The Game Each spring brings out the start of baseball season, so let’s talk about Japan’s number one sport. The regular pro baseball season was supposed to start March 20th but has been delayed until at least May (1) due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Spectators were banned from pre-season games in February because of the virus and government appeals to limit large gatherings. As of now, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) has not announced when it will begin selling tickets again. But hopefully, we can all enjoy a live baseball game this season.
Graphic from Dreamstime.com
NPB is divided into two leagues: the Central and the Pacific Leagues. Each one has six teams; they all face squads from the opposite league in midseason interleague matchups. The top three teams in each league advance to the playoffs and the league champions will play each other in the Japan Series in November to crown the champions of Japan. Japanese baseball has mostly the same rules as Major League Baseball (MLB), with the major exception being that NPB games have a time limit. Regular season NPB games can go to a maximum of 12 innings, while playoff games can go up to 15. Another difference is that Japanese games can end in a tie, while MLB games will just go on until one team outscores the other. Japanese teams have a roster of 28 players, unlike the 25-man roster in MLB. NPB also uses a smaller baseball, strike zone and playing field.
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