Articles tagged with international

Deepening Cooperation with Taiwan's CPBL - The New Asian Baseball Currents NPB Is Opening

Cooperation between Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and NPB has deepened year by year, spanning bidirectional player transfers, joint training camps, development partnerships, and complex rivalry-cooperation in international tournaments. Players such as Wang Po-Jung and Chen-Ming Yang have moved from CPBL to NPB, and NPB-to-CPBL transfers are rising. As a new current in Asian baseball, we explain the meaning and outlook of the deepening NPB-CPBL relationship.

International Estimated reading time: 2 min

The Strategic Significance of Premier 12 - Samurai Japan's Stepping Stone to the WBC

Premier 12 is an international tournament organized by the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) every four years, featuring the top 12 ranked countries. Launched in 2015, it sits on a different cycle than the WBC, creating a year-round rhythm of international baseball. For NPB, Premier 12 carries strategic weight as a stepping stone to the WBC, and serves as a venue for younger players to gain international experience. We explain the strategic role of Premier 12.

International Estimated reading time: 2 min

NPB's Double Motion Rule - The Evolution and Controversy of Pitching Form Regulations

NPB has long regulated pitching motions branded as 'double motion,' a topic of debate for over 30 years involving phases of stricter and looser enforcement. The rule aims to prevent unnatural deceptive deliveries but has wrestled with ambiguous adjudication and conflicts with international standards. The 2006 tightening and the 2011 liberalization marked major turning points. We trace the history of NPB pitching-motion regulation through controversy and globalization.

Rules & Systems Estimated reading time: 2 min