Japan's Deadball Era?

What's going on?

Japan's Deadball Era?

I ran across this post on APBA Between The Lines earlier this week. And it got me curious about what is happening in Japan.

I love baseball culture in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. However, actively following those leagues requires an investment of time and effort that I’ve never really been able to put out.

But check out these aggregate offensive statistics in the 2024 Central League:

And here is the 2024 Pacific League:

Now, the batting lines (.245 / .305 /.341 and .241 / .303 / .347) aren’t really that interesting. Major League Baseball in 2024 hit at a .243 / .312 / .399 clip. Batting averages and on base percentages continue to be low — though that drop in slugging percentages in Japan is interesting.

I think the drop is almost entirely because home runs seem to have disappeared in Japan.

Take a look at the pitching stats now:

Look at the home runs allowed per 9 innings. 0.5 and 0.6 is incredible.

Now, it’s not earth shattering, nor is it quite like the deadball era. Rather, it is reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s in American baseball. Here’s a brief look at home runs per 9 innings in major league baseball (the highlighted column) from Baseball Reference:

Those of you who long for the late 1970s and early 1980s should probably watch some Japanese baseball.

By the way — pitchers in Major League Baseball in 2024 gave up 1.1 home runs per 9 innings. The all time record is 1.4 from the 2019 season.

Now, Japan isn’t necessarily free of the curse of three true outcome baseball. 6.9 and 7.1 strikeouts per 9 innings still strikes me as high. It’s a bit better than the crazy 8.6 that Major League pitchers managed in 2024, however.

This article from a few months ago goes into some detail about the death of home run hitting in Japan, going as far as to blame the yarn used in the stitching for Japanese baseballs. Do you think that’s an adequate explanation? I tend to think that the stadiums probably also have something to do with it.