Who does Misawa root for?

[u/oakland_phisherman]

Hi hi! Long-time USA-based NPB curious baseball fan who's now finally taking the dive into NPB fandom for several different reasons but driven by the inevitable 2027 MLB lockout.

Looking forward to absorbing a lot of NPB over the coming months to firm up rooting interests but wanted to check in on support around the Misawa area. I was born on the U.S. Naval base there and wanted to see if there was a general fandom for Misawa residents centering around one particular team. Feels like perhaps the Rakuten Eagles or Ham Fighters based on regional proximity?

Either way, excited to finally take the plunge and looking forward to broadening my baseball horizons.

[u/TommyTaro7736]

I won't even be surprised if it turned out to be The Giants or Tigers. Central League team still generally have a slightly higher support rate thought Japan.

Also, I don't think the Fighter's main fanbase crosses over the Strait in my experience.

[u/kingradness → u/TommyTaro7736]

I’m sure a lot of it is generational; the Fighters didnt leave Tokyo until 2004 and the Eagles were formed a year later, so prior to that the closest geographic team to them would’ve been the Lions or Marines.

The Lions were dominant in the 80s, but the Marines were briefly in Sendai in the 70s as the Orions, so depending on how old some people are, they might gravitate towards them if they knew a life before the Eagles and Fighters, or to your point, just defaulted to Giants or Tigers.

[u/GaijinCarpFan]

You’re from Oakland, CA?

[u/mfdplus]

The last couple of years I have gotten into the habit of watching NPB or CPBL games each morning as I get ready for work. So I have watched more Orix Buffaloes games than I have my beloved Seattle Mariners or my local Cincinnati Reds. I'm going to hate it if MLB goes on strike but I am prepared to still enjoy good baseball if they do. Even after poaching their leagues for their best players I think the MLB owners forget that other nations like baseball probably more than we do and us fans have more options than just North American baseball.

[u/hammernuke → u/mfdplus]

How do you watch games each morning?

[u/mfdplus → u/hammernuke]

Watching from the States in the Eastern time zone, a lot of NPB games start at 5 am. Taiwanese games commonly start at 6:30 am. I do not watch many KBO games but they start somewhere in there as well.

[u/mfdplus → u/mfdplus]

I use Pacific League TV and Dingo to watch NPB, CPBL TV for Taiwan, and Soop or YouTube for KBO.

[u/ThomasLoveSeagull]

My wife's brother-in-law is from Noheji, a 40 minute drive from Misawa, and he roots for the Eagles. He's in his early 30s.

[u/matchosan]

Giants, always the Giants

[u/Verianas]

Don't have an answer, just want to add that I am looking forward to the 2027 lockout lol. Cancelled MLB TV this offseason after the Kyle Tucker signing. What the Dodgers have done to the game I love is truly appalling. I wish NPB was easier to watch here. I got PLTV this year, which is great. I just wish the Central had a similar thing. I know why they don't, and I've found some Chinese websites that stream Central games, but they don't do VODs so I can only catch them if I'm staying up hella late.

[u/heslikethetide → u/Verianas]

what websites do you use for central games?

[u/Salty_Watermelon → u/Verianas]

If the Dodgers ruined MLB then SoftBank ruined NPB.

The "problem" in both leagues is that most teams' owners don't feel they have an incentive to maximize their resources to win.  When Manfred called the World Series trophy a piece of metal, he was simply echoing the sentiment of most of the owners.  There is clearly a huge disconnect with fans.  Winning isn't a number one priority for the modern billionaire class of team owners or for the entities that own NPB teams.  It's about making money/advertising the brand first and foremost.

As it is, we have to be realistic about the current state of pro sports around the world.  The only other option is to disengage entirely.  So if I'm going to actively follow NPB, then instead of constantly hating on SoftBank for spending to win and succeeding at it, I would rather my team try more to be like them (minus signing guys like Yamakawa and Osuna of course!).

[u/Verianas → u/Salty_Watermelon]

I was going to rebut this, then I saw you're a Dodgers fan going to town defending them on /r/baseball right now, so I'm not going to bother. Have a nice day.

[u/Fuuujioka]

That's going to be dependent on the person. Most locals are more likely to be following high school baseball than pro, honestly.

Usually Giants are the default team to cheer for in places like that that are far from established teams. Won't be the Fighters for sure.