Comparison of Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) are the highest levels of baseball in the United States and Japan, respectively. MLB started in 1876, while NPB was not formed until 1950, following reorganization of the Japanese Baseball League, which had been in existence since 1936. Though ostensibly the same game, baseball, is played in both MLB and NPB there are a number of differences between the game in the two organizations.

Game rules

The NPB rules are essentially those of the American Major League Baseball (MLB), but technical elements are slightly different.

Ball

MLB uses a standardized ball manufactured by Rawlings. ^[1] Its seams are rather flat, and it is prepared for use by rubbing it with a special mud to reduce the slipperiness of the new leather. ^[1] For a long period there was no standard ball in NPB, but currently a standard ball manufactured by Mizuno is used across all teams in the league. ^[1] The NPB ball is slightly smaller than its MLB equivalent and has better grip, making it easier to manipulate and spin. ^[1]

Field

The NPB uses a smaller strike zone, and playing field. The strike zone is narrower "inside" than away from the batter. Five NPB teams have fields whose small dimensions would violate the American Official Baseball Rules. The note set out at the end of Rule 1.04 specifies minimum dimensions for American ballparks built or renovated after 1958: 325 feet (99 m) down each foul line and 400 feet (120 m) to center field. Though this rule is not rigidly enforced in MLB either, where, for example, Yankee Stadium was built after 1958, opening in 2009, and does not comply with the rule, having a distance down the right field line of 314 ft (96 m) and down the left field line of 318 ft (97 m). ^[2]

Ties

Unlike North American baseball, Japanese baseball games may end in a tie. ^[3] If the score is tied after nine innings of play, up to three additional innings will be played; this includes the playoffs, but not the Japan Series going beyond Game 7. If there is no winner after 12 innings, the game is declared a tie; these games count as neither a win nor a loss to team standings or to postseason series.

League format

MLB teams play 162 games in the regular series, while NPB teams each play 143. ^[3]

The end-of-season championship in MLB is the World Series, a best-of-seven competition in which a team must win four games to clinch the title. NPB's championship is the Japan Series, also a best-of-seven competition. However, since games can end in a tie, it may take more than seven games to decide the series. If the series must be extended, all games beyond Game 7 are played with no innings limit, with Game 8 being played in the same venue as Game 7, and Game 9 and beyond played in the opposing team's venue following a moving day. ^[4] A Game 8 has only happened once in Japan Series history, in the 1986 Japan Series between the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Seibu Lions. ^[5]

Rosters

MLB teams have 26-man active rosters, drawn from a larger 40-man roster of players under contract with the club. Players on the 40-man roster who are not on the active roster are typically either players currently on the injured list (or other temporary inactive list) or are assigned to the team's Triple-A minor league affiliate.

Although each NPB team roster has 28 players there is a 25 player limit for each game. Managers scratch three players before each game, typically including the most recent starting pitcher, similar to professional basketball. ^[6]

Most NPB teams have a six-man starting pitcher rotation while MLB teams feature five-man rotations. ^[3]

Gameplay

Unlike association football, which uses arithmetic coefficients to compare and rank the competitiveness of different leagues, no such system exists for club-level professional baseball. ^[7] American MLB players, scouts, and sabermetricians have described play in the NPB as "AAAA" or "Quad-A"; less competitive than in MLB, but more competitive than in Triple-A. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]} However, some commentators have pushed back on this characterization in recent years, suggesting that the talent level in NPB varies, with many active players who would be successful on the MLB level. ^[12]

Japanese baseball is generally considered more of a contact-oriented game that American baseball; it has been said that Japanese teams practice "small ball" rather than hitting for power. ^[13] However, this was questioned by FanGraphs analyst Eno Sarris in 2017, who noted that contact rates in MLB are comparable to those in NPB. ^[14]

In addition, Japanese teams practice much more often than American teams; the game relies more on off-speed pitching and not as many fastballs, and team harmony is stressed over individual achievements. ^[15] As American journalist Robert Whiting wrote in his 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, "the Japanese view of life, stressing group identity, cooperation, hard work, respect for age, seniority and 'face' has permeated almost every aspect of the sport.... Baseball Samurai Style is different." ^[16]

Baseball in the United States has been described^{[ by whom? ]} as offensive while in Japan it is defensive. ^[17] Because of the relative strength of pitching in the Japanese league, some have suggested that batting and fielding statistics are more influential in differentiating successful NPB teams from unsuccessful ones. ^[18]

See also

• American expatriate baseball players in Japan
• List of Major League Baseball players from Japan

References

1. "The Scientific Differences Between Masahiro Tanaka Pitching in Japan and Major League Baseball". www.sporttechie.com. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
2. "New Yankee Stadium Comparison". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
3. Crotin, Ryan L.; Yanai, Toshimasa; Chalmers, Peter; Smale, Kenneth B.; Erickson, Brandon J.; Kaneoka, Koji; Ishii, Masaya (2021-05-01). "Analysis of Injuries and Pitching Performance Between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball: A 2-Team Comparison Between 2015 to 2019". Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 9 (5): 232596712110088. doi:10.1177/23259671211008810. ISSN   2325-9671. PMC   8135222 . PMID   34046509.
4. "SMBC日本シリーズ2015: 開催要項" [SMBC Nippon Series 2015: Information] (Press release) (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. October 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2016. 引き分け試合があったことにより、第7戦を行ってなお優勝が決定しない場合には翌日第7戦を行った球場で第8戦を行う.さらに第9戦が必要な場合には、1日移動日を設け、もう一方のチームの球場で行う("If there is a tie game and the champion is not decided in Game 7...Game 8 is played in the ballpark where Game 7 was played. Further, if Game 9 is required, one moving day is provided, and is played in the ballpark of the other team.")
5. Game 8 - Triumph, Tragedy, and the 1986 Japan Series. , retrieved 2022-02-25
6. Waldstein, David (2014-07-22). "Ace Favors Fewer Starts to Protect Pitchers' Arms". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-11-29.
7. "A true World Series: how MLB could implement a Champions League style tournament". Call to the Pen. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
8. "How Good Is the Japanese Professional Baseball League?". Bleacher Report. November 12, 2013.
9. "For Players and Agents RE: Playing Baseball in Japan". japanball.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
10. Clemmons, Anna Katherine (2011-01-07). "Matt Murton thrives in Japanese setting". ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
11. Lykos, Deana M. (June 2008). "Why are the Japanese Leagues Considered AAAA Baseball?" (PDF). Asian Baseball Committee Journal. 6 (2): 1–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
12. Daniel Brim (April 25, 2018). "The "quad-A" myth: How many potential MLB players are currently playing in Japan?". The Athletic.
13. Michael A. Leeds; Sumi Sakata; Peter von Allmen (2012). "Labor Markets and National Culture: Salary Determination in Japanese Baseball". Eastern Economic Journal. 38 (4): 479–494. doi:10.1057/eej.2011.25 . Retrieved 19 April 2024. These performance measures (bases on balls and stolen bases) are largely consistent with the "small ball" game tactics often associated with baseball in Japan. Anecdotal evidence has long maintained that NPB teams rely less on home runs than do MLB teams. Our study provides evidence that players in NPB are rewarded for advances on the base paths that lead to a run and not just for hitting a ball often or far.
14. Eno Sarris (December 11, 2017). "Baseball in Japan Is Surprisingly Similar". FanGraphs.
15. Robert Whiting (August 21, 1989). "The Master Of Besaboru". Sports Illustrated.
16. Whiting, Robert. Chrysanthemum and the Bat: Baseball Samurai Style Dodd, Mead (1977).
17. Ikei, Masaru (2000). "Baseball, "Besuboru, Yakyu": Comparing the American and Japanese Games". Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 8 (1): 73–79. ISSN   1080-0727. JSTOR   20644757.
18. Michael Bond (February 16, 2023). "Dartmouth Sports Analytics". The MLB and Japan's NPB: A Quantitative Comparison.