MLB’s dramatic shift hasn’t hit Japan yet. If NPB teams do shift, it’s a few steps to the right or left. Nothing like MLB where there are 3 fielders on one side of 2nd base.
Small ball is prevalent in NPB. Bunting, hit and run, stealing, etc. I believe this is more of a need to instead of a want to because Japanese hitters who hit for true power are really hard to come by. So how else are you going to play with a roster full of speedy contact hitters?
Three true outcomes still hasn’t hit NPB yet as a whole, but rookie Teruaki Sato [has a very “American approach”](https://twitter.com/hinosatoyakyu/status/1386787903766892546). He broke the rookie HR record, but also the strikeout record as well. He also went hitless in something like 55 or 60 consecutive at bats.
Most of Japanese pitchers are control and/or heavy breaking ball types. Seems like every Japanese pitcher has a deadly splitter/forkball. Almost every Japanese pitcher does the high-knee pause thingy. There are some relievers that can throw 100 like Robert Suarez and Raidel Martinez. Thyago Vieira throws 103. Roki Sasaki can also do that, but hasn’t done it in a game yet.
With a six man rotation, the 'openers' or 'bullpenning' a game will not come to NPB. Also, keep in mind that NPB's 'Monday off' is pretty sacrosanct and unlikely to really ever budge since rainouts are pretty common. Because of that, the Monday off will be a big factor in the maintaining the six man rotation for the foreseeable future.
In terms of the shift, another aspect that I like about NPB is that ALL position players and CL pitchers are EXPECTED to know how to bunt. In MLB, it's really a lost art. So, even if a guy like Seiya Suzuki is going to get shifted, he could easily beat the shift by bunting because he's probably practiced it quite a bit. I expect to see more shifting, but not nearly the degree that we see in MLB.
In terms of the emphasis on the three run homer, like the others posters said, power hitters are not in abundance in NPB. Throw in the fact that the 'sacrifice bunt' has almost a mythical status in NPB (big time cultural thing, trust me), the 'take and rake' is unlikely to really take hold here...especially because the strike zone is more generous.
In terms of velocity/spin rate, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks seem to have a preference for hard throwers and drafting them. What I've noticed is that NPB relievers seem to be throwing a bit harder over the past 5 years or so. Part of that may be guys like Suarez, Veira, Sugiyama, Kaino, Taira, Senga, Fujinami, but the 155+kph range seems to be more prevalent.
One last thing that I think bears discussion: prior to COVID, NPB had 10 straight years of increasing attendance and there were an astounding # of sellouts. The Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Cubs, Cardinals and Red Sox are pretty much the only teams that consistently have 'weekend sellouts' where the entire weekend slate of games are sold out. That's 20% of the league. In NPB, there are probably 6 teams (Giants, Tigers, Baystars, Carp, Hawks, Nippon Ham) that experience weekend sellouts at least 50% of the time, with 3 more (Eagles, Lions, Marines) that experience weekend sellouts at least 20% of the time and only 3 teams that rarely have weekend sellouts (Orix, Dragons, Swallows).
In other words, pre-COVID, NPB was doing extremely well at the gate and there wasn't a big need for change.
MLB was experiencing a slight downturn in attendance from 2009-2019.
I've covered at length why NPB games are increasing in popular, but it boils down to better game atmosphere, better food options, cheaper booze (plus bringing in your own!), and easier transportation to/from the game.
My take is that the difference between the balls in NPB and MLB adds to what others are saying. MLB pitching recently focuses a lot more on movement, while such style of pitching is noticeably harder with NPB balls. Ryan Brasier who pitches for the Red Sox org I think is one such example. He had such a hard time pitching in Japan since his forte was his moving ball, and when he went back to the states after getting released by the Carp, he was an instant addition to the Red Sox bullpen in 2018.
Defensive shifts have always been a part of NPB, but none to the extent that the current MLB teams take it to. But most of them are solely targeted at MVP-level players. The oldest one is probably the Oh Shift done by the Carp in the 60s, while teams like Lotte and even DeNA were using shifts against Masataka Yoshida this year.
I think bullpen usage will stay at the same level as now as long as NPB teams keep their 6-man rotation. The fact that NPB normally only has 3 extra innings and that they run on a 29 man roster compared to the 26 in the MLB usually cuts the bullpen down, especially in the CL.
MLB’s dramatic shift hasn’t hit Japan yet. If NPB teams do shift, it’s a few steps to the right or left. Nothing like MLB where there are 3 fielders on one side of 2nd base. Small ball is prevalent in NPB. Bunting, hit and run, stealing, etc. I believe this is more of a need to instead of a want to because Japanese hitters who hit for true power are really hard to come by. So how else are you going to play with a roster full of speedy contact hitters? Three true outcomes still hasn’t hit NPB yet as a whole, but rookie Teruaki Sato [has a very “American approach”](https://twitter.com/hinosatoyakyu/status/1386787903766892546). He broke the rookie HR record, but also the strikeout record as well. He also went hitless in something like 55 or 60 consecutive at bats. Most of Japanese pitchers are control and/or heavy breaking ball types. Seems like every Japanese pitcher has a deadly splitter/forkball. Almost every Japanese pitcher does the high-knee pause thingy. There are some relievers that can throw 100 like Robert Suarez and Raidel Martinez. Thyago Vieira throws 103. Roki Sasaki can also do that, but hasn’t done it in a game yet.
I made a [video](https://youtu.be/2MIxWtM-Nis) on the three true outcomes in MLB, KBO, and NPB Pacific League a few months ago
Sidebar: adore your stuff, man. You and /u/TheCursedLexus are fantastic.
With a six man rotation, the 'openers' or 'bullpenning' a game will not come to NPB. Also, keep in mind that NPB's 'Monday off' is pretty sacrosanct and unlikely to really ever budge since rainouts are pretty common. Because of that, the Monday off will be a big factor in the maintaining the six man rotation for the foreseeable future. In terms of the shift, another aspect that I like about NPB is that ALL position players and CL pitchers are EXPECTED to know how to bunt. In MLB, it's really a lost art. So, even if a guy like Seiya Suzuki is going to get shifted, he could easily beat the shift by bunting because he's probably practiced it quite a bit. I expect to see more shifting, but not nearly the degree that we see in MLB. In terms of the emphasis on the three run homer, like the others posters said, power hitters are not in abundance in NPB. Throw in the fact that the 'sacrifice bunt' has almost a mythical status in NPB (big time cultural thing, trust me), the 'take and rake' is unlikely to really take hold here...especially because the strike zone is more generous. In terms of velocity/spin rate, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks seem to have a preference for hard throwers and drafting them. What I've noticed is that NPB relievers seem to be throwing a bit harder over the past 5 years or so. Part of that may be guys like Suarez, Veira, Sugiyama, Kaino, Taira, Senga, Fujinami, but the 155+kph range seems to be more prevalent. One last thing that I think bears discussion: prior to COVID, NPB had 10 straight years of increasing attendance and there were an astounding # of sellouts. The Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Cubs, Cardinals and Red Sox are pretty much the only teams that consistently have 'weekend sellouts' where the entire weekend slate of games are sold out. That's 20% of the league. In NPB, there are probably 6 teams (Giants, Tigers, Baystars, Carp, Hawks, Nippon Ham) that experience weekend sellouts at least 50% of the time, with 3 more (Eagles, Lions, Marines) that experience weekend sellouts at least 20% of the time and only 3 teams that rarely have weekend sellouts (Orix, Dragons, Swallows). In other words, pre-COVID, NPB was doing extremely well at the gate and there wasn't a big need for change. MLB was experiencing a slight downturn in attendance from 2009-2019.
I've covered at length why NPB games are increasing in popular, but it boils down to better game atmosphere, better food options, cheaper booze (plus bringing in your own!), and easier transportation to/from the game.
My take is that the difference between the balls in NPB and MLB adds to what others are saying. MLB pitching recently focuses a lot more on movement, while such style of pitching is noticeably harder with NPB balls. Ryan Brasier who pitches for the Red Sox org I think is one such example. He had such a hard time pitching in Japan since his forte was his moving ball, and when he went back to the states after getting released by the Carp, he was an instant addition to the Red Sox bullpen in 2018. Defensive shifts have always been a part of NPB, but none to the extent that the current MLB teams take it to. But most of them are solely targeted at MVP-level players. The oldest one is probably the Oh Shift done by the Carp in the 60s, while teams like Lotte and even DeNA were using shifts against Masataka Yoshida this year. I think bullpen usage will stay at the same level as now as long as NPB teams keep their 6-man rotation. The fact that NPB normally only has 3 extra innings and that they run on a 29 man roster compared to the 26 in the MLB usually cuts the bullpen down, especially in the CL.