For professional baseball fans who can't easily travel to their home stadiums, games at regional ballparks are a welcome sight. Here's a look at Pacific League regular season being held at regional ballparks during the 2026 season! We've also highlighted local players who are expected to perform well.
◇April
[Date and Time] Friday, April 10th, 18:00
[Matchup] Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
[Location] Saitama Prefectural Omiya Park ball park (Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture)
[Date and Time] April 16th (Thursday), 18:00
[Matchup] Fukuoka Softbank vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles
[Location] Kitakyushu Municipal Baseball Stadium (Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture)
[Date and time] April 25th (Sat) 13:00
[Matchup] Fukuoka Softbank vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
[Location] Libwork Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium (Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture)
[Date and Time] Sunday, April 26th, 2:00 PM
[Matchup] Fukuoka Softbank vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
[Location] Heiwa Lease Stadium (Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture)
The first game of the season at a regional stadium will be at the Prefectural Omiya Park ball park.
Furthermore, in April, Fukuoka Softbank will hold its "Fight! Kyushu Day" event in various locations. Attendees will be given a smoky green jersey. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, who will play against Fukuoka Softbank on April 16th, pitcher pitcher Shota Watanabe and Kosei Koga, and players Atsuki Muto Muto and Kohiro Komori, all of whom are from Kitakyushu.
◇May
[Date and Time] Tuesday, May 12th, 18:00
[Matchup] Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. Orix Buffaloes
[Location] Haruka Yume Stadium (Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture)
[Date and Time] Tuesday, May 19th, 18:00
[Matchup] Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
[Location] Jomo Shimbun Shikishima Stadium (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
[Date and time] May 20th (Wednesday) 18:00
[Matchup] Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
[Location] Saitama Prefectural Omiya Park ball park (Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture)
The first game of the "Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Tohoku Series Supported by Daito Kentaku" will be held in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture in May. Last year, in Hirosaki, player Voit hit grand slam, and Tohoku Rakuten Eagles won convincingly. Will they be able to show Aomori fans another great game this year?
The Saitama Seibu Lions will once again hold regular season in Gunma Prefecture this year, the home prefecture of pitcher Kosei Takahashi, and pitcher Takuya Hiruma Tsuge and Sena Tsuge Hiruma. Kosei Takahashi has pitched in Maebashi four times since turning pro, but has yet to pitcher win. Last year, he pitch seven innings, allowing only one runs (zero earned runs), but still didn't get the win, so he will be hoping to deliver win to his home fans this season. On the opposing team, Chiba Lotte Marines, player Ryusei Ogawa was born in Gunma Prefecture and is a graduate of Maebashi Ikuei High School. The second game of the season will be held at the Prefectural Omiya Stadium the day after the game in Gunma.
◇June
[Date and Time] June 23rd (Tue) 18:00
[Matchup] Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. Saitama Seibu Lions
[Location] Kirayaka Stadium (Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture)
The June event will be held in Yamagata City. Saitama Seibu Lions pitcher Shinya Sugai who hails from Nanyo City, Yamagata Prefecture, started in a game held in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture last year and pitcher win with five runs innings. All eyes will be on whether he can make a triumphant return to Yamagata this year.
◇July
[Date and time] July 1st (Wednesday) 18:00
[Matchup] Tohoku Rakuten Eagles vs. Chiba Lotte Marines
[Location] York Kaiseizan Stadium (Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture)
[Date and time] July 7th (Tuesday) and 8th (Wednesday) 18:30
[Matchup] Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Tohoku Rakuten Eagles
[Location] Okinawa Cellular Stadium Naha (Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture)
The Tohoku Series in July will be held in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. This season, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles has drafted Toshiya Osakae, a native of Fukushima Prefecture, in the fourth round. On the other hand, Chiba Lotte Marines has Toshiya Sato, a native of Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, who played in Koshien while attending Seikogakuin High School.
pitcher Seibu Lions Kaito Yoza pitcher Kaima Taira Haruki Tatsuyama regular season pitcher only 3 runs in 7.1 innings, while pitcher Taira pitched one runs inning, showcasing their energetic performances in their hometown. This year, they will be hoping for not only good pitching performances but also win. Their Rakuten Eagles, the Tohoku Rakuten Ryuya Taira, who has returned to the main roster after being promoted from the development league.
◇September
Date] Tuesday, September 1, 18:00
Match】Tohoku Rakuten Eagles VS Orix Buffaloes
Komachi Stadium (Akita City, Akita Prefecture)
Date】September 2 (Wed.) 18:00
Match】Tohoku Rakuten Eagles VS Orix Buffaloes
Location】Kitagin Ball Park (Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture)
September is the end of the season. Two consecutive games of the Tohoku Series will be held in Akita and Morioka.
Players from Akita Prefecture are the 2nd draft rookies Tatsuki Ito pitcher in the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Kosei Yoshida pitcher and Ryu Sugisawa in the Orix Buffaloes.
Yoshida pitcher, who created a "Kinnohaze" in high school, is expected to make a comeback this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. If he pitches at Komachi Stadium, it will be his first triumphant return in two years, since May 8, 2024.
And the last local stadium for this season will be Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture. Unfortunately, there are no players born in Iwate in Tohoku Rakuten Eagles this season, but the fourth-year right-handers Orix Buffaloes and Kyosuke Saito pitcher are from Iwate Prefecture.
Although local ballparks have an image of being more Home Run likely to produce players due to the size of the stadium, last year, in addition to the previously mentioned Voigt, there was a shot for Ryoma Nishikawa and Yutaro Sugimoto players in Kagoshima, Nevin in Maebashi, Itsuki Murabayashi player in Yamagata, Masahiro Nishino and Ryoto Kita players in Naha, and Akira Nakamura player in Hirosaki. Also, don't miss the defense and base running players at the ground ballpark on Sat.
Let's pray for good weather and look forward to the games being held in various locations.
