Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League: A Preview of the 2023 Season

Masahiro Tanaka will be the opening day starter for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles when the 2023 season kicks off March 30. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

The 2023 season is the 73rd campaign in the history of Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s top professional baseball league, and regular season games will begin March 30, the same that Major League Baseball starts the regular season in the United States. 

The Pacific League consists of six organizations. Included are the Chiba Lotte Marines, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, Orix Buffaloes, Saitama Seibu Lions, and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles. 

Before the 2023 NPB season kicks off, let’s take a glance at each team’s history, and players to look out for this year. 

Chiba Lotte Marines (1950-Present)

The Chiba Lotte Marines are managed by Masato Yoshii, and will open up the NPB season on Friday, March 31 at 5:30 a.m. ET against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Their home field is ZOZO Marine Stadium, located in Chiba, Japan. Roki Sasaki, their 21-year-old pitcher, lit up the baseball world at the World Baseball Classic for Japan, with an average fastball velocity of 100.5 mph in the WBC semifinals. Chiba Lotte has won the Nippon Professional Baseball championship four times, most recently in 2010. 

Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (1938-Present) 

The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks are managed by Hiroshi Fujimoto, and have won the Nippon Professional Baseball Championship eleven times, most recently in 2020. Their home field is the Fukuoka PayPay Dome, located in Fukuoka, Japan. Willians Astudillo is an infielder with the team, and spent five years in Major League Baseball with the Minnesota Twins and Miami Marlins. Fukuoka will begin their 2023 season on Friday, March 31 at 5:30 a.m. ET against the Chiba Lotte Marines. 

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (1946-Present) 

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters are managed by Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and have won the Nippon Professional Baseball championship three times, most recently in 2016. They play their home games at ES CON Field, in Hokkaido, Japan. Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani played for Hokkaido from 2013 to 2017. They will begin their 2023 season on Friday, March 30 at 5:30 a.m. ET against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. 

Orix Buffaloes (1950-Present) 

The Orix Buffaloes are managed by Satoshi Nakajima, and are the defending champions. They have won the Nippon Professional Baseball championship five times in total. They play their home games at Kyocera Dome in Kobe, Japan. Marwin Gonzalez, a utility man for the New York Yankees in 2022, will play a huge role for Orix in both the infield and outfield in 2023. Gonzalez was a .252 career hitter in eleven years in the MLB. Orix will begin their 2023 regular season on Friday, March 31 at 5:00 a.m. ET against the Saitama Seibu Lions. 

Saitama Seibu Lions (1950-Present) 

The Saitama Seibu Lions are managed by Kazuo Matsui, and have won the Nippon Professional Baseball championship 13 times, most recently in 2008. They play their home games at MetLife Dome in Tokorozawa, Japan. Hotaka Yamakawa, a infielder, hit 41 home runs in 2022 and owns a career .256 average. Saitama will begin their season on Friday, March 31 at 5:00 a.m. ET against the Orix Buffaloes. 

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (2005-Present)

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are managed by Kazuhisa Ishii, and have won the Nippon Professional Baseball championship one time, in 2013. The team plays their home games at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi in Miyagi, Japan. Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched for seven years with the New York Yankees from 2014-20, will get the opening day nod for the Golden Eagles. Tanaka holds a 3.74 career ERA in MLB and a 2.47 ERA in NPB. Prior to signing with New York, Tanaka went 24-0 in 27 starts for Rakuten in 2013. The Golden Eagles will open up their regular season on Thursday, March 30 at 5:30 a.m. ET against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. 

Nippon Professional Baseball can be viewed all season long on Bwintv.net, or the Pacific League TV’s Youtube Page. For more information on streaming NPB games, please refer to our NPB Streaming Guide.