＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
After being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 professional baseball season finally kicked off on June 19th. While the games were played without spectators, it was still a source of joy for professional baseball fans.
As a member of the baby boomer generation, I was in elementary and junior high school in the 1950s. In the Central League, the Yomiuri Giants, led by Manager Mizuhara, and in the Pacific League, the Nishitetsu Lions, led by Manager Mihara, were the most popular and skilled teams, and even among children, they were largely divided into “Giants faction” and “Lions faction.” However, it’s also true that there were passionate Hanshin Tigers fans in Osaka.
But what are the differences and origins of professional baseball’s Central League and Pacific League?
This article will explain the differences in detail.
1. The History of the Central League and Pacific League and the Origin of Their Names
While a two-league system is now commonplace in professional baseball, the league was originally a single-league system established by the Japan Baseball Association (Japan Professional Baseball League) in 1936.
At a meeting in November 1949 (Showa 24), several teams announced their intention to join the league. Opinions were divided over the entry of one of these teams, the Mainichi Orions (now the Chiba Lotte Marines), resulting in a two-league system.
At this time, it was the future Central League that opposed the league’s entry, while it was the future Pacific League that supported it.
As an aside, before the war, baseball was seen as a “student hobby” and university baseball games such as the “Waseda-Keio game” were popular, while professional baseball players were seen as “people who continued their childhood hobby into adulthood and used it as a means of making a living,” and were looked down upon compared to ordinary working people.
I think the popularity of professional baseball skyrocketed after Shigeo Nagashima (lifetime honorary manager), who would later become known as “Mr. Giants” and “Mr. Professional Baseball” and become a huge star, joined the Giants.
(1) Central League
① Official Name: Central League
② Year Founded: 1950
③ Origin of the Name: “Legitimate League and Mainstream League”
④ Most Championships: Yomiuri Giants (37 wins)
⑤ Team History
Originally, the league consisted of eight teams: the Yomiuri Giants, Osaka Tigers (now the Hanshin Tigers), Chunichi Dragons, Shochiku Robins, Taiyo Whales (now the Yokohama DeNA BayStars), Hiroshima Carp, Nishi Nippon Pirates, and Jokutetsu Swallows (now the Yakult Swallows).
Subsequently, the Shochiku Robins and Nishi Nippon Pirates merged and withdrew, leaving the league with only six teams.
(2) Pacific League
① Official Name: Pacific League
② Year Founded: 1950
③ Origin of the Name: “A League with an International Perspective”
④ Most Championships: Saitama Seibu Lions (23 wins)
⑤ Team History
Originally, the league consisted of seven teams: the Hankyu Braves (now the Orix Buffaloes), Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), Tokyu Flyers (now the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters), Daiei Stars, Mainichi Orions (now the Chiba Lotte Marines), Nishitetsu Clippers (now the Saitama Seibu Lions), and Kintetsu Pearls. In 1954, the Takahashi Unions joined, bringing the total to eight teams.
Subsequently, the Daiei Stars and Mainichi Orions merged and withdrew, leaving the league with six teams.
2. Differences Between the Central and Pacific Leagues
(1) Presence or Absence of the DH System
The “DH (designated hitter) system” is a type of baseball where a fielder bats in place of the pitcher, resulting in a total of 10 players instead of 9.
The Pacific League adopted this system in 1975, following the example of Major League Baseball, to differentiate itself from the popular Central League. This system has the advantage of allowing pitchers to focus on pitching and designated hitters to focus solely on batting.
(2) Pre-announcement of Starting Pitchers
In 1985, the Pacific League introduced a system in which the starting pitcher for the next day is announced the day before.
Like the DH system, this system is also intended to differentiate itself from the Central League. However, there seems to be mixed opinions about the pre-announcement of starting pitchers.
(3) Differences in Skill
The Pacific League has won more games than it has played in the Central vs. Pacific League interleague games every year, suggesting that the Pacific League is a powerful league.
(4) Differences in Popularity
As for popularity, the Central League has an overwhelming number of popular teams, so it could be said to be a popular Central League.
In 2019, the Central League attracted 14,867,071 spectators, while the Pacific League attracted 11,669,891.
However, the league has also produced popular players such as Hideo Nomo of the Kintetsu Buffaloes, Ichiro Suzuki of the Orix Buffaloes, and more recently Masahiro Tanaka of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, and Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani of the Nippon-Ham Fighters. If more star players continue to appear, the Pacific League may become even more popular.
3. What is the Pennant Race?
A “pennant race” refers to an official professional baseball game. “Pre-season games” are practice games held before the official season begins, like warm-up exercises, so why are official games called “pennant races”?
That’s because the winning team of each league’s official season is awarded a “pennant” (a triangular flag) as a championship flag.
It’s called a “pennant race” because all teams compete to win this “pennant.”
During the single-league era and until around 1982, the Pacific League used a “square flag,” but the Central League and Japan Series have used triangular flags since the first tournament in 1950. The Pacific League began using the same triangular pennant as the Central League around 1983.
