Professional baseball will start on the 26th.
This year will be a season in which the influence of the new coronavirus will continue, with many foreign players not being able to make it in time for the opening without an extended game.
Professional baseball shortened the regular season to 120 games last season due to the spread of the new coronavirus, but this time it will return to 143 games including 18 interleague games, and the climax series by the top 3 teams will be held as usual. It has become.
Also, from July to August, the season will be suspended in line with the Tokyo Olympics.
On the other hand, in response to a request from the local government regarding the holding time of the event, this season we will not have an extended game and will end with 9 times.
In addition, the night games in the Tokyo metropolitan area, 1 metropolitan area and 3 prefectures will start at 5:30 pm at Jingu Stadium and 5:45 pm at other stadiums until April 17, so that the game can be completed by 9 pm. To speed up.
In addition, the number of spectators will continue to be limited, with five teams based in the Tokyo metropolitan area, one metropolitan area and three prefectures, whose state of emergency was lifted on March 21, and Osaka, Hyogo, and Aichi, whose declaration was lifted at the end of February. The four Fukuoka-based teams will start with a maximum of 10,000 people.
On the other hand, Nippon-Ham has 20,000 people, Hiroshima has 16,500 people, and Rakuten has 15,600 people, which is about half the capacity.
Of the 86 foreign players from the 12 teams, 47, more than half of them, will be delayed in entering the country and will start without being able to join the team.
Especially this season, 29 out of 32 new foreign players have not joined the team, and DeNA has not been able to enter all 10 foreign players, so it remains lacking in mainstay.
Opening round 6 games Pacific League
Softbank vs Lotte
Softbank, which aims to be No. 1 in Japan for the fifth consecutive year, will face Lotte, who is second in last season, at the PayPay Dome in Fukuoka City.
Shuta Ishikawa, who won the title with the most wins and the highest win rate last season, and Kota Futaki, who is in the eighth year of Lotte, will both be the opening pitchers for the first time.
Seibu vs. Orix
Seibu, who finished 3rd last season, will face the bottom Orix at the MetLife Dome in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture.
In Seibu, Hotaka Yamakawa and Tomoya Mori, who had been unsuccessful last season, are doing well in the open game, and it is expected that the strong batting line will be revived.
For Orix, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won the title of the most strikes last season, will be the opening pitcher for the first time.
Rakuten vs. Nippon-Ham
Last season's 4th place Rakuten will face 5th place Nippon-Ham at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi in Sendai City.
At Rakuten, pitcher Hideaki Wakui, who won the title with the most wins last season, will be the opening pitcher for the 10th time.
Masahiro Tanaka, who has returned from the Major League Baseball Yankees, is scheduled to start in the second game of the season.
For Nippon-Ham, pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa will be the second opening pitcher.
Central League
Giants vs DeNA
The giant, who is aiming to win the league title for the third consecutive year, will face DeNA, who is fourth in last season, at Tokyo Dome.
Ace pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano will serve as the opening pitcher for the seventh time in a row for four years.
In addition, Takayuki Kajitani, who transferred from DeNA as a free agent, will suddenly play against Konosu.
At DeNA, led by new coach Daisuke Miura, all foreign players are not in time for the opening, and in the early stages they are forced into a difficult battle that lacks the main force.
Hiroshima vs. China and Japan
Hiroshima, which ranked 5th last season, will face 3rd place Chunichi at Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima City.
In Hiroshima, pitcher Daichi Ohsera will be the opening pitcher for the third consecutive year.
Also pay attention to the pitching of pitcher Ryoji Kuribayashi, who is the first-ranked rookie in the draft.
In Chunichi, pitcher Koji Fukutani, who is in his ninth year, will be the opening pitcher for the first time.
Yakult vs. Hanshin
Yakult, the lowest player last season, will face second-placed Hanshin at the Jingu Stadium.
In Yakult, Munetaka Murakami, the 4th 21-year-old who was doing well in the open game, will pull the line.
In Hanshin, pitcher Shintaro Fujinami will be the opening pitcher for the first time in his ninth year as a professional pitcher.
Teruaki Sato, the first-ranked rookie in the draft, has hit six home runs at the top of the 12 teams in the open game and is expected to be the starting lineup in the opening game.
Special application to new corona countermeasure rules
As a countermeasure against the new coronavirus, professional baseball will be subject to special rules this season as well.
In the special case,
▽ extended game will not be held and will be terminated after 9 times.
In addition, the number of
registered players in the ▽ 1 army
will be
increased
from the usual 29 to 31
▽ players who can enter the bench will be
increased
from 25 to 26,
respectively.
▽ The number of foreign players registered in one army will increase from 4 to 5, but not all can be pitchers or fielders.
And the number of people who can enter the bench is the same up to 4 people.
In addition, even if the player registration is canceled due to suspected infection with the new coronavirus, if it becomes possible to return, the special case where you can re-register without waiting for the usual 10 days will continue.