NPB Tracker

When I started this site in 2008, there were some good English language sources of information on Japanese baseball, but I (obviously) didn’t feel there were enough. Thankfully, there are a few more now. So here’s my guide to the English NPB Blogosphere for 2010.

General Japanese Baseball

• JapaneseBaseball.com, the first there ever was, hosts blogs as well as discussion boards.
• By know we know what to expect from Deanna’s Marinerds: baseball otaku-ism, lots of detail, and great photos.
• Similarly, if you’re reading this you’ve probably seen Yakyu Baka, Gwynar’s insanely thorough news site.
• Gary Garland no longer posts news to Japan Baseball Daily, but stats and archived content are still available.
• Simon appears to be on a little bit of a hiatus, but he occasionally covers baseball at jhockey. His hockey content gets a thumbs up from me too.
• Japan Baseball News is a new site that got going last season.
• Japanese Baseball Cards makes me miss Calbee Potato Chips.
• Kokoyakyu is an invaluable resource during the Koshien tournaments. I haven’t found it’s equal in Japanese (not that I’m looking).
• Janblurr’s blog includes the occasional post on Japanese baseball. Jan also contributed this post about German baseball to NPB Tracker last year.
• Yakyu All-Stars is a site written by NPB Tracker reader Matt, and knowing his team allegiance I almost put him in this next category…

Team Specific Blogs

• Tsubamegun, a site dedicated to the Yakult Swallows is the veteran of this bunch.
• We Love Marines appeared on the scene last season. I bet you can guess which team that one is about.
• Where Eagles Dare is another relative newcomer with an similarly eponymous name.
• Steve Says Kampai! and follows the Hanshin Tigers.
• Christopher’s Tiger Tails, hosted by JapaneseBaseball.com does as well.
• Michael Westbay’s Bayside West covers the Yokohama BayStars.

Historical Sites

• Rob Fitts chronicled the famed 1934 MLB All-Star tour of Japan, which is really what gave professional baseball its start in the country. Rob isn’t maintaining that particular story line any more, but its still a great read.
• A Noboru Aota Fan’s Notes is only an occasional read for me, but it’s really a remarkable site. The very anonymous author goes into a tremendous amount of detail on each topic he covers, and includes scans of old photos and painted baseball cards. Really enjoying this site requires a decent investment of time, though which runs counter to the Internet culture. Still, this is a hidden gem.

Around Asia

• East Windup Chronicle has made a triumphant return.
• True Stories of Korean Baseball is my go-to source for KBO news, and written by a fellow expat Chicagoan.
• Taiwan Baseball always has the latest on MLB prospects from Taiwan.
• In the words of Westbaystars: “Pro Baseball Taiwan has just started up this past month and looks to be a great source for CPBL happenings both on and off the field.”
• Reader Dan has alerted me to the presence of his English-language KBO forums.

And Finally…

I don’t link to writers in Japan’s mainstream English press very often, but there are some who do excellent work. Three that I think deserve special attention are Jim Allen, Jason Coskrey, and Wayne Graczyk.

If there any sites that are missing from this list that should be included, please leave a comment.