It’s Back, Baseball!… In Japan!
Here is everything you need to know about the Nippon Baseball League leading into the new season.
I am a huge fan of baseball.
As a young fan despite being a devoted supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays, Hideki Matsui was one of my favorite players to watch, I was always beyond thrilled when Matsui would launch a home run, and announcer John Sterling would yell, “Sayonara!”!
The New York Yankees outfielder was an essential piece of the team’s championship run in 2009. He hit three home runs and a .615 average against the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
In the same year that Matsui dominated the left-field in New York, Ichiro Suzuki was dynamiting the right field for the Seattle Mariners. Hideo Nomo and Daisuke Matsuzaka, two pitchers dominating on the mound, were also performing well.
There is one thing these players all have in common: they each made their way into the MLB after successful careers in their home country, Japan.
Though Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) are two very different leagues, my love for the Japanese game comes from my passion for MLB.
