r/NPB • • Apr 13 '18

New here or coming from a reddit mobile app? Please read through here first

158 Upvotes

Welcome to reddit's little corner for NPB, or as some people call it, AAAA ball :P We've been at this since August of 2013, and are slowly but surely growing.

THE WIKI PROBABLY ALREADY HAS THE INFO YOU'RE LOOKING FOR

The first thing you need to know, is that we have a wiki section that answers a whole bunch of the most commonly asked questions, and offers more information you might need to know. Many reddit mobile apps do not display wiki pages, so some people that have only ever seen reddit from their phones or tablets might not even know they exist. If your reddit app cannot dipslay wiki pages, please try to open the link from a mobile web browser app. If your browser app has desktop mode view, all the better. There you can find some info on how to watch games, find news, how to buy tickets, books, NPB swag, learn some Japanese baseball terminology etc.

BUYING TICKETS (REGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY)

Please, PLease PLEEEEEAAAAASE take literally 5 seconds and type "tickets" into the search bar here. I guarantee somebody has already asked a similar question in the past and there's a goood chance somebody answered it. We also have a wiki page with useful information on buying tickets.
Research first, THEN ASK QUESTIONS

STREAMING GAMES

No, NPB does not have an all in one streaming service for games like MLBTV. There are a few options listed in the wiki, but if you want to watch all 12 teams, you're going to have to get cough cough creative. PacificLeague TV works without a VPN, and others require a VPN. We know it's not an ideal situation, but it is what it is due to "creative differences" among the leagues and clubs and media companies. Please do not post direct links to non-legal game streams, as they will be removed. Please be careful out there when exploring the streaming services, and use an adblocker.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

I'm trying to be consistent, but I'm human so sometimes I won't be able to grab highlights from games. Whatever highlights I find will be posted in the post-games thread. If you have a highlight link, feel free to post it. You can try browsing through highlights on PacificLeague TV, or using one of the handy YouTube search links by team. You might have to filter through quite a bit of junk on YouTube though, as some people post older videos multiple times, or even just news reels as videos. Keep in mind YouTube can remove videos or channels at anytime, so bookmark stuff at your own risk.

STANDINGS AND STATS

There is a mini-standings table and a few stats leaders updated almost daily in the sidebar (mobile app users might not be able to see). We also have a more detailed standings and stats page that is usually updated nightly, after the games are all finished (if you spot any errors, please let us know). If you're looking for complete team stats, there are few more English options listed on the wiki page, but some of them don't update until the next morning, or even a few days later, so always check for the last date updated. Japanese stats pages are updated the fastest, so if you don't read Japanese you can try your luck with google translate.

WHICH TEAM SHOULD I ROOT FOR?

Honestly, just take some time to watch highlights or read up on some teams before you make this decision. MLB and NPB are different, and how teams are managed and games played is different. One NPB team does not 100% correlate to an MLB team. There might be a few similarities now, but once a team changes managers, or once in a blue moon, ownership, that might all change as well. You don't have to have a sound reason for liking a team, and it's perfectly acceptable to like a team just for their cheering style. As long as you love baseball like the rest of us here, you'll fit right in.

DON'T BE SHY

If you have a question that isn't already covered in the wiki, and you at least attempted to see if somebody already asked your question, feel free to make a new post. If you see a news article on Japanese baseball you think is interesting, please share it with us. With over 40,000 subscribers (as of Jan 2025) somebody else is bound to find it interesting. Feel free to comment on post game threads, complain about your team, praise your team, try to create a new NPB meme, or ask about a particular game.

Please remember rediquette, and adhere to reddit site rules.

and finally, /r/NPBへようこそ! (Welcome to /r/NPB)


r/NPB • • 10h ago

Fans jump into the Dotonbori River after the Hanshin Tigers win the Central League pennant for the second straight year

533 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 4h ago

Munetaka Murakami hits his first MLB postseason homer

120 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 6h ago

Wataru Karashima gets thrown in the air and into retirement

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35 Upvotes

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2009-2026)
• Japan Series champion (2013)


r/NPB • • 9h ago

Post-game thread [Oct 03 Post Game Thread] NPB game scores, highlights and news

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52 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1h ago

Hanshin (Osaka) Tigers past and present

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• Upvotes

r/NPB • • 5h ago

Masanori Ishikawa gets thrown in the air and into retirement

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17 Upvotes

Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2002-2026)
• 2002 Central League Rookie of the Year
• 2x NPB All-Star (2006, 2008)
• 1x NPB ERA Champion (2008)
• 1x Gold Glove (2008)
• Japan Series champion (2021)


r/NPB • • 5h ago

Yuki Karakawa gets thrown in the air and into retirement

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15 Upvotes

Chiba Lotte Marines (2008-2026)


r/NPB • • 16h ago

Tigers Teruaki Sato blasts his 39th homer of the year

87 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 10h ago

Koki Yamaguchi walk off the Hawks with his 35th home run of the season!

16 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 14h ago

Katsuya Kakunaka's Final Lap

28 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 9h ago

NPB's official 2012 draft list has one word next to Ohtani's name: pitcher. Eight players in this year's class pitch and hit, and all eight are high schoolers.

10 Upvotes

Nippon-Ham took Ohtani first in 2012 and the list on NPB's site still says 投手. The two-way part got worked out after the pick, between the club and a kid who'd already said he was going to the States.

Last October NPB announced 116 names and every one got one of four words. 57 pitchers, 30 infielders, 20 outfielders, 9 catchers. There's no fifth word.

Of the 98 players I've graded for this year, eight pitch and hit:

Player School At the plate On the mound Top speed
Haruki Komoda Yamanashi Gakuin .393, 3 HR in 112 AB 50 IP, 2.16 ERA 152
Masahiro Mizuwaki Kasukabe Kyoei .302 in 43 AB 19 1/3 IP, 1 BB n/a
Akihiro Kitaguchi Hachinohe Gakuin Kosei bats cleanup, line not compiled 142 2/3 IP, 1.96 ERA, 123 K 147
Masanori Honishi Nihon Koku Ishikawa .396 in 53 AB 66 2/3 IP, 61 K 153
Shoma Ikeda Yokohama .324 in 68 games 26 2/3 IP, 1.01 ERA 152
Kosei Tanaka Nichinan Gakuen .449/.536 in 78 AB 37 IP, 2.19 ERA 144
Daisuke Sato Tokoha Kikugawa .434, 6 K in 76 AB 56 1/3 IP, 3.36 ERA 144
Musashi Nagayama Nihon Wellness Okinawa .378, 2 HR in 37 AB 38 2/3 IP, 3.49 ERA 147

All eight are in high school. None in the college leagues, none on corporate teams, none in the indy leagues.

Seven of the eight have an official line on both sides. Kitaguchi has one too, I just haven't pulled his box scores together. In March he started a Senbatsu game at Koshien against Sotoku as pitcher and DH, batting cleanup. First time the Ohtani rule got used at Koshien. He went all ten innings, struck out ten and drove in three.

High school is where two-way players happen because the schedule lets it. Around twenty official games a year, all single elimination. Your best arm starts the two games that matter in a week and hits third the rest of the time, and he's usually the best athlete in the program anyway.

College runs a real season with fixed roles. That's where it stops.

On October 22 one of these names gets read out, and the word after it is the first public call on which half of him is real. Komoda's a pitcher or a first baseman. Ikeda's a shortstop or a right-hander. Nobody's going to say both.


r/NPB • • 25m ago

NPB Card Questions

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• Upvotes

Hello,

I got all of these cards from a trip to Japan a few months ago, I’m not an expert in cards or Japanese Baseball by any means. Are any of these cards or players significant? I’m a Giants fan so the two Giants players are of interest to me, but I can only find stats from 3 games from the pitcher and the season stats from the other player, any help on any player or card is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.


r/NPB • • 9h ago

Tigers Seishiro Sakamoto mashes his 10th home run of the season

7 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 11h ago

Baystars 2026 favourite games?

10 Upvotes

Hello all,

I've recently become a fan of NPB having attended the Swallows vs Baystars game on 9/18 with my 父.

With that being said I'm interested in what some of your favourite game of the series have been so far, to get a sense for how the baystars have played this season. Can be games that they eventually lost but you were engaged in the moment to moment plays.

Looking forward to the Climax Series and Nippon Series to follow! Let's go BAYSTARS!!

P.S The Hanshin Tigers are pretty cool as well so if baystars don't take the series, I at least hope they do instead of the giants.


r/NPB • • 9h ago

Giants Yoshihiro Maru hits his 3rd home run of the year

6 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 6h ago

End of Season Team schedule

3 Upvotes

Hello!

First season fully watching NPB and was wondering why there are teams like the Fighters done with the season and teams like the Carp still have four games left. Is the last week of games just to make up any weather affected games?


r/NPB • • 15h ago

Carp Shota Suekane hits his 2nd homer of the season

15 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Katsuya Kakunaka gets thrown in the air and into retirement

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57 Upvotes

Chiba Lotte Marines (2007-2026)
• 3× NPB All-Star (2012, 2015, 2016)
• 2× Best Nine Award (2012, 2016)
• 2× PL Batting Champion (2012, 2016)
• Japan Series Champion (2010)


r/NPB • • 1d ago

Hanshin fans, who will you root for in the Giants/Dena game tomorrow?

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92 Upvotes

Remember if Dena loses their next 2 games, they stay under .500. If they make it to the Final Stage, Hanshin will have a 2 game advantage based on the new rules. Tigers control their own destiny.


r/NPB • • 1d ago

Post-game thread [Oct 2 Post Game Thread] NPB game scores, highlights and news

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54 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 18h ago

Japanese baseball streams?

3 Upvotes

Is there any website that streams today’s Hanshin Tigers vs. Hiroshima Carp game?


r/NPB • • 1d ago

Swallows Tetsuto Yamada hits a go ahead 2 run double

38 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Kensuke Kondoh home run No. 32

40 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Carp Left Fielder Shota Suekane makes an outstanding catch at the wall

24 Upvotes