# Are Japanese home runs different that those in the U.S.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641 "2003-05-12T06:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/1 "2003-05-12T06:26:47Z")
I’ve heard that the act of attaining a home run in Japanese baseball is much easier than here in the U.S. in that foul lines aren’t observed. Is there any truth to this? ---
**Author:** ![Back\_Lot\_Brawl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Back\_Lot\_Brawl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Back_Lot_Brawl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/2 "2003-05-12T06:50:32Z")
No truth at all to it. The rules are exactly the same for home runs in Japan, and the game is essentially the same as American baseball. The ballparks used to be smaller than American ones, but I believe that’s been changing in recent years. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/3 "2003-05-12T08:21:59Z")
BLB is right, foul lines are indeed observed in Japan. The only major difference between Japanese and American baseball is one of style and strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/4 "2003-05-12T09:56:11Z")
Sadaharu Oh hit his 800+ homers in parks that were smaller than his American counterparts, but the parks (and the rules) of today are the same in both countries. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/5 "2003-05-12T12:10:13Z")
One difference between America and Japanese home runs is in the reception you get after your homer. In Japan, when you hit a home run, a woman comes out to meet you at home plate and presents you with flowers. I kid you not. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/6 "2003-05-12T14:38:36Z")
CBCD: It depends on which team. All the games I watched whilst residing in Japan, the player who hit a home run got a stuffed toy as he ran across home plate–the toy was different for each team. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/7 "2003-05-12T15:06:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jovan \* > \*\*The only major difference between Japanese and American baseball is one of style and strategy. \*\* This page, [http://www.japanorama.com/baseball.html](http://www.japanorama.com/baseball.html), says [QUOTE] Major Differences from U.S. Baseball[ul][li]Games can end in a tie. In fact, some teams play for a tie. [/li][li]Teams avoid humiliating opponents either by running up big scores in a game or by winning their league by an immodest number of games. [/li][li]The baseball is slightly smaller. [/li][li]Players are more loyal to their ball clubs. [/li][li]Play is not as aggressive. [/li][li]The strike zone is larger. [/li][li]Games are limited to 4 hours or 15 innings, whichever occurs first. [/li][li]Free-agent system is more restrictive. [/li][li]Training is year round.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] I have no idea how accurate or up-to-date that list is. This is the first time I remember seeing anything about the ball used in Japan being smaller than the one used in North America. ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/8 "2003-05-12T15:17:38Z")
If they play to a tie, why would games go to 15 innings? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/9 "2003-05-12T15:34:05Z")
In the Pacific League, they play to 12 innings before declaring a tie. In the Central League, it’s 15 innings. As for running up the score, teams will score as many as they can, but it’s just like the U.S. Teams won’t steal bases when up 10 runs or swing at 3-0 pitches up by a wide margin. Japanese parks used to be smaller than U.S. ones, but now most are comparable in size to U.S. parks with the exception of the park in Hiroshima, which has some foul lines which are under 300’. The minor league system is much smaller. Each team just has one minor league outlet. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/10 "2003-05-12T16:47:49Z")
I’d suspect home runs (assuming parks are more or less equal) would be a whole lot easier to hit in Japan than the US. At least for a premier hitter. For an average hitter in Japan, I’d guess that home runs come at just a hard rate. My assumptions are that players in the US are better all-around than the Japanese players. There is a small sample size of players who have played in both the US and Japan, but nonetheless, Japanese baseball players have not fared well against their American counterparts. So, if you have a premier Japanese hitter against average Japenese pitching, The premier Japanese hitter will go to town. Witness that guy who could not earn a job in America almost breaking the single-season Japanese home-run record. I forgot his name, as he was pretty much forgotten here. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/11 "2003-05-12T16:49:21Z")
I’d also like to point out that the pitching in Japan is probably not as good as it is in the US. I have nothing to base this on; just a perception. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/12 "2003-05-12T16:53:47Z")
There’s one other factor in Japanese baseball that would permit more home runs to be hit, although I could only find one cite for it. Apparently the baseballs are “wound tighter” and therefore travel farther when hit. My only reference to that is from Ron Luciano’s old book _Strike Two_, referring to an All-Star game from the 70’s when Pete Rose smuggled in a few boxes of them for batting practice so the NL players could look like sluggers, all the better to shock and awe the AL. (This, of course, was when the All-Star Game actually meant something.) Any confirmation of such? ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-japanese-home-runs-different-that-those-in-the-u-s/174641/13 "2003-05-13T20:41:34Z")
One other difference – I got this from Dave Barry, so I know it’s true – is that at Japanese games they cheer, “Loudly let it fly!” I think that’s cool. RR