Baseball in Asia to Start This Weekend
The baseball season in Asia is about to start this weekend. At least, in the two biggest leagues of the continent: The NPB in Japan and the KBO in Korea.
When you count Friday as part of the weekend, the season in Japan started today, March 27.
The 2025 champions, Softbank Hawks beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-5. Multi Japanese champions Yomiuri Giants beat their eternal rival, the Hanshin Tigers 3-1.
More Tokyo success as the Yakult Swallows beat the DeNA Yokohama Baystars 3-2.
The Hiroshima Carp beat the Chunichi Dragons 6-5. The Lotte Chiba Marines stayed at the right side of the score against the Seibu Lions (3-1). Yours truly’s favorite team, the Orix Buffaloes, did not stand a chance against the Rakuten Golden Eagles as they were routed 10-0.
Tomorrow’s schedule will be as follows.
| Yomiuri Giants – Hanshin Tigers | Tokyo Dome 14:00  |
| DeNA Yokoh. Baystars – Yakult Swallows | Yokohama 14:00  |
| Hiroshima Carp – Chunichi Dragons | Mazda Stadium 14:00  |
| Lotte Marines – Seibu Lions | ZOZO Marine 14:00 |
| Orix Buffaloes – Rakuten Golden Eagles | Kyocera Dome Osaka 14:00 |
| SoftBank Hawks – Nippon Ham Fighters | Mizuho PayPay 13:30 |
The regular NPB season will last until September 30. Only after a long rest, the playoffs will start on October 10. The Nippon Series will start on Saturday, October 24.
The 2026 KBO season will start tomorrow, March 28. The schedule looks like this:
The 2025 champions, the LG Twins will face the KT Wiz, sixth in the regular standings in 2025. The runners up, the Hanwha Eagles will take on the Kiwoom Heroes, dead last in the 2025 standings, trailing the LG Twins by 37.5 games.
The 2026 regular KBO season will end on September 6.
KBO confirmed the so-called Ladder System for the postseason. It will consist of three rounds. In the best-of-three Wild Card series, the fifth-place finisher will face the fourth-place finisher. The fourth-place team will have a one-game advantage and host all the games.
The winner will advance to the best-of-five Semi-Playoff series and face the third-place finisher. The third-place team will host Games One, Two, and, if necessary, Game Five. The winner will advance to the best-of-five Playoff series and face the second-place finisher. The second-place team will host Games One, Two, and, if necessary, Game Five.
The winner will play the best-of-seven Korean Series against the regular season winner. The Pennant winners will host Games One and Two, and, if necessary, Games Six and Seven.