Category: Baseball

  • Giants’ Shinnosuke Yamase Dating Older TV Personality — 5ch Weighs In on Baseball’s ‘Older Wife’ Culture

    Giants catcher Shinnosuke Yamase has reportedly been dating TV personality Chika Yamane, who is older than him. Rather than focusing on the romance itself, 5ch’s reaction spread into a discussion of why so many pro baseball players end up with “older wives,” as well as the playing-time battle within the Giants’ catching corps, including Takuya Kai and Yukinori Kishida.

    Giants’ promising strong-armed catcher Shinnosuke Yamase is “seriously dating an older female TV personality”! Happily sporting matching outfits

    “At a drinking party thrown by a mutual acquaintance”

    A shot of the moment Yamase spoke to Yamane and she smiled back. Both wore sunglasses but showed no concern about being seen

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here

    20Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 09:31:14.06ID:DWXocXRS0
    https://b-bunshun.ismcdn.jp/mwimgs/1/1/480/img_11a1d3b8aaa4f0a5e329db492f7a95aa4509486.jpg
    24Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 09:33:29.75ID:KMHzwatM0
    Can't help but think Horipro [Yamane's talent agency] deliberately let this get photographed
    Why would a photographer normally bother staking out a second-string (minor-league) player?
    29Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 09:34:08.96ID:2rpio7/00
    >>24
    Well, that's obvious
    30Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 09:34:37.73ID:XEauKnBb0
    Older again…
    Seriously, what's with baseball's "older wife" culture?
    73Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:07:00.59ID:QWkwudm60
    >>30
    Same goes for soccer
    Actually it's true across pro sports in general
    Guys who've been fiercely ambitious since their school days and only look upward don't really go for younger women
    By the way, every player on this year's Japan World Cup soccer squad who's disclosed his wife's age has an older wife (Kamada and Mitoma haven't disclosed it, but they're known to be the same age as their wives)
    115Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 11:02:12.03ID:JuKpfGp/0
    >>30
    A city woman in her late twenties/early thirties easily reels in a country boy who's done nothing but sports his whole life
    31Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 09:34:39.30ID:mICBWOwX0
    The jealousy from soccer fanboys ("saka-buta," a mocking term for soccer otaku) tastes so good lmaooo
    110Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:54:12.88ID:pL/tUoZ40
    >>31
    Huh???
    What do you mean???
    79Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:12:58.80ID:RrbqklkG0
    Wishing them happiness

    174Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 12:55:24.40ID:GWk5B3eg0
    >>79
    Looked at the left side of the second pic and thought "nice," then realized it was someone else
    85Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:16:30.91ID:0J/9e2B+0
    This isn't even a scandal so it's a pretty trivial story, but baseball ("yakyuu") players are really getting targeted a lot these days
    Unlike the old days when things could be hushed up, tabloids don't hold back anymore, and even if the tabloids miss it, it'll get exposed on social media — guys need to be careful
    Then again, screwing up is just what baseball players do
    91Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:26:58.60ID:O5IY06i40
    >>85
    Back in the day, unlike now, it was hard to push back even when the media wrote fabricated stories
    Whatever the media wrote was treated as 100% true even if it was baseless or made up, and if you were a TV personality you'd get pulled from shows and commercials over it
    100Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:41:23.92ID:rezmDsYl0
    Chika Yamane — if you image-search her, this surreal photo comes up of her holding what looks like a sign reading "Men's Bath / Women's Bath"?
    104Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:43:03.29ID:L+GucigF0
    >>100
    Cute, but no distinct personality
    Looks like she could be in a K-pop/K-drama act
    107Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 10:45:23.58ID:Ih1TEpBD0
    Yamase complained about not getting playing time at last year's contract renewal,
    but even with Kai down in the farm league, he's still not getting playing time
    If he simply can't beat out Kishida and Oshiro, there's nothing to be done about it
    118Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 11:05:41.58ID:zQkZHVZM0
    >>107
    He got called up when Kishida got injured, but the pitchers got hit hard
    Once Kishida came back, he was sent down to the farm team
    138Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 11:35:44.59ID:AJsRdgH/0
    Reading through the thread again, isn't this guy actually pretty promising too? lol

    Well then, sounds like the woman might dump him without a second thought
    139Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 11:38:10.85ID:zQkZHVZM0
    >>138
    Catcher only has one roster spot, so a position switch is the only option
    145Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 11:52:37.27ID:1f7czK1Q0
    She's said all along that she has no intention of dating a sumo wrestler,
    so the guys complaining about it by dragging sumo into this can save their breath
    169Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 12:45:00.27ID:Ih1TEpBD0
    >>145
    That's kind of a rude thing to say too
    It's basically like declaring "I'll take work as a sumo fangirl ("suujo") and get friendly with the wrestlers, but I have zero romantic interest in them as men"
    198Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 13:52:22.80ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>145
    Is that why she went out of her way to make that declaration — because Saya Ichikawa was stealing her sumo-related work?
    175Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 12:55:39.45ID:nvhAPUfj0
    25 years ago, even a Giants farm-team-level player could've dated Akiko Yada
    181Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 12:58:06.90ID:Ih1TEpBD0
    >>175
    Well, Hiramatsu was a good-looking guy though
    191Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 13:28:19.57ID:x/c8cJvG0
    >>169
    Nah, I watch sumo sometimes too, but I've got no intention of marrying a sumo wrestler either
    Why would that be rude?
    193Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 13:32:04.29ID:Ih1TEpBD0
    >>191
    It's fine to think that, I just mean you don't need to go out of your way to say it

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread「[Baseball] Giants’ promising strong-armed catcher Shinnosuke Yamase “seriously dating an older female TV personality” — happily sporting matching outfits」.

  • [Baseball] Hanshin’s Riito Ihara Apologizes, “I Offer My Deepest Apologies” — Farm-Team Assignment Decided Amid Assault Allegations Involving Woman in Her 20s

    Hanshin Tigers pitcher Riito Ihara has apologized through the club after allegations surfaced that he assaulted a woman in her 20s, and it’s been confirmed he will train with the farm team. Since he’s a starting lefty already sitting on 4 wins this season, the thread saw a flurry of comments criticizing the leniency of the punishment, comparing it to the club’s past scandals, and pointing out how often these incidents involve drinking.

    [Hanshin] Riito Ihara apologizes through the club, “I offer my deepest apologies” — farm-team assignment decided following assault allegation reports; the rotation lefty has 4 wins this season too

    Hanshin Tigers pitcher Riito Ihara (26), whose assault allegations were reported by a weekly magazine the previous day on the 19th, released a statement through the club on the 20th.

    “I sincerely apologize for the worry and disturbance this has caused our fans and so many others.”

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

    5Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:09:46.78ID:pWtcAYbE0
    Should get fired.
    This is Abe Shinnosuke-level (referencing the Giants manager's own past scandal).
    23Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:20:03.21ID:3L1crJoM0
    >>5
    He wasn't arrested, so he's in the clear.
    12Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:15:35.46ID:AFtmG32Y0
    Osaka University of Commerce, huh… yeah, figures.
    75Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:08:06.74ID:i0V4CZRd0
    >>12
    His 'corporate training' was at NTT West (his old company-league team).
    19Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:19:22.52ID:3R87x/MF0
    Hanshin: Assault
    Giants: Domestic violence
    BayStars: Hitman
    Swallows: Bat-throwing
    Carp: Zombie
    Dragons: Weak

    The Central League should just disband at this point.
    52Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:39:23.84ID:luhAtnJN0
    >>19
    'Weak' lol
    69Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:03:10.03ID:iA3huSaG0
    >>19
    Osuna's the worst offender by far.
    It's wild he's still allowed to keep playing.
    31Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:24:54.09ID:O12Kr2ni0
    Is this the first negative Hanshin story since Nishi Yuki's affair outings during COVID?
    33Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:26:29.35ID:/7QcIyYj0
    >>31
    I feel like there was some article this year or last about a 'took her home' incident or something.
    Though whether that counts as 'negative' is debatable.
    89Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:38:19.36ID:f/vGY9xR0
    >>31
    Whatever happened with the Shimoyanagi Tsuyoshi Instagram hijacking incident?
    42Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:30:11.77ID:TwU5qTe90
    A year and a half out of college into his corporate career and he's already full of himself.
    Or maybe he just didn't learn anything at NTT.
    70Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:04:22.82ID:DowWuJXH0
    >>42
    It's Hanshin, after all.
    The place is crawling with sugar daddies (wealthy patrons who dote on players).
    43Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:30:19.29ID:dWqufhiw0
    Are they seriously planning to let this slide with just a farm-team demotion?
    He'll definitely be back once things blow over — baseball really is soft on criminals.
    Take a page from Abe Shin's book.
    71Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:04:37.44ID:VAtFBGm40
    >>43
    Abe will probably come back too once things cool down.
    55Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:44:48.78ID:/6XJrQMS0
    Team, don't let a first-year player run wild like that.
    147Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 05:59:22.23ID:jKlWFIGh0
    >>55
    He's actually in his second year — 8 appearances so far this season, 4 wins, 2 losses, 3.25 ERA.
    62Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:52:55.96ID:T6WrkL510
    Apparently getting sent to the farm team makes your sins disappear.
    64Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:54:56.99ID:+JqoxT8r0
    >>62
    Does Abe Shinnosuke's sin disappear too if he becomes farm-team manager?
    82Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:20:14.57ID:DEDrxHRf0
    'Adjustment' — adjusting what, exactly?
    84Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:21:33.82ID:eIUzHz/T0
    >>82
    He's probably just going to drown his frustration in alcohol.
    Drinking at home, that is.
    86Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:32:26.32ID:k645e/E60
    Sounds like he's got a drinking problem — this type doesn't get better easily, he'll do it again.
    92Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:43:07.08ID:eIUzHz/T0
    >>86
    If he were an average Joe, he'd be the type to pass out drunk in the middle of the road and get run over.
    91Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:42:01.81ID:WUUuVIC80
    Same with 'Zombie' — a farm-team demotion apparently counts as atonement.
    94Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:44:41.58ID:eIUzHz/T0
    >>91
    The players' union might push back on how complaints get handled, so the team has to verify the facts first for this kind of thing,
    which tends to make their response lag behind.
    108Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:18:20.83ID:8QyAVCSR0
    Pretty traditional drinking behavior for a baseball player, honestly.
    You never hear good stories about baseball guys and the nightlife scene.
    112Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:31:17.01ID:eIUzHz/T0
    >>108
    Can't be helped — at a popular team, even if a guy's talent and stats are mediocre,
    people flock around fawning over him.
    It's a job, after all — as long as he's wearing that uniform,
    he's basically an accessory for the flatterers,
    a trophy for them to show off.
    110Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:30:10.31ID:ISD6n57g0
    Did something get said that set him off,
    or did he just snap on his own without any provocation?
    114Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 02:33:44.06ID:eIUzHz/T0
    >>110
    Being drunk is different from being sober, you know.
    There really are people who flip a switch over words that wouldn't normally set them off once alcohol's involved.
    It's common for onlookers to think 'that's what set him off?'
    126Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 03:11:00.34ID:fZYmmr/O0
    >>110
    It said he mistakenly thought a woman was ignoring him and blew up over it.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Baseball] Hanshin’s Riito Ihara Apologizes, “I Offer My Deepest Apologies” — Farm-Team Assignment Decided Amid Assault Allegations Involving Woman in Her 20s.”

  • [Baseball] Hiroshima Sweeps Chunichi With Walk-Off Win; Dragons Fall to 4th Straight Loss After Abreu Wild Pitch

    In Central League play on August 20, the Hiroshima Carp scored a walk-off win over the Chunichi Dragons, closing out the series with a three-game sweep. The Dragons’ loss — which involved a wild pitch from pitcher Ariel Abreu — was their fourth in a row, and on 5channel (5ch, Japan’s largest anonymous forum board) the team’s slump became the talk of the thread, with posters reaching for nicknames like “Zombie” (Hiroshima’s injury-depleted, patchwork lineup) and “Chuni-Dora” (a jab pairing “Chunichi” with chūnibyō — “eighth-grader syndrome,” Japanese slang for delusions of grandeur — mocking the Dragons’ habit of talking a big game before collapsing). The thread also argued over in-game strategy and roster depth.

    Chunichi 0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  |1

    Hiroshima 0 0 0  0 1 0  0 0 1X |2

    [Battery]

    Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

    6(。・_・。)ノ ◆jN6K3cbEWjLT Hunter[Lv.1629][SSR Weapon+120][UR Def Limit+102][1st Dan Forest]2026/08/20 (Thu) 20:55:39.70ID:b6GNxm2O0
    Our Chuni-Dora is back, lol
    7Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 20:56:29.02ID:/Tl/CoB+0
    So 'Zombie' turned out to be a debuff, not a buff, huh. Well… guess that tracks.
    12Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 20:57:31.54ID:bAW2gLsE0
    Chuni-Dora can't even beat a zombie-plagued Hiroshima
    14Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 20:58:57.04ID:LtSLusXW0
    >>12
    Well, to be fair, the "gray" players (guys under a cloud of suspicion but never officially punished) have been cleared out of the first team…
    28Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:05:06.36ID:SCMf8ANp0
    Chunichi's just too pathetic (´^ω^`)
    A walk-off balk is about the only pattern they've got left, huh
    30Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:06:29.49ID:FhBWtDeN0
    >>28
    Didn't that already happen back in the Tatsu(nami) era? (a nod to former manager Tatsunami Kazuyoshi, nicknamed "Tatsu")
    29Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:05:47.74ID:Woj+EsvW0
    Getting swept by a zombie-tier Hiroshima team missing all its stars — how weak do you have to be?
    34Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:07:52.09ID:AytWBuRc0
    >>29
    Well, they just dropped 3 straight to the one team they absolutely couldn't afford to lose to.
    37Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:09:26.81ID:jAYzzUnj0
    5-game win streak
    → "The Dinosaur Awakens!! Our real battle starts here!!!" (a pun on Dragons/dinosaurs)

    And then
    → ●◯●●●◯●●●● 2 wins, 8 losses
    132Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 23:17:26.14ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>37
    What is that, a "section rapid" service? (a train that's only fast for part of the route, then stops at every station the rest of the way — i.e., their hot streak didn't last)
    57Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:30:24.05ID:Lh42JDEi0
    Weaker than a zombie squad, huh
    134Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 23:20:22.21ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>57
    Honestly feels like watching straight-up false advertising.
    61Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:34:32.06ID:EVbQOjp50
    You really send Oomori in as a pinch-runner for Montero? There was a real chance the lineup would've come back around to Montero in extras — shouldn't they have kept Oomori in reserve as a card to play later?
    80Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:56:19.99ID:A+0athJ10
    >>61
    With runners on first and third in a walk-off spot, the runner on first can advance to second for free without risking a force-out, or you could even try a delayed steal — hence sending in Oomori to run. If the steal works, you want Sasaki to come through with the hit, but if they walk him intentionally to load the bases, you pinch-hit Akiyama. Their pitcher's already wild, so Akiyama might draw a walk too.

    That's probably how the Carp bench was thinking.
    62Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:34:33.49ID:uQeUNkwG0
    Chunichi should get themselves tested for zombie-ism. Only a zombie loses 3 straight to zombies.
    81Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 21:56:52.75ID:bwrJAnDY0
    I heard the guys carrying Hiroshima are Dominican. Did Chunichi's Dominican pipeline dry up or something?
    86Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 22:02:13.86ID:D+sJRa2n0
    >>81
    Abreu's Dominican too, you know.
    99Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 22:21:21.51ID:ViyClF/j0
    They were in the pennant race up until early summer last year too, so it's not like they're actually weak. Aim for third place with what's left of the season.
    106Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 22:28:37.33ID:ViyClF/j0
    >>99
    Just to be clear, I was talking about the Carp there. Dragons — good luck next season and beyond!
    117Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 22:46:02.70ID:waqHnryt0
    Ozone (the Nagoya neighborhood where the Dragons' home dome sits) is northeast of central Nagoya, right? Northeast has been considered the "kimon" — the unlucky "demon's gate" direction — in Japanese tradition since ancient times. Don't you feel like there's just a gloom hanging over that direction?
    123Anonymous2026/08/20 (Thu) 22:53:54.06ID:gXaOohIL0
    >>117
    Chunichi had the best run in franchise history during the 2000s though.
    149Anonymous2026/08/21 (Fri) 00:25:37.10ID:dotDkgqo0
    Hiroshima's a zombie, but Chuni-Dora's just a corpse.
    151Anonymous2026/08/21 (Fri) 00:39:07.79ID:4mIUTkFy0
    >>149
    For Hiroshima it's the players who are zombies. For Chunichi, it's the manager who's the zombie. Inoue's results should've gotten him fired ages ago, and yet he just keeps managing on like the undead.
    156Anonymous2026/08/21 (Fri) 01:28:32.13ID:WY+Jjcnx0
    >>149
    No.
    A rotting corpse.

    *This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Bulletin+) thread “[Baseball] Central League: C 2x-1 D [8/20] — Carp win walk-off for 3rd straight win; Chunichi’s Abreu wild-pitches his way into a sweep, 4th straight loss.”

  • 2026 Summer Koshien Is a “Total Crop Failure”: Pro Baseball Scouts Point to the Reasons Why

    This year’s Koshien tournament (Japan’s storied national high school baseball championship) is reportedly being called “not just a weak crop, but a total crop failure” by pro baseball scouts. Scouts gathered behind the backstop have apparently agreed that, aside from Yokohama High’s Oda, there’s almost no one else worth chasing.

    On 5channel (Japan’s largest anonymous forum), the debate over what’s behind this ranged from complaints about how much of high school baseball is just sitting on the bench, to salary comparisons between pro baseball and the J.League (Japan’s top pro soccer division), all the way to comparing the average height of Japan’s WBC baseball team against Japan’s World Cup soccer team.

    “This summer isn’t just a weak year for talent — it’s a total crop failure.”

    So says a scout from the Pacific League (one of Japan’s two pro baseball leagues).

    Behind the backstop at Koshien sit scouts from all 12 Japanese pro teams, plus scouts from MLB clubs. Setting aside a standout talent like Oda (Yokohama), who took the mound on the 18th, the scout continues that there are simply too few players left worth following.

    Source: nikkan-gendai.com / Read the original article

    5Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:10:47.69ID:MHePTOkL0
    Well yeah, kids who actually want to play a sport
    aren't going to want to do something where you just stand around swinging a stick most of the time
    166Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:38:23.73ID:pCuslvJT0
    >>5
    And the other half of the time you're just sitting on the bench lol
    12Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:11:48.16ID:5qzXL2xP0
    >>6
    Guys like Oda have a ton of MLB scouts showing up too
    Bet they're relieved his team got knocked out
    35Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:15:37.79ID:rvp04ZAR0
    >>12
    Oda's nothing special
    46Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:17:21.99ID:Ds8p0rZz0
    >>35
    Specifically, what's not special about him?
    207Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:45:54.57ID:Rba1/zYv0
    >>35
    So from a pro scout's eyes, who's the best pick this year?
    19Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:12:39.56ID:rSCBVRmy0
    The money's just on a different level from soccer
    baseball guys can earn several times to dozens of times more
    44Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:17:01.45ID:rvp04ZAR0
    >>19
    The median pro baseball salary is only around 20 million yen (~$135,000), which is less than J1 (Japan's top soccer division)
    49Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:18:35.94ID:gOO/SJUt0
    >>44
    Pro baseball averages 50 million yen (~$340,000) vs. the J.League's average of 12 million yen (~$81,000)
    Wait, are we leaving out J2 and J3? wwww (lol)
    51Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:19:04.02ID:Uef657E/0
    >>49
    "Pro baseball"
    wait, aren't the independent leagues technically pro baseball too? lol
    57Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:20:12.80ID:rvp04ZAR0
    >>49
    In every country the top division is treated as a separate league from the ones below it
    and if you're counting soccer's lower divisions, you'd have to count baseball's independent leagues too
    92Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:25:32.70ID:8cpyZtJU0
    https://image-tm.s2mr.jp/i/original/1787228719025.jpeg

    Looks like the shrinking player pool is finally showing its effects, huh lol
    109Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:28:12.80ID:OutxuuMT0
    Unpopular with kids, fewer players overall, so now it's nothing but small, short guys 😂
    131Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:32:19.82ID:PVu9NnVM0
    >>109
    Baseball players ('yakyuu,' a mocking respelling of yakyu/baseball favored by its online critics) are finally shorter than soccer players ('ball-kickers,' a derisive nickname for soccer players) 😨

    2026 WBC Japan national baseball team, average height: 179.9cm (5'11")


    2026 World Cup Japan national soccer team, average height: 181.35cm (5'11.5")



    🥹
    138Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:33:35.01ID:Gz3V9XQC0
    >>131
    Darvish (Yu Darvish, listed at 6'5") was probably propping up that average
    162Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:37:43.37ID:FAdkg18t0
    If talent were really flowing to soccer, you'd expect a Japanese Messi or Ronaldo to show up by now, right?
    Baseball has Ohtani, the best player in the world
    and plenty of other Japanese guys are tearing it up in MLB too
    167Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:38:25.87ID:cD7edILX0
    >>162
    Soccer isn't a low-competition niche sport the way baseball is
    183Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:40:05.97ID:XX5o+TWI0
    >>162
    Still below Dominican and Venezuelan players though
    191Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:41:26.69ID:wrPN5KMd0
    >>162
    Over 80% of the world's baseball players are in Japan or the US
    and yet the number of Japanese MLB players is way too small

    Ichiro once said that if Japanese players really had the talent, every single MLB team should have a Japanese player on it, the way Dominicans are everywhere

    The numbers we've got now are honestly pretty sad
    196Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:44:06.40ID:FAdkg18t0
    >>191
    Japanese baseball is world number one
    and we've got Ohtani, the best player in the world
    201Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:45:11.59ID:IjhyXzcm0
    >>196
    Being "world number one" at baseball doesn't really mean that much
    202Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:45:13.88ID:wrPN5KMd0
    >>196
    This year Japan only made the quarterfinals
    out of 24 countries total lol
    228Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 21:49:23.21ID:ggm35MZn0
    >>196
    The moment other countries actually get serious, that "world number one" turns out to be a cardboard cutout that barely makes the quarterfinals

    Ohtani's past his prime too, so winning that so-called "world" tournament again looks like a long way off

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Entertainment & Sports News+ board) thread “[High School Baseball] The 2026 Summer Koshien Goes Beyond a “Weak Crop” to a Total Crop Failure… Pro Baseball Scouts Point to the Cause of the Anomaly.”

  • Giants’ Lineup Gets Shut Down by DeNA’s Baba — 5ch: “Only the Giants Get Shut Down by Baba”

    In the Giants–DeNA game at Yokohama Stadium, the Giants’ lineup was completely stifled by DeNA starter Baba, and the live-thread lit up over their struggles. Opinions split over acting manager Abe’s bullpen moves and Sasahara’s sacrifice bunt, while shortstop Izumiguchi also drew harsh criticism for his defense, with posters asking “isn’t his footwork bad?”

    16Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 19:57:28.59
    Handing the game to a reliever who walks a guy on four straight pitches right after we'd closed it to a 2-run game? Brain dead.
    25Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:01:20.92
    >>16
    Well, he's only managing 'in place of' Abe.
    He has to run it the way Abe would.
    Blame Abe.
    50Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:05:50.25
    Well, it's Mori pitching, so… but seriously, isn't Izumiguchi's footwork bad?
    52Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:06:25.92
    If the next one's a force-out at second again, I'm gonna lose it.
    Don't think I've ever seen that before.
    57Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:09:03.26
    A wild-armed reliever like Morita is a death sentence.
    And the Giants go bail out a guy with control problems by having Sasahara bunt lol
    58Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:09:06.98
    Garbage game, the pace is way too slow.
    60Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:09:50.68
    Sounds like the Chin (5ch slang/slur for the Hanshin Tigers, whose game was on at the same time) are about to lose. Our army just needs to hold on and close this out.
    62Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:12:07.74
    Only the Giants get shut down by Baba, I swear.
    77Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:15:24.80
    Didn't even realize it, but DeNA's been scooping up all the Giants' castoffs (players the Giants released or didn't re-sign).
    78Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:15:47.96
    Maybe it's because I watched Sakamoto at shortstop for so many years, but this guy just doesn't cut it.
    79Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:16:56.37
    At this rate they're gonna have a rough time once the pitch clock gets introduced.
    80Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:17:02.11
    Got a bad feeling either Izumiguchi or Daru is about to hit into a double play.
    88Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:19:18.77
    Ordering Sasahara to bunt against a pitcher like this Baba, and having it fail — the sheer level of Hashigami's (a Giants coach/strategist) blunder is something else.
    92Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:20:31.71
    Pitch clock and ABS (Automated Ball-Strike system, i.e. robot umps) would fix everything.
    109Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:26:53.99
    If there were a pitch clock, I wonder how many violations Baba would've racked up today.
    123Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:27:49.71
    >>109
    He'd have at least 10 violations.
    120Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:27:37.53
    What was even the point of making Kishida captain?
    126Anonymous2026/08/20(Thu) 20:28:16.22
    >>120
    Well, Takuzo wasn't exactly great as captain either, so…

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Hello! Project board) thread “Giants Acting Manager 108“.

  • Hiroshima Beats Chunichi on a Walk-Off, Sweeps Series 3-0 — Dragons Drop 4th Straight After Abreu’s Wild Pitch

    In Central League play on August 20, the Hiroshima Carp scored a walk-off win over the Chunichi Dragons, closing out the series with a three-game sweep. The Dragons — undone in part by a wild pitch from Abreu — dropped their fourth straight game, and on 5channel their slump became a hot topic, with posters bandying about nicknames like “Zombie” and “Chunidora” (a mocking 5ch nickname for the Chunichi Dragons). The thread also saw plenty of debate over managerial decisions and roster strength.

    Chunichi 0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  |1

    Hiroshima 0 0 0  0 1 0  0 0 1X |2

    [Battery]

    Source: nikkansports.com / original article here

    6(。・_・。)ノ ◆jN6K3cbEWjLT ハンター[Lv.1629][SSR武+120][UR防限+102][初段森]2026/08/20(木) 20:55:39.70ID:b6GNxm2O0
    Our Chunidora's back, lol
    7Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 20:56:29.02ID:/Tl/CoB+0
    So the 'Zombie' state was a debuff, not a buff, was it (said in mock-archaic, samurai-drama speech). Well, guess that figures.
    12Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 20:57:31.54ID:bAW2gLsE0
    Chunidora can't even beat a zombie-plagued Hiroshima
    14Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 20:58:57.04ID:LtSLusXW0
    >>12
    Well, to be fair, the 'gray' (under suspicion) players have been pulled off the first team now…
    28Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:05:06.36ID:SCMf8ANp0
    Chunichi's too awful (´^ω^`) (comment styled in cutesy, childlike 2ch speech)
    At this point a walk-off balk is about the only losing pattern they've got left
    30Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:06:29.49ID:FhBWtDeN0
    >>28
    Didn't they pull that during the Tatsu era too? (nickname for former Chunichi manager Kazuyoshi Tatsunami)
    29Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:05:47.74ID:Woj+EsvW0
    How weak do you have to be to get swept 3-0 by a zombie-mode Hiroshima that's missing its key players?
    34Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:07:52.09ID:AytWBuRc0
    >>29
    Well, they've dropped 3 straight to the one team they absolutely couldn't afford to lose to.
    37Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:09:26.81ID:jAYzzUnj0
    5-game win streak
    → 'Dinosaur Awakening! Our real fight starts here!!!'

    And after that
    → ●◯●●●◯●●●● (● = loss, ◯ = win) 2 wins, 8 losses
    132Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 23:17:26.14ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>37
    What is that, an express train that switches to local halfway through? (a pun on 'kukan kaisoku,' a train service that's fast for only part of its route)
    57Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:30:24.05ID:Lh42JDEi0
    Weaker than a zombie, huh
    134Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 23:20:22.21ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>57
    Feels exactly like watching one of those bait-and-switch mobile game ads (where the ad footage looks nothing like the actual game)
    61Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:34:32.06ID:EVbQOjp50
    Did they really need to send Omori in as a pinch runner for Montero? There was a decent chance it'd go to extras and the at-bat would've come back around to Montero — shouldn't they have kept Omori in reserve as a card to play later?
    80Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:56:19.99ID:A+0athJ10
    >>61
    With runners on first and third in a walk-off situation, the runner can advance to second for free without risking a force-out, and a delayed steal is also in play → hence pinch-runner Omori.
    Ideally Sasaki drives it in after the steal succeeds, but if he's put on base (walk, hit-by-pitch, or a declared intentional walk) to load the bases, then pinch-hit Akiyama.
    With Akiyama up, the opposing pitcher's already rattled, so he might draw a walk too.
    That's probably the thinking in the Carp dugout.
    62Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:34:33.49ID:uQeUNkwG0
    Chunichi should get themselves tested for the zombie virus
    Only a zombie loses 3 straight to a zombie
    81Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:56:52.75ID:bwrJAnDY0
    I heard the guys carrying Hiroshima are Dominican — did Chunichi lose their Dominican pipeline or something?
    86Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:02:13.86ID:D+sJRa2n0
    >>81
    Abreu's Dominican too, though.
    99Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:21:21.51ID:ViyClF/j0
    They were still in the pennant race up until early summer last year too, so it's not like they're actually weak.
    Just aim for 3rd place with what's left of the season.
    106Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:28:37.33ID:ViyClF/j0
    >>99
    Just to clarify, I was talking about the Carp there.
    Dragons, do your best starting next season!
    117Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:46:02.70ID:waqHnryt0
    Ozone (the district where the Dragons' home stadium sits) is northeast of central Nagoya, right?
    Northeast has traditionally been considered the 'kimon' (鬼門, the 'demon's gate' — an inauspicious direction in old Japanese geomancy) in Japan.
    Doesn't that direction just feel kind of gloomy somehow?
    123Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:53:54.06ID:gXaOohIL0
    >>117
    Chunichi had their golden era — the best results in franchise history — back in the 2000s, though.
    149Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:25:37.10ID:dotDkgqo0
    Hiroshima's a zombie, but Chunidora's just a corpse
    151Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:39:07.79ID:4mIUTkFy0
    >>149
    For Hiroshima it's the players who are the zombies.
    For Chunichi, it's the manager who's the zombie.
    Inoue's results are bad enough that he should've been fired ages ago, and yet he just keeps shambling on as manager like the undead.
    156Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:28:32.13ID:WY+Jjcnx0
    >>149
    Nope.
    A rotting corpse.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “【Baseball】Central League C 2x-1 D [8/20] — Carp win it on a walk-off, sweep the series 3-0; Dragons’ Abreu throws a wild pitch, team drops 4th straight in the sweep.”

  • Hiroshima Sweeps Chunichi 3-0 With Walk-Off Win; Dragons Fall to 4th Straight Loss After Abreu’s Wild Pitch

    In Central League action on August 20, the Hiroshima Carp scored a walk-off win over the Chunichi Dragons, sweeping the three-game series 3-0. Chunichi’s loss — their fourth straight — came with a wild pitch from Abreu factored in. Over on 5channel (Japan’s largest anonymous forum), the Dragons’ slump became the talk of the thread, with posters slinging nicknames like “Zombie” and “Chuni-dora.” Commenters also traded plenty of opinions on managerial decisions and roster depth.

    Chunichi 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |1

    Hiroshima 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1X |2

    [Battery]

    Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

    6(。・_・。)ノ ◆jN6K3cbEWjLT Hunter [Lv.1629][SSR Weapon+120][UR Def Limit+102][1st-Dan Forest]2026/08/20(木) 20:55:39.70ID:b6GNxm2O0
    There's our Chuni-dora, back again lol (a mocking portmanteau of "Chunichi" and "Dragons" used when the team is playing badly)
    7Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 20:56:29.02ID:/Tl/CoB+0
    Turns out "zombie" was a debuff, not a buff, huh. Well, I guess that tracks.
    12Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 20:57:31.54ID:bAW2gLsE0
    Chuni-dora can't even beat a Hiroshima team in the middle of a "zombie outbreak"
    14Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 20:58:57.04ID:LtSLusXW0
    >>12
    Well, for what it's worth, the players under a cloud (Japanese shorthand for someone suspected of wrongdoing but not formally charged) have been pulled off the first team now…
    28Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:05:06.36ID:SCMf8ANp0
    Chunichi's too dang awful (´^ω^`)
    About the only pattern they've got left is a walk-off balk, innit
    30Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:06:29.49ID:FhBWtDeN0
    >>28
    Didn't that already happen back in the Tatsu era? (nickname for former manager Kazuyoshi Tatsunami)
    29Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:05:47.74ID:Woj+EsvW0
    Getting swept 3 straight by a "zombie" Hiroshima that's missing its main players — how weak do you have to be?
    34Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:07:52.09ID:AytWBuRc0
    >>29
    Well, they've dropped 3 straight to the one team they absolutely can't afford to lose to.
    37Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:09:26.81ID:jAYzzUnj0
    5-game win streak
    → "The dinosaur awakens! Our real fight starts now!!!"

    And then
    → L-W-L-L-L-W-L-L-L-L, 2 wins, 8 losses
    132Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 23:17:26.14ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>37
    What is that, a rapid-express train that's only fast for one stretch? (a jab comparing the streak to a train that runs "rapid" briefly before reverting to a local, all-stops crawl)
    57Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:30:24.05ID:Lh42JDEi0
    So they're weaker than a zombie?
    134Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 23:20:22.19ID:WqSUdfWp0
    >>57
    Honestly feels like watching a bait-and-switch ad game (Japanese gaming slang for a title whose ads oversell a much worse actual product)
    61Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:34:32.06ID:EVbQOjp50
    Was sending out a pinch runner for Montero really the move? If it'd gone to extras, Montero could well have come up again, so shouldn't they have kept the pinch runner in reserve as a card to play later?
    80Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:56:19.99ID:A+0athJ10
    >>61
    With runners on first and third in a walk-off situation, the runner can advance to second for free since there's no force play to worry about — so you might as well try a delayed steal, which means sending in the pinch runner.
    After the steal lands, ideally Sasaki gets a hit to seal it, but if they issue a declared intentional walk (Japan's version of an automatic IBB) to load the bases, then pinch-hit Akiyama.
    With Akiyama up, the opposing pitcher's already rattled, so maybe he draws a walk.

    That's probably the Carp bench's thinking.
    62Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:34:33.49ID:uQeUNkwG0
    Chunichi ought to get themselves tested for zombification. Only a zombie loses 3 straight to a zombie.
    81Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 21:56:52.75ID:bwrJAnDY0
    Heard the guy carrying Hiroshima is Dominican — did Chunichi lose their Dominican pipeline or something?
    86Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:02:13.86ID:D+sJRa2n0
    >>81
    Abreu's Dominican too, though.
    99Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:21:21.51ID:ViyClF/j0
    They were still in the first-place race up through early summer last year too, so it's not like they're actually weak. Go for 3rd place with what's left of the season.
    106Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:28:37.33ID:ViyClF/j0
    >>99
    Just to be clear, that was about the Carp.
    Dragons, hang in there next season!
    117Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:46:02.70ID:waqHnryt0
    Ozone is northeast of central Nagoya, right? (the neighborhood where Nagoya Dome sits) Northeast has been considered the "demon's gate" (kimon) in Japan since ancient times — an inauspicious direction in traditional belief. Don't you kind of get a gloomy vibe off that direction?
    123Anonymous2026/08/20(木) 22:53:54.06ID:gXaOohIL0
    >>117
    Chunichi had the best run in franchise history back in the 2000s though, that was their golden era.
    149Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:25:37.10ID:dotDkgqo0
    Hiroshima's a zombie, but Chuni-dora is just a plain corpse.
    151Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 00:39:07.79ID:4mIUTkFy0
    >>149
    Hiroshima's players are the zombies, but for Chunichi it's the manager who's the zombie.
    Inoue's results should've gotten him fired ages ago, and yet he just keeps managing on like the undead.
    156Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 01:28:32.13ID:WY+Jjcnx0
    >>149
    Nope.
    A rotting corpse.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Baseball] Central League: Carp 2, Dragons 1 [8/20] — Carp sweep series 3-0 with walk-off win, Chunichi’s Abreu wild-pitches his way into a 4th straight loss.”