alfredo Despaigne is playing in his fifth WBC and Masataka Yoshida homered in front of the Emperor, causing @gabelerman.bsky.social to ask if he was the first Japanese player to do it since Nagashima in 1959 japanesebaseballcards.blogspot.com/2026/03/card...

It was one of the best I've been to. Absolutely electric.

Time for some baseball.

Japan's Favorite Players: No. 9, Randy Bass The quiet slugger from Oklahoma who became a Kansai folk hero

Randy Bass in Japan:

.389 for a whole season
202 home runs
Two Triple Crowns
One championship

And a chant from Hanshin fans that went:

God. Buddha. Bass.

I'd love to take up up on that if you've got extras for weekend games.

I appreciate the gesture! I'm sure we can take in a Marines game together sometime...

Guess I'm going to the WBC after all, thanks to one generous reader.