Only 16 perfect games have been thrown in NPB history. Retiring 27 consecutive batters without allowing a single baserunner requires an extraordinary convergence of pitching dominance, defensive perfection, and sheer luck. This article quantifies just how improbable that convergence is.
En la NPB, el número 18 tiene un peso que ningún número de uniforme posee en la MLB. Es el número del as, una designación cargada de expectativa y tradición. Este artículo rastrea cómo surgió esta convención y examina el linaje del número 18 en las 12 franquicias.
In NPB, uniform numbers function as symbols of player status. This article decodes the meaning behind ace number 18, cleanup numbers, and the stories created by number succession.
An ejection in NPB is one of baseball's most dramatic moments. Thrown caps, kicked dirt, uprooted bases. The history of ejections reveals NPB's fiery temperament and produces statistics that few fans ever see.
In NPB's past, striking out was considered shameful. Batters who made contact were praised; those who struck out frequently were labeled 'rough.' Today, hitters who swing hard without fear of strikeouts are celebrated. When and why did this value reversal occur?
When an NPB batter steps to the plate, a personal theme song fills the stadium. When did this walk-up music tradition begin, and what do players' song choices reveal about their personalities?
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.
NPB allows players to wear numbers 0 and 00, treating them as distinct uniform numbers. Why does zero exist in a numbering system that typically starts at one, and what motivates players to choose it?
NPB history includes rare instances of players with identical names on the same team. How did teams handle scoreboard displays, record-keeping, and fan confusion when names collided?
Baseball scoreboards display R, H, and E: Runs, Hits, and Errors. Why these three statistics, and why in this order? The answer reflects 19th-century baseball philosophy about what matters most in the game.
NPB's rain-shortened games award victory to the team leading after five complete innings. This rule means weather can decide outcomes that nine innings might have reversed. Who has been saved by rain, and who has been robbed?
In no other major sport does the home team always attack last. Why does baseball assign the home team to bat in the bottom of each inning, and does batting second actually confer a measurable advantage?
Why nine innings? Soccer has 90 minutes, basketball has 48. Is there a rationale behind baseball's nine? Early baseball wasn't always nine innings. Tracing the evolution reveals a surprising path to the number we take for granted.
For decades, Central League pitchers stepped into the batter's box as a matter of course. With universal DH under discussion, the sight of a pitcher batting may soon vanish from NPB entirely.
In English, 'strike' means 'to hit.' Yet in baseball, a pitch the batter doesn't swing at can also be called a strike. Why does a word meaning 'hit' describe a pitch that wasn't hit? The paradox traces to the umpire's evolving role in early baseball.
En los primeros lanzamientos ceremoniales de NPB, el bateador siempre abanica y falla. Sin importar cuán bateadle sea el lanzamiento, el bate corta el aire vacío. ¿Cuándo surgió esta regla no escrita y qué etiqueta codifica?
La gorra con visera que usan los jugadores de béisbol se ha convertido en la forma de sombrero más extendida del mundo. Pero, ¿por qué el béisbol adoptó este diseño específico? Protección solar, identidad de equipo y moda convergen en la historia del origen de la gorra de béisbol.
After two strikes, a batter can foul off pitches indefinitely without striking out. Why? The answer involves a time when fouls didn't count as strikes at all, and the current rule is a historical compromise.
Hoy la NPB limita las entradas extra a 12, pero en épocas anteriores no había límite o se permitían 18. Partidos de más de seis horas, batallas que se extendían más allá de la medianoche. Este artículo repasa los juegos más largos de la NPB y la resistencia humana que exigieron.
Soccer managers wear suits. NBA coaches wear suits. NFL coaches wear team gear. But baseball managers wear the same uniform as their 20-year-old players. A 60-year-old in the same outfit as a 20-year-old is, objectively, strange. Why does only baseball do this?
The distance between bases is 90 feet (27.43 meters), unchanged since the 1840s. One meter longer and infield hits would vanish. One meter shorter and ground-ball outs would nearly disappear. Ninety feet is the miraculous equilibrium where human running speed and throwing speed are perfectly balanced.
Baseball players wear a glove on only one hand. Two gloves would make catching easier, so why not? 'Because you need to throw' is only half the answer. The real reason is embedded in baseball's fundamental motion design.