Just four more sleeps until NPB Opening Day 2024 is upon us! The rather lengthy exhibition season has come to an end, and at last, teams will play the first of their 143 regular season matches this Friday! Here is the basic information of each of the six head-to-head games, plus some places to learn more about how each team might fare this season (according to English-speaking NPB followers).
Meiji Jingu Stadium, 6:00 pm
Chunichi Dragons (Yuya Yanagi) @ Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Cy Sneed)
Tokyo Dome, 6:15 pm
Hanshin Tigers (Koyo Aoyagi) @ Yomiuri Giants (Shosei Togo)
Yokohama Stadium, 6:30 pm
Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Aren Kuri) @ Yokohama DeNA Baystars (Katsuki Azuma)
Kyocera Dome Osaka, 6:00 pm
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Kohei Arihara) @ Orix Buffaloes (Hiroya Miyagi)
Rakuten Mobile Park, 6:00 pm
Saitama Seibu Lions (Tatsuya Imai) @ Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Takahisa Hayakawa)
Zozo Marine Stadium, 6:30 pm
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (Hiromi Itoh) @ Chiba Lotte Marines (Kazuya Ojima)
This preseason, the standings finished with the Dragons (10-5-5) and Hawks (10-5-2) tied for first, while the Marines (2-9-3) and the Tigers (3-14-1) brought up the rear. The leading hitters were Baystars rookie Ryuki Watarai (.434), Hawks DH Adam Walker (5 HRs), and Fighters’ catcher Ariel Martinez (12 RBIs). On the pitching side, Swallows’ sophomore Koshiro Yoshimura ended with a 1.35 ERA, Eagles’ opening day starter Takahisa Hayakawa led NPB with 16 strikeouts, and newly appointed Eagles’ closer Takahiro Norimoto collected 5 saves.
Here are some podcasts and videos you can consume if you want to hear English previews (and predictions) for the upcoming season:
- Japan Baseball Weekly Pacific League
- Japan Baseball Weekly Central League
- Yakyu Cosmopolitan & Friends Pacific League
- Yakyu Cosmopolitan & Friends Central League
- Hanshin Tigers English News Central League team previews
- Hanshin Tigers English News Central League Prediction Episode (coming soon)
I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to bet this season is every bit as exciting as last season was, if not more so! Enjoy Opening Weekend, everyone!
