Professional Baseball Season Starts: Hopes Are High for Players to Showcase Powerful, Speedy Play in Japan

Editorial

17:00 JST, March 27, 2026

The season has arrived in which cheers and the sound of batted balls echoing through stadiums make people’s hearts race. Both the Central and Pacific leagues of Japanese professional baseball start their 2026 season today. Hopes are high for players to showcase passionate performances filled with powerful and speedy play.

The season begins while the excitement of the World Baseball Classic is still in the air. Although Japan’s national team, Samurai Japan, lost in the WBC quarterfinals, it is hoped that players will display high-level baseball in the race to become league champions.

In a survey conducted last year by The Yomiuri Shimbun, professional baseball took the top spot as the favorite sport for the fifth consecutive year. Last season, the number of spectators at official Central and Pacific league games totaled 27.04 million, hitting a new record high.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, people might have rediscovered the appeal of watching sports live. Spectators can see the entire field and experience the excitement of thrilling plays up close. Events and shows held between innings are also likely to be part of the fun.

Top players who showcase spectacular plays are sure to become children’s idols. It is hoped that players will put on exciting games that make children want to try playing baseball.

In the Central League, the focus will be on how other teams will challenge the Hanshin Tigers, which won the league title last season by a wide margin ahead of second place. For the Yomiuri Giants, the key will likely be how the team utilizes their young players, such as Kazuyuki Takemaru who is set to be a starting pitcher at its opening game, and new foreign players.

In the Pacific League, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters — the teams that battled for the title last season — both boast strong pitching and hitting lineups and are expected to be key contenders again this season.

Three of the 12 teams — the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Chiba Lotte Marines — have changed managers. Strategies employed by these new managers will also be a highlight. In terms of individual records, there are high expectations for Giants player Yoshihiro Maru to reach 2,000 career hits.

As well, the designated hitter rule will also be introduced in the Central League from next season, following its introduction in the Pacific League. This rule has been adopted in the National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament, which is currently underway. This season will be the last opportunity to see the traditional “nine-man baseball” format in the Central League.

This season, the bases at first through third have been enlarged from 15 inches (about 38 centimeters) square to 18 inches (about 46 centimeters). The change is expected to reduce dangerous collisions between runners and fielders while likely increasing the number of stolen bases.

In the farm league, which has already started its season, 14 teams are competing in three divisions from this season. Minor league games offer the appeal of being able to see promising young players who aim for the top-tier league up close. This should help expand the baseball fan base.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 27, 2026)