Last month, in a contest played over 2 continents, Japan defeated Cuba 10-6 in the final game of the World Baseball Classic, becoming the first champions of baseball’s first international tournament. To some this came as a surprise, but as most baseball fans can tell you, baseball is by far the sport with the most fans in Japan today.
Yakyu, as baseball is called in Japanese, was introduced from the United States during the early Meiji Period. This was a time of great shift from traditional Japanese ways of life to a more western, industrial era.
There are two professional baseball leagues in Japan: the Central League and the Pacific League. They consist of six teams each. Baseball games are broadcast live on television several times per week during the season. Furthermore, there is a large number of university and high school baseball teams. The finals of the high school baseball tournaments, in particular, enjoy a large popularity and are broadcast nationwide.
One doesn’t need to look across the ocean for prof of baseball’s popularity in Japan, many of today’s most popular players are products of the Japanese Leagues. The New York Yankees, famous for only hiring the best at any cost, have Hideki Matsui as part of their starting line-up. Ichiro Suzuki enjoys his position as not only the lead off man for the Seattle Mariners, but also as the city’s fan favorite. These and other Japanese players in the Major Leagues are national heroes back home, and their every at bat is watched religiously on a daily basis.
With Japan’s new title of world champions of baseball, and more and more Japanese players going professional here in the US, Baseball is sure to remain a popular sport in Japan for years to come.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
nice info but it would be nice if u could get some accomplishments of there baseball team…thanks
nice info but it would be even better if you guyz actulay put in more info about the sport “BASEBALL” thanks love ya all xxx taylah xxx
hi wat up im havin fun i luv sports c ya
HELLO! I like your info, but it would be alot better if you said some more info on the sport “BASEBALL”. But keep up the work! C YA!
i love baseball but not as much as rugby league im a kiwi
please tell me more sports in Japan! I love baseball! thanks for all the info!
Peace! Force be with you!
This is sooooooooooooooooooooo weird.
Who cares!
whatz so fun football in america is more fun
whats so about japanese soccer american football is much better srry