Koutaro Ohtake won 10 games in five years with SoftBank, then moved to Hanshin in the first active-player draft in 2022 and won 39 games over four years with an ERA in the 2s every year. A look at his feelings on draft day, Akinobu Okada's advice and his four years of results.
Left-handed pitchers hold rare tactical value in NPB. This article traces their evolution from one-out specialist golden age through MLB rule changes to the emergence of left-handed closers.
Examines the structural advantages of left-handed batters in NPB through data analysis, covering distance to first base, pitcher handedness ratios, and stadium asymmetry.
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?
NPB drafts consistently overvalue left-handed pitchers relative to performance. This article uses data to explain the structural reasons behind the left-handed pitcher premium.
The term 'southpaw' for a left-handed pitcher is used in NPB as commonly as in MLB, but why does 'south paw' mean left hand? The answer lies in a surprising fact about 19th-century American ballpark orientation.
A detailed exploration of atsushi nomi's southpaw journey - the late bloomer who claimed the ace role, spanning a late-blooming ace to lessons from nomi.