Japanese Baseball

See more Spectator Sports. Near to Osaka (30.54 km) in Japan.

The Americans introduced baseball to Japan in 1872 but professional baseball didn’t ake off there until 1920, with the launch of what is now referred to Nippon Professional Baseball.

Referred to in Japan as ‘Yakyu’, it is a league made up of teams named after their sponsors rather than their local towns, resulting in the inspirational ‘Yakult Swallows’ and ‘Nippon Ham Fighters’ teams, which are the namesakes of probiotic yoghurt and meat-packing companies respectively.

The style of play and even the basic approach to the game of baseball is very different in Japan from the way it is in the USA. For a start, the team members are hardly international in origin; almost all of them are Japanese, and I have never met anyone who has heard of any of them. Their style is said to be somewhat reckless, and the half-time entertainment is just as crazy – giant sponsor logos bounce about enthusiastically alongside dancing girls and mascots.

At some stadiums, such as Koshien, you can even get a list of the correct encouraging chants for every situation, and for either team, so that you can cooperate with the instructions of the chant-leader.

2 / 5 Review by editor larapiegeler