From the Daily Sports Online column / デイリースポーツオンラインの連載コラムから
The Hanshin Tigers have been having themselves a dream season, winning their first Central League pennant in 18 years and sweeping their way through the Final Stage of the Climax Series. On the other side of NPB, the Orix Buffaloes won the Pacific League by a long shot and breezed through their own playoff matchup in spite of multiple injuries. These two powerful forces are now set to clash in the Japan Series, starting on October 28 at Kyocera Dome Osaka. This is the first time in 59 years that teams in the Kansai region face off for supremacy. (The last time, in 1964, our Tigers lost in seven games against the Nankai Hawks, who have since moved to Fukuoka.)
For those of you outside of Japan, it is not hard to imagine the hype that this final matchup is getting in Kansai. The ever-so-popular Tigers have a shot at their first title since 1985 (yes, the famed year that the Curse of the Colonel is said to have started). The often-spurned Orix Buffaloes are aiming to become the first back-to-back champs since the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks rattled off four straight from 2017-20. This is also believed to be the send-off for generational talent Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is all but certainly going to be named Sawamura Award winner for an unprecedented third straight year. MLB scouts and even fans have already seen his pitching on display at the 2020 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Though he will probably be on TV screens across America in a few months, people are clamoring to get one final look at him in a Japanese baseball uniform.
A series of this magnitude and with this much hype surrounding it is must-see TV. And that is the unfortunate bomb I need to drop on you fine folks. Unless you are living in Japan, there is no legal means by which to watch history being made at Kyocera Dome and Koshien Stadium over the next 10 days. That’s right… nothing. (Note: You can get it LIVE via TVer if you have a VPN, but they have no archive to view at your leisure. Real time or bust!)
What about Toratele? They broadcast all of the Tigers’ home games, do they not? And what about Pacific League TV? And the Japanese version of DAZN via a VPN? All of these options were viable and used by NPB fans overseas during the regular season, and even each league’s respective Climax Series… but broadcasting rights are not theirs for this last series. No, those belong to Nippon Professional Baseball and are not being liberally distributed to anyone, literally.
It is such a shame, too. From my observations, NPB does not have a business mindset whatsoever. I understand we are talking about two different countries with very different cultures and corporate structures, but NPB has learned very little from Major League Baseball. Most of you overseas have been begging NPB to find some united front and present a league-wide streaming subscription service… but there are teams in the CL that do not seem interested in doing so. They have the poverty/scarcity mindset, and worry that if they divide the income pie evenly, they will receive less of it than they do now. (Even the simplest of minds knows that if the pie grows, which in this case it would, their gross income would flourish rather than suffer.)
But even have a look at the two organizations’ websites and social media accounts and you will see that one is at least trying to be relevant and appealing to the younger generation, while the other seems to be wearing the most starched dress shirt known to humanity. Highlights, news, rumors, interviews, colors, and vivid text splash the MLB website. Home run and strikeout video clips make their way to X within minutes of the real-time action. Baseball looks fun. On the other hand, NPB’s website looks like it was built in the age of Netscape and Geocities and has not budged since. Their social media has official announcements in text format only, and do not show even a hint of emotion.
Both organizations consist of baseball teams, players, fans, and that should naturally bring about joy and youthful exuberance. Unfortunately, the league here is playing by non-existent rules that everything must be run like a tired, old-man business that is just waiting for retirement to kick in.
Come on, NPB. Let’s flip the switch. Take advantage of all the attention your product is getting thanks to young talent like Shohei Ohtani, Munetaka Murakami, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and every future athlete that will draw oohs and aahs out of baseball fans worldwide. Let my people watch your games without resorting to the pirated feeds that you know full well are out there!
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] exceptions Hyperlink to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Hyperlink to postseason time of recreation Hyperlink to article on streaming NPB Hyperlink to article on Yamamoto Hyperlink to information on the Curse of the Colonel Hyperlink to […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of sport Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to information on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse […]
[…] exceptions Hyperlink to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Hyperlink to postseason time of recreation Hyperlink to article on streaming NPB Hyperlink to article on Yamamoto Hyperlink to data on the Curse of the Colonel Hyperlink to EW on […]
[…] Sam on pitch-clock exceptions Link to pitch-clock-exceptions rule Link to postseason time of game Link to article on streaming NPB Link to article on Yamamoto Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] to Yamamoto game story Link to Yamamoto K montage Link to info on Japan Series streaming Link to info on the Curse of the Colonel Link to EW on the Curse of the Colonel Link to Jack […]
[…] to Yamamoto recreation storyHyperlink to Yamamoto Okay montageHyperlink to information on Japan Collection streamingHyperlink to information on the Curse of the ColonelHyperlink to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto recreation storyHyperlink to Yamamoto Okay montageHyperlink to information on Japan Collection streamingHyperlink to information on the Curse of the ColonelHyperlink to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] to Yamamoto recreation storyHyperlink to Yamamoto Okay montageHyperlink to information on Japan Collection streamingHyperlink to information on the Curse of the ColonelHyperlink to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] to Yamamoto recreation storyHyperlink to Yamamoto Okay montageHyperlink to information on Japan Collection streamingHyperlink to information on the Curse of the ColonelHyperlink to EW on the Curse of the […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]
[…] to Yamamoto game storyLink to Yamamoto K montageLink to info on Japan Series streamingLink to info on the Curse of the ColonelLink to EW on the Curse of the ColonelLink to Jack Moore’s […]