Let’s Talk about Japanese Baseball

We know that MLB is back and we’ll talk about that plenty in the next few weeks. This week on the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) is joined by Japanese baseball writer, statistician and historian Jim Allen (@JballAllen) of JballAllen.com to talk about Nippon Professional Baseball (the NPB). Jim explains his background and talks about how Japan was able to work to a 120-game season (1:47), and he also explains how the top storylines this season have been overshadowed by Coronavirus (5:49). He discusses how team pitching plans have changed and top starters are already going deep into games (7:34). Jim also explains the expectations for ex-MLB players Adam Jones and Justin Bour, the latter of whom has drawn comparisons to an all-time Japanese great (9:39). The two then talk about defense and the emphasis that Japanese players put into defense compared versus how much attention defense gets in highlights (14:36). Jim also gives insight into the game’s top defensive players, including standout shortstop Sosuke Genda (16:44). He also points out aspects of defense that Japanese players do better than MLB players (22:58). His choice for the coolest thing to watch about Japanese baseball might surprise you (25:33).

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