This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Yet, fans are turning out to Pro Yakyu nonetheless. 35,000 were at Chiba Marine to watch the Tigers vs. Swallows, 37,000 watched the Dragons host the BayStars at Nagoya Dome, and the usual 55,000 fans filled Tokyo Dome to watch the Giants drop one to Hiroshima.
The Pacific League did fairly well, although not quite as well as last weekend, with 15,000 at the smaller confines of Kanazawa Stadium for the Marines hosting the Hawks, and 19,000 fans turned out at both Seibu Dome and Osaka Dome to watch both home teams win (against the Fighters and BlueWave respectively) by dramatic one run margins. All three were day games. I watched the Buffaloes game on TV, and it seemed like a better turn out than that, but...
Nonetheless, due to the World Cup, the "powers that be" in Pro Yakyu decided to have a reduced schedule in June. Sure, the month, and Cup competition, has just started. But it looks to me like baseball is able to hold its own. Hey, with so many people from overseas coming to Japan for the World Cup, there's potential to make even more fans of baseball while their teams have days off or ticketless fans look for other ways to pass their time. Pro Yakyu should be looking at this as an opportunity, not backing away when presented with a little competition.