Opening Day Starters; Standings Predictions

Just a few more days and we will be back on the diamond playing meaningful baseball games here in Japan! As is the case year in and year out, the level of excitement is as high as it will get, at least until the postseason. Without further ado, here are the Opening Day (weekend) matches along with expected starting pitchers, which have all been announced by team managers at some point this past month. The lone exception is Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who says he will let his pitcher know the morning of Opening Day. He says he does not want his pitcher staying up all night over-analyzing each batter he will face.

Central League

Tokyo Yakult Swallows (73-52-18) – Yasuhiro Ogawa (6th time)

vs.

Hanshin Tigers (77-56-10) – Shintaro Fujinami (2nd time)

Kyocera Dome Osaka, 18:00 start

Chunichi Dragons (55-71-17) – Yudai Ohno (4th time)

vs.

Yomiuri Giants (61-62-20) – Tomoyuki Sugano (8th time)

Tokyo Dome, 18:15 start

Hiroshima Toyo Carp (63-68-12) – Daichi Ohsera (4th time)

vs.

Yokohama DeNA Baystars (54-73-16) – Katsuki Azuma (1st time)

Yokohama Stadium, 18:30 start

Pacific League

Chiba Lotte Marines (67-57-19) – Ayumu Ishikawa (3rd time)

vs.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (66-62-15) – Takahiro Norimoto (7th time)

Rakuten Seimei Park, 16:00 start

Orix Buffaloes (70-55-18) – Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2nd time)

vs.

Saitama Seibu Lions (55-70-18) – Kona Takahashi (2nd time)

Belluna Dome, 18:00 start

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (55-68-20) – TBA

vs.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (60-62-21) – Kodai Senga (3rd time)

PayPay Dome, 18:30 start

Looking at some predictions from baseball columnists and experts, this is what we might expect, standings-wise. It should also be noted that many of these columnists are former players who have strong biases towards their old teams. I have also included the predictions from Japan Baseball Weekly podcast, which had four people (including hosts John E. Gibson and Jim Allen) guessing the final standings. I have put the teams in order from most likely to least likely, according to the experts, with the number of first-place predictions in parentheses, and the average spot they were slotted in after that.

Central League

1 Yakult Swallows (8) = 2.42nd place

2 Hanshin Tigers (8) = 2.62nd place

3 Yomiuri Giants (3) = 2.81st place

4 Hiroshima Carp (1) = 4.27th place

5 Yokohama Baystars (3) = 4.42nd place

6 Chunichi Dragons (3) = 4.46th place

Pacific League

1 Orix Buffaloes (7) = 2.15th place

2 Chiba Lotte Marines (8) = 2.45th place

3 SoftBank Hawks (3) = 2.7th place

4 Rakuten Eagles (2) = 3.7th place

5 Seibu Lions (0) = 4.55th place

6 Nippon-Ham Fighters (0) = 5.45th place

Interestingly, the average predictions show very little changes from last year’s final standings: the Baystars and Dragons swap spots, as do the Hawks and Eagles, as well as the Lions and Fighters. I personally think there will be a lot more drama than that, especially given how 2021 saw both 2020 last-place finishers competing in the Japan Series.

In our last news before the season begins, outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who was posted by the Hiroshima Carp back in November, finally reached a deal with an MLB team: the Chicago Cubs will reportedly pay the 27-year-old $85 million for five years of service. He will wear #27 because, in his words, “Mike Trout, I love you.” We hope a lot of Cubs fans will be saying, “Seiya Suzuki, we love you” throughout the year and for many more to come.

PLAY BALL! Have a great Opening Weekend, everyone!