2020 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: First series with fans ends in success

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The Saitama Seibu Lions went 4-2 in their first homestand with fans allowed against the Chiba Lotte Marines. By taking the series, they moved into A-class and sit one game behind the first place Softbank Hawks and 1/2 a game behind the Rakuten Eagles. How did it all happen? Here's our recap.

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Game 1: Tatsuya Imai vs. Minabu Mima

Imai dug an early 3-1 hole when Yudai Fujioka had two timely hits. However, the Lions answered in the with key hits from Takumi Kuriyama and Cory Spangenberg for a 4-3 lead. They pulled away in the next inning when Spangenberg was clutch again and Shohei Suzuki had a key extra base as Mima was left in to dry. Imai earned his second win of the season as a result with the final score being 8-3.

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Game 2: Kona Takahashi vs. Kazuya Ojima

Takahashi allowed several hits and was fortunate to not give up more. What proved to be critical was a solo HR in the 6th from Seiya Inoue. The Lions had a chance in the 7th, but only scored one run off Ojima with a non-hit RBI and the Marines bullpen held firm. They also had two on base in the 8th inning, only for Kuriyama to strikeout in a 2-1 loss.

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Game 3: Kaito Yoza vs. Daiki Iwashita

Yoza allowed only two runs off timely hits by Hisanori Yasuda and Shogo Nakamura in the first inning. Sosuke Genda got a run back on a timely hit from the bottom of the frame.

In the second inning, another chance came for the Lions with the tying run in scoring position. Seiji Kawagoe hit his first career HR for a two runs and gave the Lions the lead. The scored remained 3-2 for the rest of the game as Yoza fought through five innings and had some perfect defense behind him, but he also helped his own cause with a liner right in his face being caught.

Katsunori Hirai, Kaima Taira, Reed Garrett and Tatsushi Masuda had no trouble taking an inning each and Yoza earned his first career win.

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Game 4: Zach Neal vs. Ayumu Ishikawa

The Lions were depending on Neal to hold a 2-0 lead when Hotaka Yamakawa hit a two-run HR in the first inning. Neal gave up a run in the fourth and sixth innings, with the latter coming off a timely hit from Inoue. He went six innings, but earned a no decision, keeping the game tied and an opportunity for the Lions. With Naoya Masuda in the game, he gave up a leadoff bunt single to Genda, which was followed by a bunt and intentional walk. Shuta Tonosaki came through on a timely sayonara to end it with an identical 3-2 score from the previous game.

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Game 5: Keisuke Honda vs. Atsuki Taneichi

Atsuki Taneichi was unstoppable and Keisuke Honda did the best he could through 6+ innings. Both sides didn't allow a run until the 7th, where a timely hit came through Tsuyoshi Sugano. Even though it was 1-0, the Lions offense was dead without Kuriyama or Takeya Nakamura in the lineup while Taneichi took advantage of a base running blunder by Shohei Suzuki. Taneichi finished the game on his own while striking out Cory Spangenberg stranding runners in the process.

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Game 6: Daiki Enokida vs. Toshiya Nakamura

Both starters were able to last five innings, but no one beyond that. The Lions struck first on an RBI double from Kuriyama, the 350th of his career. Enokida gave up two runs with timely hits from Inoue and Brandon Laird.

The Lions answered in the 6th when Fumiya Ono started pitching for the Marines. With Tonosaki reaching base, Takeya Nakamura hit the gap to tie it and Kuriyama had another double for the go-ahead run. Even Fumikazu Kimura added an extra run when finding a timely hit. The bullpen of Hirai, Taira, Garrett and Masuda did their jobs again cleaning out the Marine bats for a 4-2 win.

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This was a solid series with even both losses being winnable. The only odd thing? It's clear the offense can be better. Tomoya Mori specifically has been a dud on offense and has no reason to bat third in the lineup. Others have shown they can come through, but it is awkward that the veterans Nakamura and Kuriyama are the ones carrying this offense? Yes.

Next week in Fukuoka will be telling, as it's usually a house of horrors, but if anything, this team has shown they can compete.

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2020 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Yamakawa's home runs give offense life

The Saitama Seibu Lions won two out of five games played with one rainout against the Rakuten Eagles. They sit in B-class (4th place) while at a .500 record. Here's how it went down:

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Game 1: Tatsuya Imai vs. Hideaki Wakui

The Lions lost this one 11-0 and had no chance from the start. While Imai played with fire initially, it caught up to him in the fourth inning when Daichi Suzuki hit a bases-loaded single and Eigoro Mogi hit a three-run HR to break the ice. Wakui, the former Lion, threw seven scoreless innings.

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Game 2: Kona Takahashi vs. Hayato Yuge

Kona Takahashi gave up runs with two outs, including a HR to Ryosuke Tatsumi, never getting a chance to win. The Lions stranded several runners on base and had an opportunity when Yuge left in the fourth inning due to injury. Tomohiro Anraku came in and didn't allow a run. The chance came off former Lion Kazuhisa Makita in the 7th inning, where they scored three runs making it 5-4, but that was as close as it got.

The Eagles bullpen stood firm while Katsunori Hirai allowed two runs in the bottom of the 8th to put the game away in a 7-4 defeat.

Game note: 

-Takeya Nakamura hit a double for the 300th of his career.

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Game 3: Zach Neal vs. Takahiro Norimoto

In what looked like a pitcher's duel on paper, the Lions got to Norimoto early and had no trouble, scoring five runs off the Eagles ace. It was a rally of base hits to make this one a laugher, as three Lions had three-hit games.

Neal earned his first win since Opening Day by pitching six innings and allowing only two runs. The Lions pulled away late in the 9th inning with four runs in a 10-2 victory.  Neal has now won 13 consecutive decisions dating back to last year.

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Game 4: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Takahiro Shiomi 

Matsumoto gave up early home runs to Eigoro Mogi and Hiroaki Shimauchi in the first inning, but he didn't allow further damage through five innings. Shiomi looked dominant, but the Lions got to him in the 6th inning when Hotaka Yamakawa tied the game on a three-run home run. Two batters later, Takeya Nakamura hit a solo HR, which was good enough to give the Lions the lead for the rest of the game. Katsunori Hirai, Tetsu Miyagawa, Reed Garrett and Tatsushi Masuda combined for four scoreless innings to even up the series.

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Game 5: Daiki Enokida vs. Takayuki Kishi

Kishi was knocked out early when Yamakawa hit a three-run HR, but the Eagles chipped away at the lead thanks to Hideto Asamura, who had four hits.

With a 5-3 lead in the 7th, Hirai walked the first two batters and that's where the disaster began. The bases were loaded for Kaima Taira and while he struck out Stefen Romero, Asamura tied the game and Yasuhito Uchida hit a grand slam for the Eagles first lead of the day. This ruined a decent 2020 debut for Enokida, who went 6+ innings. 

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It wasn't an awful week, but overall, this means the Lions went 5-5 in 10 road games when adding the Marines series. The Lions will have a date with Chiba as they return home with fans for the first time on July 21. The good news? Offense had life and didn't look below average like has been this season. 

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2020 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Series taken in Chiba

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The Saitama Seibu Lions took three out of five games played in Chiba as they sit in third place with a 10-9-1 record in the Pacific League. With a recent vacation I took, here's a short brief on the Orix Buffaloes series prior to the Marines. 

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Orix Buffaloes:

The Lions lost the series 2-3-1 including both wins being gifted by the Buffaloes mistakes. In one win, the Lions scored only three runs, which all came on unearned errors. In another game, they were no-hit by Yu Suzuki through five innings and the Orix bullpen didn't allow a hit until the 8th inning.

Masataka Yoshida shredded the Lions pitchers with several key home runs, including a win over the Lions when they had a three-run lead in the late innings. Ryosuke Moriwaki and Ryuya Ogawa couldn't hold in the 8th inning. Bats also remained unclutch as a whole.

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Chiba Lotte Marines:

Tatsuya Imai threw seven shutout innings in a Lions win, but it was a disappointing series as a whole for starting pitchers which would have been worse if it weren't for a no-game rainout. Kona Takahashi gave up multiple home runs in his outing while Wataru Matsumoto was lit up for five runs in the first two innings.

On Friday, Zach Neal had a miracle comeback of run support to prevent a loss in his record. Takumi Kuriyama hit a two-run HR in the 8th inning while forcing a bases-loaded walk in the 9th for the go-ahead run.

Sunday had Kaito Yoza going 4.2 innings with a lead, but he couldn't record the last out of the 5th to earn a win. The final game had HRs from Kuriyama and Cory Spangenberg into the ZozoMarine Stadium HR Lagoon as the Lions took the series. 

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This week wasn't all roses for everyone, as Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura is day-to-day after being hit by a pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto while his replacements in Nien Ting Wu and Kakeru Yamanobe don't hit as well.

Yuji Kaneko was also taken off the ichi-gun roster after a poor hitting performance while batting ninth. Shohei Suzuki has so far done his part, now batting leadoff in centerfield. We also saw the debut of Junichiro Kishi, an 8th round pick out of Indy ball. 

Daisuke Matsuzaka also had back surgery, hoping to make an appearance in 2020, but it will be on hold for at least two months.

The Lions starting pitching had a sketchy two weeks, but the bullpen appears to be a strength with Reed Garrett, Kaima Taira, Katsunori Hirai and Tatsushi Masuda all being important contributors. This should be a good way to start, though the offense still has ups and downs while not being consistent enough.

Best thing? Not faltering into the cellar. In thee first month of the season, no team can afford to dig a hole to climb out of. So far, the Lions haven't done this and are on pace to a similar start from 2019.

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2020 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Late heroics lead to wins

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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Pacific League to limit travel as much as possible, having bunched six-game series in the front half of the 2020 season. For the first six-game series of the year, the Lions took four out of six against the Softbank Hawks and have a 5-4 record through two weeks. They currently sit in third place behind the Chiba Lotte Marines and Rakuten Eagles.

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Game 1: Kona Takahashi vs Matt Moore

Cory Spangenberg had four hits, including a grand slam which was good enough to defeat the Hawks in a laugher. Takahashi went 5.1 innings and the Lions combined for 11 hits. Moore struggled with location and allowed six runs, with four of them earned over four innings. The bullpen didn't allow a run while the Lions made this one an easy 11-3 win.

Game notes: 

-Seiji Kawagoe made his ichi-gun debut as a pinch runner.

-Shota Takekuma was deactivated in place of Ryuya Ogawa

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Game 2: Tatsuya Imai vs. Shunta Ishikawa

Imai allowed two crucial three-run home runs to Seiji Uebayashi and Kenta Imamiya in the first and sixth innings. Hotaka Yamakawa hit a three-run home run adn the Lions even had a 6-4 lead at one point, but Imai's hard contact early on proved to be fatal when Imamiya's home run put the Hawks ahead for good.

Tomoya Mori and Spangenberg had multi-hit games, but it wasn't enough. In the end, the Hawks also added insurance runs off the Lions bullpen for a 9-6 defeat.

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Game 3: Keisuke Honda vs. Rick van den Hurk
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Honda gave up two solo HRs to Wladimir Balentien, but the real story was Rick van den Hurk's performance. He threw seven no-hit innings and it wasn't until Hotaka Yamakawa had an infield single in the 8th to break it up.

The Lions made the score respectful with two runs, but it wasn't enough when Shota Hamaya also gave up a solo HR and Tetsu Miyagawa allowed another run in the 9th for a 4-2 loss.

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Game 4: Zach Neal vs. Nao Higashihama

Hotaka Yamakawa hits two HRs and it looked like Neal would cruise to an easy win. However, with a 3-1 lead,. an error from Yamakawa helped load the bases in the 7th inning. With Ryuya Ogawa in, he allowed all three inherited runners to score on base hits by Ryoya Kurihara and Yuki Yanagita as the Hawks went ahead 4-3.

In the bottom of the 8th, the Lions found a way to load the bases off Sho Iwasaki with two outs. Fumikazu Kimura was the hero, hitting a grand slam, giving the team a 7-4 win in the process.

Game note:

-By striking out the side in the 8th inning, Reed Garrett recorded his first career win.

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Game 5: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Tsuyoshi Wada

Matsumoto didn't have a chance from the beginning, as he gave up two-run HRs to Yanagita and and Kurihara in the first two inings. In total, he allowed seven runs through three innings as his day was done early.

Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura hit a two-run HR to start a comeback and Shuta Tonosaki added a two-run triple. The Lions bullpen didn't allow a run when they came in, whether it was Miyagawa or Ogawa pitching.

Against Iwasaki, the Lions had a rally going in the bottom of the 7th. Yamakawa hit a three-run HR into the batter's eye to give them the lead for the first time all day. Garrett had a clean 8th inning while Tatsushi Masuda had some drama. Seiji Uebayashi hit a triple with two outs and Kenta Imamiya was up with the tying run on base. A short flyout to Sosuke Genda ended the game, giving the Lions their second win in a row by a score of 8-7.

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Game 6: Kaito Yoza vs. Akira Niho

Yanagita did damage again with a solo HR to start and a timely from Kurihara made it 3-0 Hawks. The Lions battled back with a timely single from Takumi Kuriyama. Sosuke Genda was able to steal second base in the third inning and advance another 90 feet thanks to a wild pitch. An RBI groundout brought the Lions within one.

Yoza went six innings with the last four frames being scoreless. The Lions made sure he had a no decision whenYamakawa hit a solo HR off Niho. In a game where the Lions continued to strand runners, Seiji Kawagoe made his first plate appearance as a pinch hitter for Yuji Kaneko while Fumikazu Kimura came in off the bench for Shohei Suzuki.

Reed Garrett and Tatsushi Masuda had scoreless 8th and 9th innings and the bottom of the latter frame had the drama. The Lions loaded the bases and didn't have an out against Keisuke Izumi. Tomoya Mori came through with a base hit to end the game on a sayonara as the Lions took the series with a 4-3 win.

Game note: 

-The Lions and Hawks combined for 10 consecutive strikeouts in the 7th and 8th innings with Hirai, Shinya Kayama, Garrett and Livan Moinelo contributing.

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While the middle was ugly, the Lions ended on a strong note against a Hawks team missing some of their players. They needed to win this series in order to have any edge going forward.

Imai and Matsumoto had some dud outings, but at least the offense woke up late. What's most encouraging is how Reed Garrett looked, missing bats and striking out opponents. He's not just a fastball pitcher and it's clear he'll take the 7th or 8th inning with Katsunori Hirai for now.

It would have been nice to take five out of six, but the comeback on Saturday could go a long way towards a successful season.

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2020 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Neal wins Opening Day, series lost

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Game 1: Zach Neal vs. Kohei Arihara 

Neal threw six shutout innings while the Lions offense caught several breaks to score. From a bases-loaded infield single by Hotaka Yamakawa, Shuta Tonosaki being hit by a pitch and a fielder's choice, the three runs were enough for the night.

Katsunori Hirai, Reed Garrett and Tatsushi Masuda completed the shutout for a 3-0 victory.

Extra notes: 

-Neal was the first foreign born pitcher to start on Opening Day for the Lions since Tai-Yuan Kuo (Taigen Kaku) in 1995.

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Game 2: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Takayuki Kato

Shuta Tonosaki's second-inning HR was the only offense for the Lions, in a game where the Fighters bullpen shut them down. They scattered a combined seven hits through nine innings.

Sho Nakata's two-run double in the fourth inning was enough for the Fighters to win this one. Matsumoto went 6.1 innings, but was unable to have run support in a 2-1 loss.

Notes: 

-Haruki Nishikawa's 4th inning hit was his 1,000th in his career. He scored on Nakata's double.

-Tetsu Miyagawa made his debut in the 8th inning. He gave up two walks and a hit, but no runs.

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Game 3: Kaito Yoza vs. Toshiya Sugiura

Yoza went six innings in his NPB debut, giving up three runs with two of them being solo HRs to Sho Nakata and Taishi Ota. It was the third straight day the Lions offense had a poor showing, not scoring until the 8th inning. Two bases-loaded opportunities were wasted as the Fighters bullpen succceded again.

Shota Hamaya made his debut in the 7th inning and also gave up a solo HR HR to Yushi Shimizu, but the real damage happened in the 8th when Shota Takekuma took the mound. The Fighters pulled away to take the series in a 12-2 Lions loss.

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While this wasn't the result any Lions fans want, remember the team started 0-3 in 2019. Offense didn't look good, though they still got on base. Unfortunately, they were unclutch for most of the weekend and the bullpen had their moments. However, take the last game padding the ERA with a grain of salt as Ichiro Tamura and Takekuma won't be getting meaningful innings anytime soon.

What is encouraging is how the starting pitching didn't allow more than three runs and all had outings of at least six innings. It's not a time to panic, though it wasn't the greatest weekend for new leadoff hitter Cory Spangenberg. Let's hope for a better week ahead.

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2020 NPB Power Rankings: Opening Day Edition

It's officially Opening Day in Japan after a long wait. From COVID-19 taking over the world, Japan was no exception with several delays and a cancelled 2020 Summer Olympics announced. Both the Spring and Summer Koshien tournaments were also cancelled.

For those who watch college (NCAA) football, preseason rankings usually come out every August. In the big picture, it's meaningless as it's more of a perception for what people think of each team.

Carefully calculating this, these rankings will be more reflective of what the media is saying and predicting, though the first ranked squad will be by default rules.

Here are your power rankings at the start of the season:

1. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks

The Hawks will be missing Kodai Senga to start the year, but the depth is still great. They'll remain contenders as long they're run properly and continue to develop youth. Carter Stewart Jr. will be a fun prospect to watch while Jumpei Takahashi, Hiroshi Kaino and Kotaro Otake will be the three younger names to look at as they should be better. New addition Wladimir Balentien doesn't even need to be a star, yet he joins the Hawks in hopes of finding a championship ring.

Some old guard players like Seiichi Uchikawa and Nobuhiro Matsuda are aging, but others can pick up the slack the way Yurisbel Gracial did in 2019. Does the dynasty continue? Even without the roster knowledge, they get a first place ranking by default as defending Japan Series champions.

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2. Saitama Seibu Lions 

The Lions lose Shogo Akiyama and are expected to take a step backwards, but they also have teh youngest ichi-gun Opening Day roster. There's a slight rebuild in the pitching staff, but the potential is there with Tatsuya Imai, Wataru Matsumoto and Kona Takahashi all being intriguing.

Can the recent draft picks also contribute and Zach Neal show last year was no fluke? Offense should still be good with a balance of speed and power, but the leadoff position without Akiyama will take a change. They're expected to contend while getting worse than last year. 

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3. Yomiuri Giants

The Giants are favorites to repeat the Central League again. Biggest key for them is having the best depth in their league. Expect a rebound season for Tomoyuki Sugano and there's even speculation that he'll be posted. The only flaw that holds them back is 2B. As long as Tatsunori Hara is the skipper, they'll stay relevant and be a contender.

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4. Rakuten Eagles

The media thinks the Eagles are an A-class lock in the Pacific League. This team made the most changes with additions by General Manager Kazuhisa Ishii. The free agent signings (and compensation/trade picksups) of Daichi Suzuki, Stefen Romero, Kazuhisa Makita, Hideaki Wakui and Tomohito Sakai should be a mixed bag. Even with these veterans, what is their identity? Adding straight up talent with a new skipper in Hajime Miki can't guarantee success. Miki has a lot of decisions to make on who play and not with a crowded group, but expectations are high with how they flexed their high-priced signings and even tried to get another outfielder.

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5. Hanshin Tigers

The Tigers came into A-class on the final day of the regular season and won a playoff series last year with a matchup in their favor. Manager Akihiro Yano's honeymoon period is over and the expectations are high. This year will hinge on Yusuke Oyama if he can take that next step. He's shown flashes of power, but not consistency.

It's not a young team by any means with plenty of aging players like Yoshio Itoi, Kyuji Fujikawa and Kosuke Fukudome around, but they'll be dependent on their imports more than anyone else for offense as they oversigned above the 5-man ichi-gun cap. If the imports contribute, they're guaranteed A-class. 

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6. Yokohama DeNA Baystars

The Baystars are the hardest team to predict in the Central League, but most of the media has them in A-class after a second place finish in 2019. Here's the catch: That second place standing was being the best of a mediocre and forgettable Central League pack. Gone are Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Tampa Bay) and Katsuki Azuma (Tommy John surgery), but the bigger issue is an inconsistent offense. One week they can look hot and win eight in a row, while the next can be followed up by a long losing streak.

Pitching should be good even without Azuma, but they'll need Haruhiro Hamaguchi to have a rebound season to complement Shota Imanaga. Manager Alex Ramirez is also not safe from the hot seat just yet. Call it irrational, but one awful season and the pressure is on again.

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7. Hiroshima Carp

The Carp's poor start to 2019 hurt their A-class hopes at the end when came up one game short. Depth is the issue for this squad after Seiya Suzuki and Daichi Osera carry the team. New manager Shinji Sasaoka should be better at handling the pitching staff, but what kind of offense will this team have outside of Suzuki? Talent is still there, but their window from previous seasons likely closed. The media thinks this is the team who can turn it around coming off a B-class season. They should be in the hunt.

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8. Chiba Lotte Marines

The Japanese media is overlooking the Marines, but the English-speaking ones have the opposite. No manager has more pressure to win now than Tadahito Iguchi after two B-class seasons. The Marines were only a few plays away from A-class in 2019. If they correct the defensive mistakes from September 2019, they'll be right in the hunt. Minabu Mima provides some rotation stability while Shuhei Fukuda is supposed to upgrade their outfield. Atsuki Taneichi will be the X-factor to this season as he's thought to be the future ace. In the long term, several high school prospects should emerge, but no one has more hype than Roki Sasaki.

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9. Chunichi Dragons

The Dragons started their open rebuilding in 2017. Now that it's Year 4, the excuses become thin for second-year manager Tsuyoshi Yoda. While prospects like Akira Neo and Takaya Ishikawa are raw, there's enough talent to compete for 2020. Shuhei Takahashi's injury hurt while Yudai Ono has a revival 2019. If they can close games and have a stable bullpen, their chances of A-class goes up as it drew them back last year.

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10. Orix Buffaloes

Orix has the talent to compete. However, their biggest weakness is themselves in self-inflicting mistakes. Masataka Yoshida, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Taisuke Yamaoka are all solid Core-Four players to hang with the best of them. Their offense is the other hole that needs to be fixed. Adam Jones will keep them interesting and it will be key to see if he can carry a unit that struggled as a whole.

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11. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

The Fighters enter this season with no expectations. There's discussions about Kohei Arihara and Haruki Nishikawa being future MLB players, but on the field for 2020, they need to rebuild their position players. This group has several light hitters, but a lack of pop though it wouldn't hurt if Kotaro Kiyomiya takes a step forward. When one of your foreign signings is Yomiuri Giants castoff Christian Villanueva, that's not a good sign from thee surface.

In the long term, does manager Hideki Kuriyama want to retire and ride off into the sunset? That's also a question mark that looms after 2020 as it took the Fighters management to convince him to stay around.

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 12. Tokyo Yakult Swallows

The Swallows came off a forgettable 2019 and it looks to be a rebuilding 2020 season on paper. Shingo Takatsu comes in with a lot of holes and question marks in both the pitching staff and offense. What's worse? Star player Tetsuto Yamada is a free agent after this season. While this isn't LeBron James watch, several will be thinking about where he lands in 2021.

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Conclusion:

For now, the Pacific League gets bonus points as they are the better league of the two. Of course this will change over the course of the season, but each team's expectations varies. We have 120 games of action ready to go. 

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NPB 101: Differences between baseball in Japan and MLB Part III

With the 2020 NPB season upon us, I figured it was time to challenge myself and find more differences since the last time I wrote something. You can see Part I and Part II  here.

MLB and NPB have their share of differences that goes beyond language itself. Here's what is noticeable or unmentioned from previous posts:

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For 2020 only, games will end after 10 innings

With the recent social distancing protocols taking place around the the world, NPB will call a tie game if 10 innings are concluded. In a normal year, 12 innings was the limit.

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In a 2020 special, the ichi-gun roster will expand to 31 with a  foreign player cap at 5. 

NPB usually allows four players at the top team, but with COVID-19 happening, more can travel and accrue service time. This year, five foreigners can be on the roster at once, but only four can be active in a single game with no boundary crossing of four pitchers or four position players.

The total roster will increase from 29 to 31 and the active can go from 25 to 26 in 2020 only. Compared with MLB, there is a larger number, though their agreement could be coming soon to change as that story develops.

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It is easier to buy visiting team merchandise at ballparks in NPB than MLB

Japanese usually believe in the fair opportunity for things as it shows in the draft. However, if you're a displaced fan in another market, you'll have no trouble finding goods from caps, jerseys and more from the ballpark stores themselves compared to MLB. That being said, the selection of goods is limited compared to buying at the home team's stadium.

In any stateside sports scenario, you're better off buying things online as a displaced fan as most stores will only sell the home team or market's gear while only a handful of sports stores in malls will be expensive and overpriced with hard to find stuff. The only exception to this is the Seattle Mariners when going to T-Mobile Park, who are fittingly owned by Nintendo. Other teams may capitalize only on certain opponents if they have a large visiting fanbase.

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There are more fans of individuals in NPB than MLB 

It's easy to like a star player such as Mike Trout or Aaron Judge, but how about Brock Holt, Brad Miller or Gregory Polanco having his own fanbase? Japan will have fans of individuals following someone in a larger quantity than what you'd see stateside. While it is easy to find uniforms of great players, you'll also see the random ones of role players, bench players and even farm players depending on who they followed.

Some will have a larger following if they did something at the high school Koshien tournament, putting them on a national radar. Others may have come from an industrial league or a college out of the way, but they'll have a following beyond family and friends.

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Teams in Japan will not trade a player for his high value or expiring contract

The trade deadline in MLB will always have some intrigue on players who could be rentals or sold high because they have years of control. Japanese teams don't see the same reason of letting go of a star while in his prime in the same way, as it would be a loss of an asset and investment.

It's clear NPB teams will market and invest in their stars at least through their seven years of service time at minimum before they could hit domestic free agency. The last trade of someone being sent off in their prime was Yoshio Itoi, which had a complex contract negotiation situation. Of course the compensation in free agency also makes it easier if someone walks in comparison.

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For some players, there is no offseason or time off. They continue to train at the team facilities

Players under control can stay in the area and still train in the offseason. Many will become workaholics when at the weight machines or batting practice cage besides extra hours before and after a scheduled session. In the States, players are usually on their own living elsewhere until Spring Training.

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You cannot keep a ball from batting practice, but only in-game in NPB

During batting practice when a home run or foul ball happens, several stadiums have ushers ready to take the ball from you. In the States, the rules are more loose with some ballparks/players able to give a ball away without issues. Even then, the practice baseballs are not the same depending on the park you go to. Getting a home run or foul ball in Japan becomes even more rewarding if you get it. Fans can also buy baseballs at the shop without issue, including some autographed baseballs already on the shelves since it may not happen before an actual game.

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Excluding foreigners, an agent isn't doing contract negotiations in NPB. It's face to face. 

In November and December, it's the time of the year to come to an agreement (assuming he's under control) for the following season and deciding a salary. Foreigners will usually have the agent represent them, but domestically each players is scheduled to talk to team representatives to discuss everything. It is a cultural thing to meet face to face in Japan more times than not, though social distancing has loosened up some restrictions.

Teams usually have a baseball analytics expert with someone in charge of financial operations with all the data, factoring in what the player did the previous season and an offer is presented based on results. The player then takes the offer or tries to appeal and make a case, but more times than not, they have no choice but to sign the dotted line. There have been holdouts and it can cause some tension, but usually the team has leverage when looking at the work the player did to come up with a number. When the agreement is reached, the player has a formal press conference discussing the reported salary (never 100% accurate) and talks about their goals for next year and more.

There are exceptions and times a lawyer/representative could make a case, but more times than not, it's a face to face meeting. 

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The minimum wage for a minor leaguer in NPB is higher than someone in MiLB away from the 40-man roster. 

If a player is under a developmental contract (iksuei), then his reported wages are around ¥3 million ($28,000) at the lowest. He also receives a place to stay as well as being fed without trouble. In the States, minor leaguers are dependent on their signing bonus and depending on what level you're at, it's likely they make less than $10,000 in a season while also not making anything extra in the playoffs.

In the event someone is on the 70-man roster, but stays in ni-gun, the reported minimum salary is about ¥5 million ($46,600). For stateside players, the ladder is tough, but making it to MLB on a 25-man roster means a minimum wage of at least $563,500 (¥60.3 million), though it's prorated if a player is called up midseason.  Being on a 40-man roster is around $40,000 a year, if they make it there.

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Are there more missed things? Be sure to click around Part I and Part II for other details missed.

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