Field Dimensions?

In the Pacific League, I believe that all of the stadiums are now 100 meters up the lines and 122 meters to straight away center. The main differentiating feature is the height of the fence. This is the league that Matsuzaka has been pitching in. Let's run through them all:

• Sapporo Dome: 100m, 122m
• Fulcast Stadium Miyagi: 101.5m, 122m
• Seibu Goodwill Dome: 100m, 122m
• Chiba Marine Stadium: 99.5m, 122m
• Osaka Kyocera Dome: 100m, 122m
• Fukuoka Dome: 100m, 122m

While Chiba Marine Stadium is cut a little smaller, the Candlestick Park like winds make hitting home runs rather difficult. Seibu Dome (aka Goodwill Dome this year, aka Invoice Dome last year) was Matsuzaka's home. It has a low fence and is open to the elements all around - it just happens to have a cover over it.

In the Central League, only the newer stadiums are cut to those dimensions. Hiroshima, Jingu, Koshien, and Yokohama vary down the lines from each other.

• Tokyo Dome: 100m, 122m
• Meiji Jingu Kyujyo: 91m, 120m
• Yokohama Stadium: 94m, 118m
• Nagoya Dome: 100m, 122m
• Koshien Kyujyo: 96m, 120m
• Hiroshima Shimin Kyujyo: 91.4m, 115.8m

There are also numerous third party stadiums that each team plays in during the year. As much as CJ can't believe it, one of the things I think that NPB does right is bring baseball to regions that don't have convenient access to the baseball metropolises.

Currently, all of the main stadiums are symmetrical - the same on either side of the line from home plate, over the mound, to straight away center. The new stadium that Hiroshima is planning on building will be the first one with differing dimensions between left and right.

Source: "球場物語2 The Ballpark in Japan," Baseball Magazine Sha, ISBN 4910204480378-00933.

Do you know how high the pitchers mound is raised above the ground? In MLB the mound is raised 10 inches, is this different in Japanese Baseball?

I'm doing some research on Japanese baseball compared to MLB. I found that, on average, Japanese parks are 20 feet shorter down the left field line, about the same dead center and in the gaps, and an average of 14 feet longer down the right field line.

See also The Baseball Guru - Japanese Baseball Parks

Jim Albright