[Hit-Level] A Collection of Trivia & Fun Facts About Baseball
In Japan, topics about baseball are endless—whether it’s Nippon Professional Baseball or Major League Baseball in the United States!
Every year, many baseball fans can’t help but wonder which team will win the league and become the champion of Japan, and which player will pull off a miraculous play.
So in this article, we’ll introduce trivia and fun facts that will make you love baseball even more.
We’ve gathered trivia and tidbits from various angles, including the history of baseball and the little mysteries you casually notice while watching games.
Whether you’re a big baseball fan or someone who doesn’t know much about the sport, you’ll find yourself thinking, “Oh, so that’s how it is!” and enjoying it—so be sure to check it out!
- A baseball-themed quiz, covering everything from rules to trivia about history and records.
- A collection of quiz questions related to sports
- Not taught in school! A roundup of historical trivia and fun facts
- Trivia quiz with useful tips to know: fun facts that come in handy at school or at home [for kids]
- [For Elementary School Students] Sports Quiz
- Professional baseball players that are easy to imitate: a compilation of batting stance impressions
- So interesting you’ll want to tell someone! December Trivia & Fun Facts Special
- Trivia and fun facts about food (summary)
- [Baseball Cheering] A roundup of popular chance themes that fire up pro baseball games
- A quiz of fun trivia: bite-sized knowledge that leads to new insights.
- Fun Ball Sports: A Roundup of Ball-Based Play, Games, and Sports
- Useful right away in daily life! Surprising trivia and handy tips
- Fun facts you’ll want to share! January trivia and tidbits special
[Hit-Level] A Collection of Trivia & Fun Facts About Baseball (1–10)
An African elephant once came to cheer at the Spring Invitational.
In 1951, at the 23rd National Invitational High School Baseball Tournament, Hyogo Prefectural Naruō High School finished as the runner-up.
Their cheering squad apparently persuaded Hanshin Park to let them bring an elephant into Koshien Stadium.
Maybe Hanshin Park thought it would be good publicity, but the fact that it was allowed really feels like the good old Showa era.
What’s more, the head cheerleader is said to have appeared riding the elephant.
If that cheer captain were still around, I’d love to hear the story firsthand.
I imagine the players felt a surge of energy when they saw it.
The baseball manager is wearing a uniform because there was a player-manager on the team.
In other sports, you often see coaches wearing suits or tracksuits, but in baseball, managers wear the same uniforms as the players.
Have you ever wondered why? As it turns out, there’s no rule that says a baseball manager must wear a uniform.
The custom developed because, in the past, many managers were also players.
Another advantage is that wearing a uniform allows the manager to enter the field, making it possible to interact with players and umpires.
The Chunichi Dragons got their name because the team’s owner in 1947 was born in the Year of the Dragon.
There are 12 teams in Japan’s professional baseball league, and each team’s name has its own origin.
The Chunichi Dragons are based in Aichi Prefecture, but the “Dragons” part of their name comes from an unexpected source.
It’s said that the then-owner, Toranosuke Sugiyama, was born in the Year of the Dragon, which led to the name Chunichi Dragons.
You might assume it comes from the shachihoko on Nagoya Castle in Aichi, but apparently that’s not the case.
There’s also a story that, based on Toranosuke Sugiyama’s first name, they wanted to use “Tigers,” but had to give up because the Osaka Tigers—today’s Hanshin Tigers—already existed.
[Hit-Level] Collection of Trivia & Fun Facts About Baseball (11–20)
Beer showers began in 1959 when the Nankai Hawks became champions of Japan.
At sports events, there’s the beer shower held during victory celebrations.
For many fans, seeing this scene really drives home the feeling that their team has won.
By the way, do you know when this beer shower tradition started? The first person to do it was Carlton Handa, a Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) from Hawaii, in 1959.
He knew that in the United States there was a custom of spraying champagne to celebrate a championship, and he used beer instead.
Sharing the joy of victory with a bit of playful mischief isn’t so bad, is it?
Baseball was brought to Japan from the United States during the Meiji era.
In Japan, people enjoy baseball in many forms, from professional leagues to school clubs and amateur games.
Baseball is loved by people of all ages, but do you know when it was first introduced to Japan? It is said to have begun in 1871 (Meiji 4) under the instruction of an American teacher at Kaisei School, which is the predecessor of today’s University of Tokyo.
At the time, it was called “baseball” in English, and the sport subsequently spread throughout Japan.
According to those who promoted the game, it was an extremely enjoyable sport and was played very actively.
In high school baseball, there used to be a loser’s bracket (repechage).
High school baseball, where student players battle it out with intense passion, is a beloved sport.
Many people look forward to the TV broadcasts of the games held at Koshien.
Since it’s a single-elimination tournament, countless dramatic moments unfold every year.
However, there was a time when a repechage (losers’ bracket) existed.
The repechage was used from the second tournament in 1915 (Taisho 4) through the third tournament in 1916 (Taisho 5).
It was only implemented for those two tournaments, and there was a reason for that.
In the third tournament, a school from Aichi that had lost once fought its way through the repechage and, incredibly, won the championship.
Complaints arose that “it’s strange for a team that lost to become the champion,” and the repechage system was abolished the following year.
As a result, only those two tournaments featured a repechage.
In the past, baseball games ended when a team was the first to reach 21 runs.
Today, in baseball, the team with the higher score at the end of the bottom of the ninth inning wins, but when the sport first began, the game ended when a team was the first to reach 21 runs.
Sometimes getting to 21 was difficult, and games wouldn’t finish in a single day.
That must have been tough for both the spectators and the players.
It’s said that the first people to complain were the cooks preparing food for postgame socials.
If a game ended suddenly or dragged on forever, it made planning and cooking a real headache.
Thanks to that, the sport eventually settled on the format of ending after a set number of innings.