We attended a Yomiuri (Tokyo) Giants baseball game at the Tokyo Dome whilst in Japan. It was a blast, mostly.
Here are 9 of the differences I noticed between the games in The Nippon Baseball League and MLB.
1 The Atmosphere
Attending the game was more akin to a World Cup soccer match or other international competition. There was much more of a festival atmosphere. There were organized chants and cheers throughout the game. Both teams sang “fight songs” while fans of the other team were quiet.
The left field stands and third base line were full of fans of the visiting Yokohama DeNA Baystars.
2. Respect
While it was obvious there was a heated rivalry between these neighbouring teams, the pre-game festivities involved mascots and cheerleaders from both sides.
3 Just Play Ball
There were plenty of extensive pre-game festivities but NO national anthem.
4. Pitch Clock Please
MLB introduced an pitch clock for the 2023 season. It was a genius move. AI tells me it has shortened games by an average of 24 minutes and, to me, it seems like more.
There was no time-clock here and did that ever lessen what was otherwise a choice experience. As well given differences in the way the game is played there, it seemed interminable.
This game lasted 4 hours and 2 minutes. (I only know that because I checked the box score. See below.)
The average MLB game lasts 2 hours and 38 minutes. That is probably how far we were into the game when we left. That was enough.
5. Rosters
Each team can have 3 foreign players. As you can see below, the Giants got a homer from Trey Cabbage and their starting pitcher was Spencer Howard.
I only knew of the 3rd player – Bobby Dalbeck. He played with the Boston Red Sox for a few years
6. Pikachu plays ball!
Pokémon played a large part in the day.
When Cabbage hit a homer to get the Giants in catch up mode, the scoreboard lit up with an array of Pokémon images.
In addition to the Pokémon interface inside the ballpark, this was outside.
It was Pokémon Baseball Fiesta Day outside the Tokyo Dome.
When we left the stadium there had to be 5,000 people milling about.
Every one of them was starting at a cell phone, or two, or even three, walking zombie-like in the area. Presumably they were gathering Pokémon on their phones. At least I hope that is all it was.
7. Samurai Strike Outs
There were videos of this guy on the screen at times. Perhaps he was explaining how Samurai play baseball. If you can advise, please do so.
8. Drinks But No Photos
In addition to the dizzying array of food selections, there was an army of young women lugging these back packs serving reasonably priced drinks such as premium beers and lemon sours for 900 yen or about $6 American.
I went to take a picture for this post of the young woman who served us a lemon sour but she pointed to a badge they wear.
This is done to offset “nuisance filming and social media streaming by spectators.”
[Ed. Note- rex was told by Kenny a few days later that all Japanese cell phone cameras must make the clicking sound when snapped to prevent other types of more pernicious photography.]
9. Only 1 Beef
All in all, it was a spectacular afternoon of baseball and culture study. The only “beef” was the slow pace of play.
We had another very Japanese event to attend with some A5 Wagyu beef…
10. 10th Inning?
Do you want a song after this?
Yup. Here it is. I may have songs in my collection referring to Japanese baseball. However, the first track that came to mind is “Baseball Bill” by those well known baseball fans- the Liverpudlians ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN 🇬🇧
SPOTIFY-
https://open.spotify.com/track/3r0SgxPxFdBspX3En3e3df?si=8YPhxqN2TDSWEooFxyAkAg
(SONG 1651)
Play Loud For 9 Innings or Die
4/26/2026
underground365 
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