From today we return to play in Japan for the top championship of Nippon Professional Baseball.
So the 75th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball will start, 90 if we also count the JBL championships prior to 1950, i.e. from 1936, before the birth of the actual NPB. In the Central League (CL) we will see the most classic teams from the Land of the Rising Sun, the most traditional and as we well know there are six of them, namely the Chunichi Dragons (CD), Hanshin Tigers (HT), Hiroshima Toyo Carp (HTC), Tokyo Yakult Swallows (TYS), Yokohama DeNA BayStars (YDBS) and Yomiuri Giants (YG), where the latter are celebrating 90 years of existence. The Pacific League also has six teams, Chiba Lotte Marines (CLM), Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (FSH), Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (HNHF), Orix Buffaloes (OBs), Saitama Seibu Lions (SSL) and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (TRGE) , the latter is the youngest team in NPB and compared to the Giants they are 20 years old.
Last year, after a long ride, the Tigers won the tournament, first winning the League Pennant and then dispelling the taboo of the “Colonel’s curse” by taking home the NPB title after 38 years, winning in the Nippon-Series against the Buffaloes. A Kansai derby final, with the Buffaloes coming from three League Pennants won in a row, dominating the Pacific League after the Hawks in the recent past and we will see if with the departure of the ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto they will be able to maintain the leadership in that League. In the Central League, however, there is the Japanese team that has not won the championship for several seasons, i.e. the Hiroshima Carp who have not won the title since 1984 and last year lost in the last stage of the Climax-Series against the Tigers, so I come eliminated from the tournament in the play-offs.
The regular championship will begin with the following races:
CENTRAL LEAGUE
DRAGONS @ SWALLOWS, Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, Monday Pref. (6:00 pm)
probable starters: Yuya Yanagi (CD) Vs. Cy Sneed (TYS)
TIGERS@ GIANTS, Tokyo Dome, pref. (6.15 pm loc.)
probable starters: Koyo Aoyagi (HT) Vs. Shosei Togo (YG)
CARP@ BAYSTARS, Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, pref. in Kanagawa (18:30 loc.)
probable starters: Aren Kuri (HTC) Vs. Katsuki Azuma (YDBS)
PACIFIC LEAGUE
FIGHTERS @ MARINES, ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, pref. (6.30pm locally)
probable starters: Hiromi Itoh (HNHF) Vs. Kazuya Ojima (CLM)
HAWKS @ BUFFALOES, Kyocera Dome in Osaka, pref. (6pm local)
probable starters: Kohei Arihara (FSH) Vs. Hiroya Miyagi (OBs)
LIONS@ GOLDEN EAGLES, Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi di Sendai, pref. di Miyagi (18:00 loc.)
probable starters: Tatsuya Imai (SSL) Vs. Takahisa Hayakawa (TRGE)
Please note that the InterLeague matches, three at home and three away from home against the six teams of the opposing League (18 matches in total for each team), will be played between 28/05 and 16/06, while the two matches All-Star games will be played on 07/23 (at ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO) and 07/24 (at Jingu Stadium). Instead, the Nippon-Series will be played from 10/26 onwards and since the current year is a draw, the team that wins the Climax-Series of the Central League will play the first two games at home.
2024-03-29 07:26:49
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