Interleague play in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) concluded on Tuesday, and teams will return to facing opponents in their respective leagues on Friday. Before the action picks back up again, here is a look at the top news and notes from the past week in Japan’s highest level of professional baseball.
Golden Eagles Win Interleague Crown
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League posted the best record of any NPB team during interleague play, going 13-5. However, the team sits in fourth place in the Pacific League, 11 games behind the first-place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Outfielder Yuya Ogoh hit a walk-off double for the Eagles last Tuesday to complete a miraculous comeback against the Yomiuri Giants, who led 6-2 in the eighth inning. Also, in interleague play, Rakuten swept the Chunichi Dragons and the defending champion Hanshin Tigers in back-to-back three-game series.
Manager Toshiaki Imae and the Eagles begin their next series on Friday at Es Con Field Hokkaido in Kitahiroshima, Japan, against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who are 2.5 games ahead of the Eagles in the Pacific League standings.
BayStar’s Yutaro Ishida Throws a Maddux
On Sunday, Yokohama DeNA BayStars rookie starting pitcher Yutaro Ishida accomplished a feat only a handful of pitchers have done since Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux did it 13 times in his career.
Ishida needed less than 100 pitches (95) to throw a complete game shutout in a 5-0 win against the Saitama Seibu Lions, an awe-inspiring feat named after Maddux, who played 23 seasons in MLB as one of the game’s best pitchers. Maddux tossed a complete game shutout while throwing less than 100 pitches 13 times, while no other MLB pitcher has thrown more than seven.
Despite the Lions having the worst record in NPB, Ishida’s accomplishment cannot be overlooked. The rookie allowed four hits and struck out six, receiving congratulations from his teammates after inducting a groundout to end the game. According to BayStars EN on X, Ishida is the 16th rookie in NPB history to throw a Maddux.
OF Chusei Mannami First to One Million All-Star Votes Since 2007
Outfielder Chusei Mannami of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters is making history. The 24-year-old is having a fantastic season at the plate for the Fighters, hitting .267 with nine home runs and 32 RBI, and is the leading vote-getter for the NPB All-Star games.
According to NPB on Reddit on X, Mannami is the first NPB player to receive one million All-Star votes since first baseman Takeshi Yamasaki hit 43 home runs and 108 RBI for the Golden Eagles in 2007.
Due to the large number of votes for Mannami, he is virtually a lock to make his second All-Star team. Mannami was born to a Japanese mother; his father is from the Dominican Republic of the Congo. The Pacific League swept the Central League in the two-game NPB All-Star Series in 2023, and Mannami was named MVP for game two.
This Day in Japanese Baseball History
On June 18, 1999, the Seattle Mariners traded Japanese pitcher Mac Suzuki to the New York Mets in exchange for pitcher Allen Watson. Four days later, the Kansas City Royals claimed him on waivers.
Suzuki never found sustained success in MLB, posting a career 5.72 ERA in six seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, and Milwaukee Brewers.
After his MLB career, he played two seasons in NPB with the Orix Blue Wave from 2003-04 and had short stints in the Chinese Professional Baseball League and Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
NPB Standings as of Tuesday, June 18
Central League
Pacific League
You can stream all NPB games on DAZN.
Photo Credit: Outfielder Chusei Mannami #66 of Japan celebrates hitting a single. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
