Baseball season starts earlier in Japan than in the USA. While American big leaguers are still making plans and packing their gear for spring training in Arizona or Florida, camp is already underway in the Land of the Rising Sun. Training camp opened February 1 for all 12 Japanese teams and, like spring anywhere, people are concentrating on different things.
Among managers, Seibu Lions skipper Hisanobu Watanabe is hoping for an encore of last year’s Japan Series title, Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara will be splitting his attention between the Giants and managing Japan’s World Baseball Classic team next month, and rookie manager Koji Akiyama is taking over the Softbank Hawks after the legendary Sadaharu Oh stepped down for health reasons after last season.
Among the players, Nippon Ham pitcher Yu Darvish started spring training by throwing 125 pitches in the Fighters’ bullpen, Hanshin Tigers first baseman Takahiro Arai took indoor batting practice for an hour, and Lotte Marines second baseman Tadahito Iguchi marked his return to Japanese baseball after four MLB seasons by doing some extra weight training.
Exhibition games in Japan begin February 28, with the regular season starting April 3.
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