NPB’s Central League to introduce Designated Hitter rule in 2027 – World Baseball Softball Confederation

The Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) announced the introduction of the designated hitter rule starting from the 2027 season.

The announcement follows the introduction of the designated hitter rule at the collegiate and high school levels in 2026.

“It’s important to take a flexible approach to global trends,” commented NPB Commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara.

The Pacific League, the other NPB six-team league, adopted the designated hitter rule in 1975, two years after the American League introduced the change in Major League Baseball (MLB). The other MLB league, the National League, introduced a designated hitter rule permanently in 2022.

The NPB 2025 regular season is in its final stages. The top-three finishers of each league will compete in the postseason (Climax Series).

With four games to play, the Hanshin Tigers (83-52 and four draws) have dominated the Central League and lead by 13.5 games over the second-placed Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The Yomiuri Giants are in third place with a 6.5-game advantage over the Chunichi Dragons.

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (80-51 and four draws) lead the Pacific League with a 2.5-game advantage over the Nippon Ham Fighters. Fukuoka has eight games to play, while the Ham Fighters have six. The Orix Blue Wave are in third place and trail the Ham Fighters by nine games. They hold a 4.5-game advantage over the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Orix has eight games to play, while Rakuten has 10.