Home Runs by League

Over in this message CFiJ-san gave a brief summary of home runs hit in the Pacific League in response to a question about livlier balls in the PL. Not having access to more data than the past couple of years, he asked for home run totals per team since 1998. Well, ask and you shall recieve. Team home runs since 1998 ala Baseball Magazine Sha's 2003 Baseball Record Book.

Team        1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Seibu        115   89   97  184  183
Kintetsu     126  151  125  211  177
Daiei        100  140  129  203  160
Lotte        102   97  109  133  101
Nippon Ham   150  148  177  147  146
Orix         140  112  116  143  102

Giants       148  182  203  196  186
Yakult        97  141  137  148  142
Chunichi     100  120  111   98  125
Hanshin       86   97  114   90  122
Hiroshima    131  152  150  155  154
Yokohama     100  140  103   94   97

I think that the team make-up and strategy also has a lot to do with home runs. The Giants were built as a power team, and consistantly hit home runs. Hiroshima is consistantly second, thanks to their small home field. Yet they don't produce any home run kings as they focus on speed. Yokohama has never relly focused on home runs, but under Mori-kantoku's "kanri yakyu," their home run production drastically dropped.

As for Seibu, they, too, tried to make a team with just one color under Higashio-kantoku. The gap between releasing Domingo Martinez on the grounds that he was too slow and signing McClain and Cabrera saw a serious lack of anyone stepping up as a powerful cleanup hitter. Releasing their biggest home run threat was one of many stupid things that Higashio did with what was perhaps the best team in Japan to prevent more pennants than they got.

As for the Hawks switching to a livlier ball, I actually remember reading a story (in Shukan Baseball, I think) that they were considering changing to a livlier after Rhodes hit 55 - so as to give one of their players a better chance at the home run title. Whether they changed or not is unknown by me, but there was such an article last off season.