Baseball began in Japan in 1872 and really began to gain popularity on the Japanese island after World War II, thanks to American GIs who heavily promoted the sport and Japanese corporations who supported the teams as sponsors. Baseball was also popularized through a series of exhibition games that featured American baseball legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. The main reason for the popularity of baseball in Japan is that the game involves discipline, hard work and team effort.

Betting on the Japanese Baseball League

Baseball, a great American pastime, is also the most popular professional sport in Japan - even ahead of football, skating, sumo, volleyball and tennis. High school, college and professional games attract the public and dominate the media in the spring and summer. The baseball season in Japan runs from March to November, with 12 franchises playing over 100 games.

Nippon Professional Baseball NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū. Outside of Japan, it is often simply called "Japanese Baseball". Make baseball bets with bwin.

Betting on the NPB season

The league is divided into two: The Central and Pacific Leagues. The top teams of each league participate in the best-of-seven finals.

Japan has some serious talent that Major League Baseball cannot do without. But despite all the similarities, there are some major differences between the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball League and MLB (all MLB bets).

One of the main differences between these two baseball games is the actual size of the ball. The Japanese baseball is larger and harder than the American baseball.

Japanese players also tend to feel intense loyalty to their hometown or their teams. The NPB requires players to play nine seasons before they are allowed to leave as free agents.

Recommended Betting on Baseball in Japan

The length of a baseball game in Japan has a limit of 12 innings during the regular season and a limit of 15 innings during the playoffs before a tie can be declared. So we recommend placing live bets between each inning depending on the outcome.

Another recommended bet is, of course, to bet on the winner of the match. However, there is still the remote possibility of betting on a draw at the end of the match.