![[Hit-Level] A Collection of Trivia & Fun Facts About Baseball](https://media.ragnet.co.jp/img/1200__png__https://www.studiorag.com/files/2025/04/21ed693345308d7148ee33e1be0c8734.webp)
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!
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[Hit-Level] A Collection of Trivia & Fun Facts About Baseball (1–10)
Home plate was originally a rectangle, too.
Home plate is a pentagon, while first, second, and third bases are squares, but originally home plate was also a square like the other bases.
However, because it was very difficult for umpires to judge balls, it was changed to a pentagon in 1900.
With a pentagon, the trajectory of the pitch runs parallel to the edges of home plate, making calls easier.
In this way, even things we haven’t questioned from the start may have changed for a reason.
It’s interesting to look at how sports evolve, isn’t it?
In the past, there was no split between the Central League and the Pacific League.
Some of you may have wondered what exactly the Central League (Se League) and the Pacific League (Pa League) are.
On what basis are they divided? It all started in 1949: teams like the Chunichi Dragons and the Yomiuri Giants, who opposed the admission of new teams, formed the opposition side and became the Central League in 1950, while those in favor became the Pacific League.
That arrangement has continued to the present day, with two leagues.
By the way, “Se League” is short for Central League, and “Pa League” is short for Pacific League.
The first person to throw a ceremonial first pitch was Shigenobu Okuma.
The ceremonial first pitch is often thrown by various celebrities, and who gets to throw it is always a hot topic.
So who was the first person to throw a ceremonial first pitch in Japan? It was Shigenobu Okuma, in 1908.
The game was between a Major League team and Waseda University.
Although his pitch missed the strike zone, a Waseda student deliberately swung and missed so it wouldn’t be called a ball.
This is said to have given rise to the custom of swinging and missing at ceremonial first pitches.
The origin of Koshien’s “Alps Stand” is that the manga artist Ippei Okamoto called it that.
We call the infield stands the “Alps stands,” but did you know that this name wasn’t used from the beginning? It’s said to have been coined by Ippei Okamoto, a manga artist and the father of Taro Okamoto.
When the infield stands, which had previously been only 20 rows, were expanded to 50 rows and became very tall, he published a cartoon in a newspaper calling them the “Alps stands,” and that’s how the name caught on.
It’s quite a stylish bit of interpretation, isn’t it? And it’s interesting that the term became established.
The ace number being “18” comes from the Kabuki Jūhachiban (the Eighteen Favorites of Kabuki).
In Japanese professional baseball, the number 18 is known as the ace number, but where does this come from? There are various theories, though a well-known one traces it to the kabuki term “ohako,” written with the characters for “eighteen favorites.” In kabuki, “ohako” refers to one’s signature or specialty performances.
That said, it’s not as if players are required to wear number 18.
Still, if you were given the number 18, you’d probably feel motivated to live up to the expectations, wouldn’t you?
In baseball, the official is called an “umpire,” not a “referee.”
In Japanese, any sports official is called a “shimpan” (referee), but in English there are “referees” and “umpires.” Referees are well known in sports like wrestling, and also in basketball, soccer, and rugby.
They are responsible for managing the game and move with the players as they officiate.
Umpires are used in sports like tennis, table tennis, and volleyball, where they stand in designated positions and make calls.
Some sports, like American football, have both.
In baseball, the officials are called umpires.
The first people to launch jet balloons were fans of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
Cheering with jet balloons is fun both to see and hear, and it’s one of the highlights of watching baseball.
But when did it start? It’s said to have begun during a Hanshin vs.
Hiroshima game at Koshien Stadium in 1978, when Hiroshima fans first released them.
Apparently, Hanshin fans who saw this then helped spread the practice.
However, jet balloons are prohibited at some stadiums depending on conditions inside the venue.
They were also banned during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent infections.