Can you believe we are just a week away from the start of spring training here in Japan? In this newsletter, we are going to give you all the basic information you need in case you plan on heading to Miyazaki or Okinawa, where the bulk of the teams will be ramping up for the 2024 season starting on February 1.
Miyazaki Prefecture (listed from north to south, city name in bold)
Orix Buffaloes: Miyazaki Kiyotake Comprehensive Park, February 2-29
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: Ikimenomori Sports Park, Miyazaki, February 1-29
Yomiuri Giants: Hinata Miyazaki Prefectural Park, February 1-14
Saitama Seibu Lions: Nichinan Nango Central Ballpark, February 6-25
Hiroshima Toyo Carp: Tenpuku Baseball Field, Nichinan, February 1-13
Okinawa Prefecture (listed from north to south, city name in bold)
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters: Tapic Stadium Nago, February 1-25
Hanshin Tigers: Baito Surunara Entry Ginoza Stadium, February 1-27
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: Kin-cho Baseball Stadium, February 1-18
Hiroshima Toyo Carp: Koza Shinkin Stadium, Okinawa City, February 15-27
Chunichi Dragons: Agre Stadium Chatan, February 1-25
Yokohama DeNA Baystars: Union Desukara Stadium Ginowan, February 1-25
Tokyo Yakult Swallows: ANA Ballpark Urasoe, February 1-28
Yomiuri Giants: Okinawa Cellular Stadium Naha, February 16-28
Chiba Lotte Marines: Ishigaki City Central Park, February 1-26; Itoman City Nishizaki Park, February 13-25
In other news, there will be three new inductees into the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024. Two of these are ex-players, and one entered under the “special recognition” category.
Motonobu Tanishige was a catcher for the Yokohama Baystars (1989-2001) and Chunichi Dragons (2002-15), and holds the record for most games played with 3021. He recorded 2108 hits and hit 229 home runs.
Hiroki Kuroda was a pitcher for the Hiroshima Carp (1997-2007, 2015-16) as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers (2008-11) and New York Yankees (2012-14). He collected 124 NPB wins plus 79 in MLB, and threw 76 complete games in Japan, along with six in North America. In total, the righty logged over 3300 innings in his 19-year career.
Lastly, Tomoichi Tanimura was a player for several years but contributed most as an umpire, calling 3026 games from 1959 to 1991.
The next time we talk, 11 of the 12 teams will have reported to camp, so perhaps we can give you some actual on-field baseball news! Can’t wait!
