20-05-2025
Can the Central League hold out against designated hitters?
Hiroshima Carp pitcher Daichi Osera did something against the Yomiuri Giants last week that you do not see very often in baseball games these days.
He got a hit.
While no one would confuse Osera for Shohei Ohtani, seeing a pitcher get a hit — or even step in the batter's box — is an increasingly rare sight in pro baseball. It's one you can only see daily in NPB, where the Central League continues to stand alone as a place without the designated hitter and where pitchers still hit for themselves.
The American League introduced the DH in MLB in 1973 to boost offense and attendance. The National League held out until finally following suit nearly 50 years later in 2022.
In Japan, the Pacific League, which toiled in the shadow of the vastly more popular CL, saw it work in MLB and adopted the DH in 1975. The top pro leagues in South Korea, Taiwan and various places in Latin America also use the designated hitter. Even the collegiate Tokyo Big 6 League will introduce the DH next spring.
So how are the CL's pitchers doing at the plate so far this season?
The answer is, unsurprisingly, not well. One of the main arguments proponents of the DH cite is that most pitchers are simply not good hitters.
Entering Tuesday's games, CL pitchers were batting.106, per statistics site Deltagraphs. The Carp's Hiroki Tokoda led the way with seven hits. Tokoda even had a three-hit game, on April 26 against the DeNA BayStars. The next highest total was three.
No pitcher had hit a home run yet, and there were just three extra-base hits — doubles from Tokoda, and Tokyo Yakult Swallows pitchers Taichi Yamano and Yasuhiro Ogawa. The Carp's Shogo Tamamura had a pair of RBIs and was the leader in that category.
Pitchers, who generally hit last in the order, are mostly tasked with bunting if there is a runner on base. The BayStars' Katsuki Azuma led that category with six sacrifice bunts.
Pa League pitchers hit far less than their CL counterparts but will get their turn at-bat when interleague play begins June 3. Because games operate under each league's rules, pitchers will hit in games hosted in CL parks, and the DH will be in place at PL venues.
That has been the case since interleague play began in 2005, except in 2014 when NPB mixed it up and had pitchers hit in PL parks while putting the DH rule in place in the CL-hosted games.
It was touted as a way to give fans a new way to enjoy the game but probably had something to do with Ohtani, who was in his second season with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. At the time, Ohtani was not regularly batting in games he started as a pitcher, and the switch allowed fans to see him do it in home games.
There have been plenty of calls for the CL to adopt the DH over the years. There are also many, however, who wish to stick to the status quo.
During spring camp, The Sankei Shimbun surveyed 35 CL pitchers and found 14 in favor of introducing the DH, eight opposed and 13 undecided.
The topic often leads to heated debates among fans.
Purists believe in playing the traditional way without the DH. They often cite the strategy of when to make pitching changes, double switches and bullpen management, among other things.
'There is a wide range of different strategies when the pitcher is at-bat,' Carp manager Takahiro Arai was quoted as saying by the Nishinippon Shimbun in January. 'I think that is more interesting for the fans.'
Proponents of the DH say fans would rather see hitters, not pitchers, in the batter's box. Pitchers, they say, are noncompetitive hitters and are mostly called upon to bunt.
They argue that the DH drives up offense and makes the game more exciting. It also allows pitchers to focus on pitching, which some feel contributes to the overall strength of PL hurlers. Deploying the DH also lessens the risk of injuries or added fatigue from hitting and running the bases. Teams also don't have to pinch hit for their pitchers to chase runs in close games.
When PL clubs won eight straight Japan Series from 2013 to 2020, the DH was brought up as a difference between the leagues, with the Giants leading the call for the CL to adopt the rule.
'If you ask what's different, it's the rules,' Giants manager Tatsunori Hara said during a show on Nippon Broadcasting System after being swept by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2019 Japan Series. 'The biggest rule difference is the DH system. I think there are advantages to the DH system. It allows for the development of strong pitchers. Pacific League pitchers are strong."
Central League clubs, though, have won three of the last four titles, including the last two.
Going from one set of rules to the other is an adjustment for the teams, PL pitchers have to make time to practice their batting — or, rather, bunting — ahead of interleague play. But unlike in MLB, where there are interleague games almost daily, the only crossover in NPB occurs during the interleague schedule and the Japan Series.
That said, the winds of change are blowing, albeit very gently, and the days of pitchers hitting are probably numbered in Japan. For now, though, CL hurlers will keep swinging for the fences and laying down bunts for a little while longer.
