'Shock!' Japan exposed for introducing 'bouncy ball' → Secretariat issues first denial, then falls silent

*This content was translated by AI.

Japanese professional baseball (NPB) is embroiled in allegations of manipulating the coefficient of restitution of the official ball without the knowledge of fans and players, dubbed the 'bouncy ball' scandal. With signs that a ball concealment incident that rocked the Japanese baseball world in 2013 may be repeating itself after more than a decade, the fallout is expected to intensify.

The Sankei Shimbun reported on the 24th that "behind the increase in home runs this season, there were moves by NPB to secretly manipulate the coefficient of restitution of the official ball." According to the report, the NPB secretariat and the executive committees of the 12th teams were found to have taken organized action to make the league's official ball travel slightly farther.

According to documents obtained by the Sankei Shimbun from an anonymous team, at the NPB Executive Committee meeting held last August, a decision was made to "raise the coefficient of restitution of the official ball to the highest level within the standard range to resolve the long-standing trend of pitcher-dominated games." Consequently, it was confirmed that specific manufacturing instructions were conveyed to the manufacturer Mizuno, including "to wind the internal yarn of the official ball more tightly to make the ball harder."

In fact, 184 home runs were hit in both NPB leagues during the first month after the season opened this year. At this pace, the total is projected to reach 1,196 home runs by the end of the season, representing a surge of more than 10% compared to last season's 1,096 home runs.

NPB has long faced the problem of extreme pitcher-dominated games. The league was evaluated as one where pitchers held the advantage because the official ball did not bounce well, and scores were generally low. However, after suffering the unprecedented failure to reach the quarterfinals at the 2026 WBC, which concluded last March, voices grew louder both inside and outside the Japanese baseball world calling for a review of the official ball specifications to move away from a 'frog in the well' style of league operation.

The most controversial point is the numerical value of the coefficient of restitution. Since 2015, NPB has fixed the target value for the official ball's coefficient of restitution at 0.4134. However, test results reported to the NPB Executive Committee show the value was raised to between 0.4154 and a maximum of 0.4194. This figure was also communicated to all teams.

Testimonies from NPB players claiming "the ball definitely travels farther than in previous years" have been following one another. However, NPB Secretary-General Katsuhiko Nakamura firmly denied the allegations on the 6th, stating in response to questions from local reporters, "There has been no change to the official ball specifications, and absolutely nothing has been altered."

However, the Sankei Shimbun pointed out, "Although they refuted claims that they did not touch the league's official ball, given the league's flow since last summer, it is natural to conclude that the coefficient of restitution was manipulated. If so, they should explain the matter to fans and players and inform the fans." This effectively treats the introduction of the 'bouncy ball' as an established fact.

The Sankei Shimbun further added, "In the 2011 season, only 939 home runs were hit in the league, which was too low. In June 2013, it was revealed that the official ball had been secretly changed, causing a major uproar. NPB appears to be repeating the same mistake without heeding the lessons from that past incident that escalated into a major problem." Since the Sankei Shimbun's report, the NPB secretariat has not issued any official statement.

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*This content was translated by AI.