Category: Baseball

In Central League play on September 27, 2026, the Yomiuri Giants cruised past the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 11-0 to snap their losing streak. Starter Shinnosuke Ogasawara held Yakult scoreless through 5 innings and even drove in a run himself, while Yuta Izumiguchi backed him up with 3 RBIs. Yakult starter Keisuke Takahashi, by contrast, walked or hit 6 batters and was charged with 7 runs before an early exit. On the thread, Takahashi’s control problems on the day drew most of the attention, alongside talk of the pennant race given Hanshin’s magic number, and a debate over just how much credit Ogasawara deserves.

Yakult 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0

Giants 0 3 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 |11

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Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku+) thread “[Baseball] Central League: Giants 11-0 Swallows [9/27] — Giants snap losing streak, Ogasawara goes 5 scoreless innings with a timely hit of his own, Izumiguchi drives in 3, Yakult’s Takahashi hit by 6 walks/HBPs and charged with 7 runs.”

Pitcher Shintaro Fujinami (32), who was informed by DeNA that he’s not part of next season’s plans, started against the Giants on the 27th (the farm team’s final game of the season). He threw 53 pitches over 3 innings, allowing 8 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk before being pulled, topping out at 154 km/h. It was a rough outing from the start, as he gave up 5 hits and 4 runs in the first inning alone. On 5ch, opinions were split, with threads debating both his control problems despite decent velocity and what might come next for him (a possible move to an independent league, a tryout camp, and so on).

<Farm League: Giants vs. DeNA> ◇ 27th ◇ G-Town

DeNA starter Shintaro Fujinami (32), who was revealed to have been left out of next season’s roster plans, started in the farm team’s final game. He threw 53 pitches over 3 innings, giving up 8 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk before being pulled. His fastball topped out at 154 km/h.

Leading off the first inning, the Giants’ Cabbage flied out to center on the very first pitch. Fujinami then allowed back-to-back hits to Kawarada and Nakayama, putting runners on first and third with one out. Mitsuka followed with a grounder to first, and a fielder’s choice by first baseman Hibiki Kato (24) let in the game’s first run. With runners still on first and second and one out, Tima singled to left to drive in another run. After a two-out infield single by Yuasa loaded the bases, Yamase delivered a two-run single. Fujinami allowed 5 hits and 4 runs in the first inning alone.

Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisokuho+) thread “[Baseball] DeNA outcast Fujinami Shintaro pulled after 3 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs — tops out at 154 km/h in farm-team finale.”

Seibu Lions high-school-draft rookie infielder Sowa Yokota (18) has all but locked up the farm (minor) league batting title after the full farm-league schedule wrapped up. Winning a farm-league batting title in his very first year out of high school would make him only the 4th player ever to do it, following Morimichi Takagi (1960), Ichiro Suzuki (1992), and Kota Yamashita (2019). On the forum, some posters were unimpressed, arguing ‘a batting average alone isn’t that big a deal,’ while others pointed out that players from new expansion clubs like Hayate and Oisix tend to have a structural edge in batting stats thanks to heavier playing time — alongside praise for Yokota’s own power and quality of contact. Opinion ended up split between excitement about his potential and skepticism about how much the title itself is really worth.

<Farm League Central Division: Hayate vs. Seibu> ◇ Sept. 27 ◇ Churu Stadium Shimizu

Seibu infielder Sowa Yokota (18) has all but clinched the farm-league batting title.

On the day the schedule wrapped up across all three farm-league divisions, Yokota started at shortstop batting seventh against Hayate. He came through with an RBI single to left field in his second at-bat.

Source: nikkansports.com / Read the original article here

84AnonymousSep 27, 2026 19:05

Apparently so!

*This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Baseball] Seibu’s 18-year-old rookie Sowa Yokota all but locks up minor-league batting title — 4th player ever to do so as a high-school rookie, including Ichiro.”

On September 27, the Japan-Korea final of the Asian Games baseball tournament kicks off at 6:30 PM at Toyohashi Citizen Stadium in Aichi Prefecture. It’s a match with Japan’s first Asian title in 32 years — since the 1994 Hiroshima Games — on the line, but there’s no terrestrial broadcast; the only live coverage is on the streaming service “U-NEXT.” Since the roster is centered on corporate-league players for Samurai Japan’s amateur (industrial-league) squad, including Arata Higuchi (Oji) and Motoki Mukoyama (NTT East), reactions on 5ch were split: most took it in stride with comments like “no terrestrial broadcast is understandable,” while others questioned the decision, asking “shouldn’t finals across all sports get broadcast at least?” and “there’s a medal on the line, though.”

On September 27, the Japan-Korea final of the Asian Games baseball tournament — held in Japan for the first time in 32 years — will take place at Toyohashi Citizen Stadium. The highly anticipated Japan-Korea showdown is set for a 6:30 PM first pitch that same day, with live coverage airing on the streaming service “U-NEXT.” No terrestrial live broadcast is planned.

Facing off against Korea, which is aiming for the incredible feat of a fifth straight title, Japan enters with Samurai Japan’s industrial-league (corporate amateur) representative squad, built around top corporate-league players such as left-hander Arata Higuchi (Oji), outfielder Motoki Mukoyama (NTT East), and catcher Yuki Tsujimoto (NTT West). The goal: Japan’s first Asian championship in 32 years, since the 1994 Hiroshima Games.

It’s truly a historic match, but since the team is centered on corporate-league players, most reactions showed understanding toward the lack of a terrestrial broadcast. Still, some viewers and fans online raised questions about it.

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

*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Baseball] Asian Games final Japan-Korea match has “no terrestrial broadcast” — voices say “we’re being neglected,” “there’s a medal on the line…”.”

In 2026, the year the Chunichi Dragons mark the 90th anniversary of the club’s founding, they look all but certain to finish dead last in the Central League. By contrast, the Yomiuri Giants won the league in 2024, their own 90th-anniversary year, and the Hanshin Tigers did the same in 2025, their 90th-anniversary year — the stark contrast became a hot topic on 5ch’s general sports board. Threads split between defiant defenses like “the money’s the same whether you finish 5th or last” and “finishing last helps in the draft,” and criticism aimed at the team’s frequent come-from-ahead losses, bullpen management, and debate over whether a managerial change is warranted.

39AnonymousSep 27, 2026 17:39

Two more losses and that's last place locked in, isn't it

※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō G) thread “[LOL] Chunichi Dragons Set to Finish Last in Their 90th Anniversary Year.”

Hello! Project’s Mai Ozeki reported on X that she went to watch a Lions vs. Marines game at Belluna Dome with Ayaka Hashida and Ayana Murakoshi. Ozeki and Chisaki Morito had done a ceremonial first pitch and mini-live at the same stadium on July 23, and this time, Morito—who wasn’t invited along—reportedly pouted, saying “Why didn’t you invite Chii?” The episode became a hot topic on the 5ch Hello! Project board. While the thread traded behind-the-scenes details about the outing and praise for the members who came along, it also veered off-topic into some loose banter about other members’ looks.

54AnonymousSep 27, 2026 12:29

55AnonymousSep 27, 2026 12:31

The circle of baseball fans keeps steadily growing.
Baseball truly is life itself.

58AnonymousSep 27, 2026 12:42

If you married Chii, would you have to invite her along even for a convenience store run to buy cigarettes?

*This article was compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Good News] Mai Ozeki: ‘Went to watch baseball with the girl from Rosy Chariot, and Chisaki Morito got pouty, saying “Why didn’t you invite Chii?”‘“.

A weekly magazine survey asking “who fans want as the Yomiuri Giants’ next manager” was reposted on 5ch’s Entertainment & Sports News+ board, sparking a flood of comments. Taking the top spot was “Godzilla” Hideki Matsui, a longtime favorite of former manager Shigeo Nagashima, edging out calls for the return of Tatsunori Hara or Shinnosuke Abe and hopes pinned on rising name Masumi Kuwata—though none of them managed to overtake Matsui for first place. Commenters were divided on several fronts: surprise that a baseball ranking came from such an unlikely source, how much longer the Giants can keep up their long-standing tradition of promoting only “homegrown” players to manager, and what should happen to interim manager Hashigami, who has been filling in since former manager Abe stepped down.

“Ranking: Who Fans Want as Next Season’s Giants Manager” — Beating out comebacks for Hara and Abe and hopes for rising star Kuwata, the No. 1 pick is “the one who carries on Shigeo Nagashima’s will”

Mon, 9/22, 11:00 AM

Taking the top spot is none other than “Godzilla” Hideki Matsui

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

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “[Pro Baseball] “Ranking: Who Fans Want as Next Season’s Giants Manager” — Beating out comebacks for Hara and Abe and hopes for rising star Kuwata, the No. 1 pick is “the one who carries on Shigeo Nagashima’s will”.”

On the Nanjyo (なんJ) baseball board, Hanshin Tigers slugger Sato Teruaki’s second consecutive 100-RBI season sparked a thread investigating which player was the last to notch back-to-back 100-RBI seasons for each of Japan’s 12 pro teams. Posters threw out names like Kurihara Kenta (Hiroshima), Luis Lopez, Nakata Sho, and Fujimura Fumio for various teams, though mixed-up names and years led to repeated corrections. The thread eventually drifted into a story about Hara Tatsunori, who was blasted as “unfit to be Yomiuri’s cleanup hitter” in a season where he hit .300 with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs — sparking debate over whether Giants fans of that era were being too harsh in comparing him to legends Nagashima and Oh, and whether that harsh judgment was actually fair.

※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary from the 5ch (Nanjyo) thread “The Last Player on Each of the 12 Teams With Back-to-Back 100-RBI Seasons lol.”

Shohei Ohtani’s batting has cratered in September, falling from an August line of .248, 7 home runs, 15 RBIs, and an .830 OPS down to .182, 0 home runs, 1 RBI, and a .584 OPS. On 5ch’s live-game threads, users have been debating the causes of the slump — the state of his right elbow after two Tommy John surgeries, the swing mechanics thrown off as a result, and his refusal to take the rest he’s been urged to take while continuing to both pitch and hit. Opinions are split over whether he still needs to keep up the two-way act, how his numbers stack up against teammates, and the fact that the Dodgers are holding first place even without him carrying the offense.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyou G) thread “[Sad News] Shohei Ohtani’s September monthly stats are seriously no joke lololololololololol.”

A thread on 5ch heated up over a hypothetical: if you picked NPB’s all-time “Best Nine” based purely on defense, who makes the cut? It started with the observation that the Golden Glove Award tends to be swayed by batting stats, and while familiar names like Atsuya Furuta, Ryosuke Kikuchi, and Yoshio Yoshida were treated as locks, opinions split over whether active shortstop Sosuke Genda’s glove would actually hold up in MLB. Third base and center field also drew multiple candidates, and the thread never quite settled on a final lineup.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Halpro) thread “If NPB picked a Best Nine based on defense alone.”