r/NPB • • Apr 13 '18

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

160 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

Down to their last strike, BayStars take the lead on a 2-run RBI from Masaki Mimori!

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90 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 10h ago

BayStars 2B Shugo Maki named CLCS MVP, LF Ryuki Watari named CLCS Jera Award winner

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66 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 13h ago

Post-game thread [Oct 17 Post Game Thread] NPB game scores, highlights and news

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67 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 9h ago

Tigers Shota Morishita blasts 2 home runs

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27 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 14h ago

Farewell Hanshin

54 Upvotes

Well done DeNA.


r/NPB • • 9h ago

BayStars Shuto Naruse hits a home run

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19 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 12h ago

9th inning of the Tigers vs Baystars game is why I don’t want to see the pitch clock

13 Upvotes

That 9th inning was brutal for the Tigers, but the tense moments between pitches made the inning so much more dramatic. Cut scenes of players, fans, pitcher and catcher during the at bats creates so much drama.

Pitch clock is good to speed up games but I do feel you lose a sense of build up. I know people like pitch clock but I’m not a fan, when I catch MLB games it just feels rushed.

What are other people’s thoughts?


r/NPB • • 8h ago

43 of the 116 players NPB drafted last October got no signing bonus. 12 of the 13 independent-league picks were among them.

3 Upvotes

Once the network TV coverage is over, the room runs the development draft. Last October it took 43 players, more than a third of everyone drafted.

A development pick gets no signing bonus, a preparation payment of ¥2 to 3.5 million, and a minimum salary of ¥2.4 million, about $16,000 a year. A first-rounder can get up to ¥100 million plus ¥50 million in incentives.

Where last year's 116 came from:

From Drafted On development deals
College (Japan) 52 14
High school 33 14
Corporate teams 13 1
Independent leagues 13 12
Oisix Niigata (NPB farm league) 3 2
US college 2 0

The indy guys are already pros, some of them 24 or 25, and almost all of them signed for nothing. The corporate row is the opposite. A club has to pull those players out of a salaried job, so only one of the 13 went in the development round.

Senga's the one everybody points to. Fourth round of the 2010 development draft out of Gamagori High School, ¥3 million prep payment, ¥2.7 million salary in 2011. Promoted during 2012. Mets, five years, $75 million, December 2022.

The downside for the club is ¥2.4 million a year. That's why they keep taking shots at 18-year-olds in that round.


r/NPB • • 1h ago

How to purchase Japan Series tickets

• Upvotes

Never tried before because I just moved to Tokyo in March. Could easily make a weekend game in Yokohama.

I purchased BayStar tickets during the regular season so I already have an account with the team's online ticketing system. I'm not a fanclub member.

How are tickets released to the general public?

Any suggestions on how to score a pair of seats?


r/NPB • • 1d ago

Post-game thread [Oct 16 Post Game Thread] NPB game scores, highlights and news

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88 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

NPB announced that umpire Takuto Kawakami, who had fallen into a coma after being struck in the head by a bat, has regained consciousness

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231 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Hawks Win the Pacific League Series

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91 Upvotes

And this time they didn't even need the advantage they earned in the regular season.


r/NPB • • 23h ago

Shoki Oda to skip NPB Draft to pursue MLB dreams

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9 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

BayStars Shugo Maki blasts a home run

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56 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Keita Sano 3-Run Home Run!

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60 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Four NPB stars who could be Major League-bound

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19 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 21h ago

Where to buy NPB jerseys in Tokyo?

4 Upvotes

I've heard of Selection, but they are overpriced and tiny in stock. Anyone have any suggestions not to far from Shinjuku or Shibuya?


r/NPB • • 1d ago

SoftBank Hawks SS Yudai Shoji is the 2026 PLCS MVP!

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26 Upvotes

Series: 5-for-11, 2 RBI, 4 R

G1: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R
G2: 2-for-3, 2 R
G3: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB


r/NPB • • 1d ago

SoftBank Hawks 1B Tomoya Masaki is the 2026 PLCS Persol Award winner (not to be confused with MVP)

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21 Upvotes

Series: 4-for-12, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 HR

G1: 1-for-3, 1 RBI
G2: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R
G3: 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 HR


r/NPB • • 1d ago

BayStars pitching ; eating crow time

24 Upvotes

I must credit the BayStars management with having developed and delivered a quality pitching staff that is showing so well at this point in the Climax series.

I was extremely frustrated earlier in the season, but some key changes ( departures of formerly top pitchers) and the growth in skills of younger pitchers seems to be key to their success so far.

At this stage of the Climax series I might be premature in this conclusion, ahem, but hopefully not.

The rookie Katayama-sans performance tonight - 8 strikeouts- no runs in the 4-0 win over Hanshin reflects this development.


r/NPB • • 1d ago

Hawks Tomoya Masaki hits a home run

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18 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 1d ago

Hey Fighters Fans,Trade Proposition for yall

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14 Upvotes

It's obvious Shinjo isn't taking you to the Japan Series like Trey Hillman and Hideki Kuriyama has. So how about this: You give us Shinjo and we give you the great Kyuji Fujikawa who led the 2025 Tigers to a Japan Series appearance. We'll even throw in our awesome hitting coach aka Fighters legend Eiichi Koyano who was probably the reason Teruaki Sato won the Triple Crown this year. Deal?


r/NPB • • 1d ago

Shohei Ohtani hits first home run in 116 plate appearances

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18 Upvotes

r/NPB • • 2d ago

Japanese language link [Chunichi Sports] Kenta Bright retires; reveals depression diagnosis. "To be honest, I'm still fighting."

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111 Upvotes

Former Chunichi Dragons outfielder Kenta Bright (27), who was informed that he would not be offered a contract for next season, updated his Instagram account on the 15th to announce his retirement from professional baseball.

Bright began his announcement:

"Hello everyone, it's been a while. I sincerely apologise for taking so long to give you an update. I've made the decision to retire from baseball."

He then revealed the circumstances behind his absence this season.

"The truth is, I've been experiencing difficulties with both my physical and mental health since spring training this year. I was subsequently diagnosed with depression. I tried to fight through it, but I've been taking time away from baseball since April 22."