NPB Primer
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Re: NPB Primer
[ Author: Guest: John Brooks | Posted: Aug 9, 2005 8:17 AM
]
- Is it easy to get tickets just walking up?
Some places are easier to get tickets walking up to than others. Hanshin and Yomiuri are two places that are pretty hard to get tickets by walking up on the day of the game. E+ sells tickets to Japanese baseball games. Though the web site is in Japanese only. Also for more read the "Tickets" topic here.
- What's minor league baseball like in Japan?
Every baseball team has one minor league affiliate in Japan. There are two leagues, the Western and Eastern leagues. Every minor league team is named after there parent team except for the BayStars and the Orix Buffaloes. The BayStars are the Shonan SeaRex and the Buffaloes minor league team is the Surpass Kobe. Boxscores really don't exist in Japanese for the minors, let alone English. Neither does much information in Japanese, let alone English. [Pro Yakyu Wiki on farm leagues]
- I was wondering if the NPB holds exhibition games in early March or if colleges and high schools start their seasons?
The NPB holds their spring training around this time.
- Do Japanese fans hate the Giants as much as American fans hate Yankees?
I would say that the Giants have a large fanbase, but are hated as much as the Yankees in Japan as the Yankees are in the United States. Much of this comes from Yomiuri Shimbun chairman and puppet owner in disguise and his unfair practices.
Some places are easier to get tickets walking up to than others. Hanshin and Yomiuri are two places that are pretty hard to get tickets by walking up on the day of the game. E+ sells tickets to Japanese baseball games. Though the web site is in Japanese only. Also for more read the "Tickets" topic here.
- What's minor league baseball like in Japan?
Every baseball team has one minor league affiliate in Japan. There are two leagues, the Western and Eastern leagues. Every minor league team is named after there parent team except for the BayStars and the Orix Buffaloes. The BayStars are the Shonan SeaRex and the Buffaloes minor league team is the Surpass Kobe. Boxscores really don't exist in Japanese for the minors, let alone English. Neither does much information in Japanese, let alone English. [Pro Yakyu Wiki on farm leagues]
- I was wondering if the NPB holds exhibition games in early March or if colleges and high schools start their seasons?
The NPB holds their spring training around this time.
- Do Japanese fans hate the Giants as much as American fans hate Yankees?
I would say that the Giants have a large fanbase, but are hated as much as the Yankees in Japan as the Yankees are in the United States. Much of this comes from Yomiuri Shimbun chairman and puppet owner in disguise and his unfair practices.
Re: NPB Primer
[ Author: Something Lions | Posted: Aug 9, 2005 11:38 AM
| SL Fan
]
Some additional info on top of John's quality answers:
- Is it easy to get tickets just walking up?
Other than Tigers and Giants games in general, and games at Fukuoka, I would say yes. But even usually poorly attended parks may be full on some holidays and so on.
- Is there any baseball in Okayama this time of year?
Okayama holds a few NPB games a year at the cutely named Mascut Stadium in Kurashiki. There's no spring time prefectural qualifier for the Koshien high school tournament because it's an invitational, as far as I know. There may be some college ball in the area during spring time.
- What's minor league baseball like in Japan?
Seibu also sold the minor league team's naming rights, so it's temporarily called the Invoice Lions. :P
Anyways, there's a new independent Island League just across the straight from Okayama in Shikoku. Four teams full of young players that play a fairly short season. [IBLJ Site]
- I was wondering if the NPB holds exhibition games in early March or if colleges and high schools start their seasons?
Yes, exhibition games start early, some time in February. There are the odd exhibition games north of Kyushu and Shikoku. Actually seeing spring training and exhibition games in Shikoku or Kyushu may be your best option for some live NPB experience. Should be interesting.
- My last question out of curiosity is: Do Japanese fans hate the Giants as much as American fans hate Yankees?
There's a lot of anti-Giants fans amongst true baseball fans. And there's a lot of casual Giants fans. A rather similar parallel to the Yanks.
- Is it easy to get tickets just walking up?
Other than Tigers and Giants games in general, and games at Fukuoka, I would say yes. But even usually poorly attended parks may be full on some holidays and so on.
- Is there any baseball in Okayama this time of year?
Okayama holds a few NPB games a year at the cutely named Mascut Stadium in Kurashiki. There's no spring time prefectural qualifier for the Koshien high school tournament because it's an invitational, as far as I know. There may be some college ball in the area during spring time.
- What's minor league baseball like in Japan?
Seibu also sold the minor league team's naming rights, so it's temporarily called the Invoice Lions. :P
Anyways, there's a new independent Island League just across the straight from Okayama in Shikoku. Four teams full of young players that play a fairly short season. [IBLJ Site]
- I was wondering if the NPB holds exhibition games in early March or if colleges and high schools start their seasons?
Yes, exhibition games start early, some time in February. There are the odd exhibition games north of Kyushu and Shikoku. Actually seeing spring training and exhibition games in Shikoku or Kyushu may be your best option for some live NPB experience. Should be interesting.
- My last question out of curiosity is: Do Japanese fans hate the Giants as much as American fans hate Yankees?
There's a lot of anti-Giants fans amongst true baseball fans. And there's a lot of casual Giants fans. A rather similar parallel to the Yanks.
Re: NPB Primer
[ Author: torakichi | Posted: Aug 9, 2005 2:51 PM
| HT Fan
]
- [...] a lot of people in Okayama are ferevent Hiroshima fans.
Right, most are Hiroshima fans, but there are quite a few Hanshin supporters as well (as Okayama is sort of sandwiched between those two teams' home regions).
<trivia>
Okayama is home to a number of notable baseball figures. Just one off the top of my head: legendary pitcher, manager, and now Senior Director with the Hanshin Tigers, Senichi Hoshino. Do a search around this site and his name will come up innumerable times; and ask baseball fans in Okayama and they will be happy to talk about one of their favourite sons.
</trivia>
Right, most are Hiroshima fans, but there are quite a few Hanshin supporters as well (as Okayama is sort of sandwiched between those two teams' home regions).
<trivia>
Okayama is home to a number of notable baseball figures. Just one off the top of my head: legendary pitcher, manager, and now Senior Director with the Hanshin Tigers, Senichi Hoshino. Do a search around this site and his name will come up innumerable times; and ask baseball fans in Okayama and they will be happy to talk about one of their favourite sons.
</trivia>
Re: NPB Primer
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A friend of mine and I have been accepted into an English teaching program through our University in Okayama. We'll be leaving August 28th and we'll be there for six months, unfortunately not during baseball season. I'm hoping this upcoming month I'll be able to go see either the Carp or the Buffaloes, the two closest clubs I think.
I had a couple questions as a gaijin about to go over concerning baseball.
- Is it easy to get tickets just walking up?
- Is there any baseball in Okayama this time of year?
- What's minor league baseball like in Japan?
- I was wondering if the NPB holds exhibition games in early March or if colleges and high schools start their seasons?
- My last question out of curiosity is: Do Japanese fans hate the Giants as much as American fans hate Yankees?
Sorry for the long post and questions. I guess we should've picked to go in the spring.I've read conflicting things on the Internet: some people say most tickets are pre-purchased; some say depending on the team, particularly the Carp, it's easy to get tickets.
I've googled "Okayama baseball" and got a lot of box scores for high school and college games (particularly the college we'll be at, Okayama University of Science I believe). I wasn't sure about minor league baseball in Japan, which leads me to this question actually.
Living in Dayton, Ohio I have a lot of access to baseball. There's the Reds, the Indians, the Dragons (the Class A affiliate of the Reds here in Dayton), the Columbus Clippers (the AAA affiliate of the Yankees, apparently Nomo is there), the Toledo Mudhens (AAA affiliate of the Tigers), Akron Aeros, and the Indianapolis Indians. Is minor league baseball "big" at all in Japan? Does it even exist? I can't find any sort of official site for it on the web, and I've only ever found boxscores and the site for a Yokohama BayStars affiliate. I was just curious about that.
My friend and I will be leaving March 11th. I think it would be cool to check it out before we left.
Outside of Tokyo, of course. Just about every fan in the midwest that's a real fan can't stand the Yankees. My professor, who's coordinating the trip, doesn't know much about baseball, but she said a lot of people in Okayama are ferevent Hiroshima fans.