Playing catchup in Osaka with baseball morning, noon and night. So please forgive the delays. Today, I’ve got stuff on Japanese pitching mounds from someone who knows, WBC warm-up game notes, and some more fun stuff.
So let’s get started
Japanese mounds getting more uniform
Since the 2014 MLB tour of Japan, NPB stadium mounds have, one-by-one, been changing. That November, groundskeepers transformed Koshien Stadium’s mound to MLB specs, using American Black Stick clay bricks, and pitchers did not complain.
“No complaints means you’re doing it perfectly, because you’re never going to get compliments in Japan,” said Yosuke Iwata, the Orix Buffaloes’ chief groundskeeper at Kyocera Dome Osaka, which hosted WBC warm-up games in previous tournaments and underwent the same transformation.
Continue reading NPB news: March 7, 2023