Happy days are here again — or so it would appear — for the hitters in Japanese baseball. The ball is flying once more, as shown by the number of home runs being hit in the early going this season. No one is saying anything, but the long ball has apparently snuck back into the game here after two seasons of lackluster hitting, and you have to wonder if the baseball itself has not been changed back to the pre-2011 version. It is soaring like 2010.
In any event, "Going, going, gone!," or in Japanese, "Haita, haita, home run," is being called more often by radio and TV announcers at Central and Pacific League games this year. Here is the evidence:
* Home runs in general have been much more frequent. Take last weekend, for example. On April 6, there were 13 hit in six CL and PL games. The next day, there were 10 homers in five games (one rainout), and on April 7, there were 17 belted out in the five games played (another rainout).