The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is suffering from the worst “go-to-go” hitter. While pitchers are gaining momentum, hitters continue to lose their energy.
Such phenomenon is manifested in numbers. Various indicators of attack power go underground day after day. In particular, RBIs and stolen bases are comparable to the worst ever.
It can be said that the Central League is the mainstream of the NPB, which operates in two major leagues. This is because it has a long history and includes popular teams (Yomiuri, Hanshin, and Chunichi). However, this place is even more serious. The reality is that the two sectors in question (RBI, steal) are digging the ground.
As of Tuesday, Kazuma Okamoto of the Yomiuri Giants ranks first in RBIs. He now has 73 points, one shy of second-ranked Murakami Munetaka of the Yakult. Considering 131 games he has played so far, the figure stands at 0.56 per game.
If this is converted into the entire season (143 games), it is 79.65. In other words, the number of RBI titles could be determined from less than 80. Only four such cases have been recorded so far since the league was separated in 1950. All of them are from the 1950s and 1960s. The games were played in 130 games, which is lower than the current level. (The lowest ever was 69. Toshio Miyamoto of the Yomiuri Giants in 1956.)
So, after increasing to 143 games, I’m worried that the winner may come out with at least an RBI.
Of course, direct comparison is impossible. However, we can substitute ourselves in the Korean league to experience the situation. Austin Dean, a foreign hitter of the LG Twins, ranks first in the KBO league. He has 121 RBIs, which is 48 more than Okamoto (73). Coincidentally, they played the same number of games (131 games). 먹튀검증
It’s hard to even give a business card here (KBO) for Okamoto’s numbers. Up to 29 people are packed. If you line up, you’re in the middle and lower ranks. I’m sorry, but it’s on the same level as Park Dong-won (LG) at 30th place.
There is a sector that is as pitiful as the RBI. It is also the Central League’s steal ranking.
The first runner-up is Koji Chikamoto (Hanshin). As of Thursday, the number of players is now 18. The number is quite different from those in the second or third place. There are 12 Kozo Kaito (Hiroshima). After that, 11 are two. The number is generally low.
Chikamoto has 0.135 paces per game. At the current rate, he would hit 19.3 at the end of the season. No stealer has ever been decided by fewer than 20. So far, the minimum has been 24. Four players shared the title in the Pacific League in 2021, and two players shared the title in the Central League in 1993.
The same applies to data of the entire Central League this season. The team that has recorded the most stolen bases is Yakult. He made 61 hits in 130 games. It is even less than those of Doosan Bears (62 hits). Not to mention other teams. The average is around 50. Chunichi (37) and Hanshin (36) had less than 40 hits at all.
These statistics are deeply related to the success rate. Because there are many failures, the number of attempts itself has decreased. In the case of Chikamoto, the No. 1 player, he started 27 times. He lived 18 times of these, and was out 9 times. The success rate is only 66.7%.
Rankings in the 2nd and 3rd places are similar. Survival rates of over 60 percent are rare. While completing 11 to 12 goals, there will be nine failures each. It is close to nuisance. Some of them may have influenced the introduction of base size expansion implemented by KBO or MLB yet.
Severe pitching and hitting continued throughout the season. The most symbolic of them is the batting average. Only one batter is left for each of the leagues who is expected to hit the .300 mark. In other words, if the batter exceeds .300, he or she will become the top hitter. Domingo Santana of the Central League and Kenske of the Pacific League (0.316, Yakult) will save face and dignity.
The same goes for home runs. If one scores more than 20, he or she will win a medal. Three players are recorded in each league. Hotaka Yamakawa (31·Softbank) is the only player with 30 or more.
This is the situation. Batters tend to feel intimidated.
Other leagues are actively engaged in club activities. People are waiting for 50-50 or 40-40 to enjoy the festive mood. However, NPB is not interested in being sensual. Even 20 to 20 players have been missing for five years. Now, it is hard to even sing 10-10.
Only recently have hitters who barely manage to fill the ball. Maki Shugo (21 homers-10 steals) and Kensuke Kondo (19 homers-11 steals) of the Yokohama National League barely made it to the cut line.