A pro baseball game lasts about 3 hours. During that time, outfielders actually handle batted balls surprisingly few times. Left and right fielders in particular sometimes get only a handful of chances to touch a batted ball in a single game. We examine with numbers what the most idle position is really like.
NPB's Golden Glove Award since 1972, honoring defensive excellence from Tsuyoshi Shinjo's 10 wins to Ryosuke Kikuchi's acrobatic second base play.
The classic wisdom that 'first basemen only need to hit' persists in NPB even after sabermetrics became mainstream. Yet when wRC+ is overlaid with defensive metrics, the true value of a first baseman cannot be captured by OPS alone. We reassess the optimal balance between offense and defense using data from all 12 NPB teams.
Hatsuhiko Tsuji: eight-time Golden Glove second baseman who anchored Seibu's seven consecutive pennants, then managed the Lions to back-to-back titles in 2018-2019.
Data-driven defensive shifts exploded in MLB before being regulated in 2023. NPB's shift adoption has its own characteristics. This article traces shift evolution and its transformation of baseball.
Left-handed pitchers and batters are common. Left-handed catchers are virtually nonexistent in both NPB and MLB. Why is catching the one position reserved exclusively for right-handers?
An in-depth analysis of yoshio yoshida - the shortstop called ushiwakamaru, exploring ushiwakamaru's brilliant defense and contributions to french baseball.
Examining catcher value in npb - why the fan's pivot controls the game in depth, covering the fan's pivot through modern catcher profile.