From our other sites
The story
SoftBank’s lineup, which is running away with the Pacific League race, became a hot topic on the “Nandemo Jikkyo” (Anything Live-Text) board. Numbers were rattled off for the top of the order — Masaki hitting .283 with 27 homers, Kondo at .305 with 99 RBI and a .979 OPS — with some claiming the team’s overall OPS of .750 is far and away the best in the league. At the same time, there were concerns about the bullpen’s ERA, along with more level-headed comments noting that Yamamoto Yuudai’s batting average isn’t as high as the buzz suggests. The thread ranged widely, from the lineup’s strength and the pitching staff’s issues to player usage and even which university guys went to.
What people said
2 (LF) Yanagita .302, 18 HR, 66 RBI, OPS .825
3 (DH) Kondo .305, 28 HR, 99 RBI, OPS .979, 6 SB
Bullpen ERA is #1 in NPB, as always (and not in a good way)
For reference, here's the OPS of the Hawks' most-used catcher in recent years —
compared to 'Takuya-level' (catcher Kai Takuya), it's not that bad:
2014 Hosokawa Toru .521
2015 Takatani Yusuke .473
2016 Tsuruoka Shinya .630
2017 Kai Takuya .695
2018 Kai Takuya .602
2019 Kai Takuya .733
2020 Kai Takuya .694
2021 Kai Takuya .658
2022 Kai Takuya .498
2023 Kai Takuya .602
2024 Kai Takuya .690
2025 Umino Ryuji .533
Age-related decline — lost his starting spot to a younger guy
No wonder they're running away with the league
They're the only team with a win rate over .600
Everyone else is stuck in the high .500s
Same with Yokohama's Maki — a pick like that can end up changing a team's whole future
Looking at this starting lineup, Masaki, Yanagita, Kurihara, and Shoji were all 2nd-round picks
Even if Yoshida came over, is there even a spot for him in this lineup?
The bottom of the order isn't as strong as people make it sound
Compare it with other teams and the gap is obvious
For starters, their RBI totals are way higher
but he's only hitting .2-something now
He's dropped all the way down to .250
There were a bunch of threads going 'Yamamoto's a god! Matsuo's trash lol'
but those two barely have different stats
Well, if you mean beating the Dodgers, sure that's impossible, but they're probably about as strong as the White Sox
If they ever produce a shortstop who can hit double-digit homers, the Pacific League is done for
Nomura was around last year, but he wasn't as strong as people say either
Yesterday Sasagawa came in at center partway through
How's Sasagawa's defense? Shuto's getting to the age where they'll need a successor soon
Team OPS is .750 — miles ahead of everyone else
Masaki and Yanagimachi seemed weirdly close, always on TV together — turns out they went to the same university
Nice having a senior close in age on the team; if a senior like Yanagimachi is putting up these numbers, it's gotta be something to aim for
You've got that seriously wrong
Of the 'Keio three brothers,' the eldest is Yanagimachi, the second is Masaki, and the third is Hirose (all Keio University alums)
SoftBank: Kurihara 115, Kondo 99, Yanagita 66, Masaki 58, Makihara 47
Seibu: Canario 50, Nevin 47, Watanabe 46, Kojima 37, Hasegawa 35
Nippon-Ham: Reyes 82, Kiyomiya 64, Nomura 60, Mizuno 56, Mannami 53
Looking at this, losing Reyes really hurts (for Nippon-Ham)
Seibu's got a roster this bad and still that many games over .500 — impressive
From Manager Kokubo's comments, I think the leadoff spot is Masaki or Yanagimachi
Against an average team, they'd be 20 games back by now
The gap's only this size because the whole team was slumping early on — it's not like anyone was actually staying close, which is kind of sad
No way that happens again next year
But didn't they win the pennant last year too, even after losing their entire starting lineup to injuries?
Background and Talking Points
Sorting through the numbers raised in the thread: alongside the on-base and power numbers at the top of SoftBank’s order, some posters noted the team’s overall OPS ranks first among all 12 NPB clubs, and RBI leaders like Kurihara, Kondo, and Yanagita also top the list. On the other hand, the jab that the bullpen has ‘the No. 1 relief ERA in NPB’ was clearly ironic, made in the context of lingering doubts about the pitching staff — especially the relievers. The thread also touched on Masaki, Yanagimachi, and Hirose all having attended the same university (Keio University), noted as background for how players of the same generation grew into core contributors together. Meanwhile, the buzz that ‘Yamamoto Yuudai is hitting .300’ had spread early on, but by the time of these posts his actual average had fallen into the .200s, prompting a more level-headed observation that his numbers aren’t all that different from those of Matsuo, who tended to get harshly criticized around the same period. It’s a textbook case of a stat taking on a life of its own, diverging from the impression that stuck around it. Note that this article is based on posts as of the time of the thread and does not guarantee final stats or season results.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and summaries of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Complete SoftBank lineup is way too strong wwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”
Leave a Reply