"It becomes like Korea at this rate." Worries about Japan's 'non-flying ball'

"It becomes like Korea at this rate." Worries about Japan's 'non-flying ball'

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The Japanese professional baseball (NPB) is suffering from terrible pitching and batting this season.고소득알바

As of Tuesday, only three to four hitters out of the 12 teams in the two leagues currently stand at .300. The Central League ranks first with just 14 home runs (Murakami Munetaka, Yakult). In the Pacific League, hotaka Yamakawa (Softbank), who hit 12 home runs, is leading the league.

Pitchers, on the other hand, have strong momentum. Eight pitchers have an earned run average of one point or so. Even the Central League's No. 1 ranking is 0.87. Daichi Ocera of the Hiroshima Carp.

Analysts say the biggest cause of this phenomenon is due to the "non-flying ball." This means that the ball's flying distance has decreased due to the low repulsive force of the official ball. A baseball critic named Omadaniki said, "I think that's been the case since 2021. The ball that needs to go over is caught in front of the fence. In particular, it seems that it has gotten worse this year."

It is not just the relativity that is disadvantageous to batters and advantageous to pitchers. There is also a great concern about the side effects that are spreading here. For example, it is pointed out that aggressive baseball disappears. They run games that focus on protecting them, which makes the game less exciting. It is a concern that it will naturally affect the box office.

This does not stop there. Some people are concerned about the future of Japanese baseball in the long run.

This is the comment made by Omadaniqi, a critic who was quoted by a media outlet. "In Korea, the use of metal (aluminum) bats was banned in high school baseball 20 years ago, and wooden bats were used instead. As a result, fielders (batters) have ceased to grow." Lee Dae-ho took the example. This means that it has become difficult to see an international power hitter who played for Yakult and Softbank and advanced to the MLB.
"Traditionally, the strength of Korean baseball has been that it has a lot of long-distance shots with good physique. Since then, however, only players with a slim physique have been selected. At the WBC last year, Japan was also experiencing a difficult situation as it failed in the first round," he said. "In fact, Japan is also experiencing this trend. After falling into extreme pitching and batting due to the problem of official ball (flying ball) in 2011 and 2012, the team failed to show good performance at the WBC in 2013 and 2017. After all, the conclusion is that if a fielder fails to grow, a pitcher will also weaken.

It is difficult to fully accept this critic's argument. However, there have been several similar issues raised in Korea. Critics point out that after using wooden bats in high school baseball, the big guns disappeared, and only remaining skills to win increased.

Some say that this may have caused problems for pitchers' growth. "After aluminum bats were banned, (high school) pitchers tend to be evaluated highly for their performance," MBC soccer commentator Jung Min-chul said. "We need to carefully consider reintroducing metal bats in order to reestablish Korean baseball."

Jung Min-cheol is not the only member of the committee. Legends such as Park Chan-ho, Lee Seung-yeop and Jang Jong-hoon have publicly expressed similar views. Notably, this public opinion has increased since the WBC debacle last year. In fact, the Korea Baseball Softball Association held a related public hearing.

Of course, there are also strong opposition. They argue that wooden bats should be used in international competitions (under 18), which is not helpful in maintaining competitiveness. They also argue that the U.S. and Japan should take into account that they tend to lower the resistance of metal bats.

Meanwhile, Omadani also mentioned the issue of the strike zone as the cause of pitching and hitting. It is argued that the referees are judging the outside ball too generously.

"Recently, batters' complaints about the strike zone have been noticeable. The outer zone has clearly widened. This inevitably changes the pitching pattern. Once you throw and see it on the out course. Then the mentality that long hitters can be avoided is at work," he said.

He said, "In the past, MLB also made generous judgments about outer zones. However, as tracking data became visible on TV screens in 2007, judges also became more inclined to make decisions according to regulations (on strike zones). On the other hand, Japan's central government pointed out that "it still varies greatly from person to person."