The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league and the Nippon Professional Baseball Players Association began negotiations to potentially expand the NPB season starting in 2026, according to Yahoo Japan.
The goal is to increase the regular season to 148 games from the standard 143 games. According to Yahoo Japan, this isn’t the first time the NPB has approached the players association about increasing the number of games in the regular season. Previously, the NPB wanted to increase the number of league games by one but are now looking at an overall approach.
According to Yahoo Japan, increasing the regular season would help generate more revenue for the NPB to offset the decline in profit following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the players’ association isn’t willing to lengthen the regular season just to play more games. The obvious downside of increasing the number of games in a season is the risk of more injuries.
While nothing is finalized, there will be more discussions down the road.
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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
Photo Credit: Fans fill Osaka’s main street Midosuji to celebrate the local Japanese professional baseball team Hanshin Tigers’ first Pacific League division title in 18 years, late 15 September 2003, after the Tigers beat the visiting Hiroshima Carp 3-2. AFP PHOTO/JIJI PRESS (Photo by AFP / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT)
