There are 419 registered players in the Pacific League for the 2026 season. They are truly top-tier players who have reached the rugged world of professional baseball.

Among those 419 people, the Pacific League Insight editorial department searched for the "1 out of 419" that applies to "only one person." Please enjoy while trying to guess these number one and only one players.

*Records and numerical values are as of before the games on September 25, 2026.

Find the 1 in 419! First, the place of birth.

When there are athletes from the same hometown, you secretly want to cheer for them—that's the heart of the hometown. In today's Pacific League, every prefecture has athletes from the same prefecture, but there is one 'extremely rare' prefecture. Those are Iwate, Shimane, and Kochi.

From Iwate Prefecture: Orix Buffaloes ・ Kyosuke Saito pitcher
From Shimane Prefecture: Chiba Lotte Marines ・ Shuta Takano pitcher
From Kochi Prefecture: Saitama Seibu Lions Yushin Kawada players

Orix Buffaloes pitcher Saito is from Takizawa City, adjacent to Morioka City. He joined Orix Buffaloes as the third pick in the 2022 draft from Morioka Chuo High School, and in his second year as a pro in 2024, he started 8 games. He recorded 2 wins (3 losses), including his first professional win. This season, he made his first first-team appearance in two years.

Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Takano is from Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, famous for Izumo Taisha. Although he never played in the Koshien at his local Izumo Commercial High School, his talent blossomed at Kansai University, where he went on to attend. He then joined Nippon Express, and in the 2022 draft, he was selected 4th overall in the Chiba Lotte Marines and was recognized as a reliever from his rookie year. On September 1, he challenged himself to start as a starter. With skillful pitching like his fellow townsman Takeshi Wada, he allowed hits and earned his first win as a starter with 7 innings and no runs.

By the way, the neighboring Tottori Prefecture players include teammates like Daito Yamamoto and Orix Buffaloes Alen Kuri pitcher. This year's draft will be a Shimane player to be selected, so it's worth watching.

Saitama Seibu Lions- Player Kawada is from Sukumo City, Kochi Prefecture. Sukumo City, located at the southwestern tip of Shikoku, is a mild city blessed with abundant nature from the sea, mountains, and rivers.

Kawada went on to Kyoto Sangyo University after graduating from Kochi High School. After graduating from university, he chose Shikoku Bank, based in Kochi Prefecture. In his first year at the company, 2024, he participated in the Intercity Baseball Tournament baseball, and in the leadoff starting line-up, he reached base three times with 3 At Bat, 1 hit, and 2 Walk, helping the team advance past the first round. In 2025, he also participated in the Japan Corporate baseball Championship. In 2025, he will be drafted by Saitama Seibu Lions with the 6th round, but this is reportedly the first time in 54 years that a Shikoku Bank player has been drafted!

Among the players under the roster from the four Shikoku prefectures, including Kawada from Kochi, there are nine players: Tokushima Prefecture has players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Ryusei Kawano pitcher, Chiba Lotte Marines Ryusei Miyazaki, and Orix Buffaloes Yutaro Sugimoto. Kagawa Prefecture has Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Tatsuki Mizuno, Orix Buffaloes Reiji Higashiyama pitcher, and Chiba Lotte Marines Yoshihide Takahashi pitcher. Ehime Prefecture has Saitama Seibu Lions Ryota Itokawa pitcher, Chiba Lotte Marines Keisuke Sawada pitcher.

Next, focus on the origins of foreign players. While 13 players are from the United States and 10 from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Puerto Rico account for 1 in 419 of Pacific League.

From Colombia: Fukuoka Softbank Downs
Puerto Rican Origin: Chiba Lotte Marines Soto

Soto, a Chiba Lotte Marines player in his ninth year in Japan, became the team's captain this season. He wears the captain's emblem, inspired by the Puerto Rican flag, on his right sleeve jersey and has posted 17 Home Run, 47 RBI, and an OPS of .703 over 111 games, improving his numbers from last year.

A 'vocational school graduate,' which is rare in the world of baseball.

While high school, university, and corporate league backgrounds are mainstream for professional baseball players, there are also players with the rare career path of being a "vocational school graduate."

Vocational school graduate: Rakuten Eagles pitcher Naoto Nishiguchi (Koka Health and Medical Vocational School)

The school Pitcher Nishiguchi graduated from is Koka Health and Medical Vocational School located in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture. Alumni include Yoshinori Tateyama, Atsushi Fujimoto, and others, as well as umpire Kazuyuki Shirai. Since the school changed its name to "Renaiss Koyo Sports & Medical Vocational School" in 2019, Pitcher Nishiguchi became the "last player from the original school name."

Pitcher Nishiguchi joined the Rakuten Eagles as the 10th draft pick in 2016. In 2022, he recorded 61 appearances, tied for the most in the Pacific League, and 30 holds, ranking 3rd in the league. In the fall of 2023, he underwent Tommy John surgery and signed a developmental player contract, but returned to the 70-man roster in 2025. That same year, he appeared in 52 games, recording an ERA of 1.07, 31 holds, and 70 strike outs, making a brilliant comeback. In 2026, due to poor physical condition, he joined the first team in late August.

A big man who really stands out in the stadium! Which player is the most powerful?

Who are the players with the largest scale in terms of height and weight?

Height Category: Orix Buffaloes pitcher Jerry (213cm / 113kg)
Weight Category: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham player Reyes (196cm / 139kg)

Pitcher Jerry's tall stature has been a topic of conversation among the media and baseball fans since his arrival in Japan. While there are five players over 200cm tall, Jerry is the only one over 210cm. In his first year in Japan this season, the right-hander pitched in 21 games as a member of the starting rotation, using his two seam fastball as a weapon. Although his record was 3 wins and 10 losses with losses leading the way, he recorded an ERA of 3.38 and achieved 12 Quality Starts.

On the other hand, 10 players fall into the category of weighing 110kg or more, and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham's proud slugger Reyes is the heaviest. With power generated from his extraordinary physique, he produced top-tier Pacific League results this season with a .313 batting average, 32 Home Runs, 82 RBI, 149 hits, and a .375 on-base percentage.

By the way, 210cm is the standard size for a typical sweep-out window (a window that goes down to the floor) used in Japanese housing. 130kg is said to be the same weight as a commercial refrigerator or a lightweight sumo wrestler. Does that help you visualize it a bit?

Who are the youngest and the oldest?

Professional baseball is played by a wide range of generations, from young high school graduates to veterans. Who are the current youngest and oldest players?

Youngest: Rakuten Eagles pitcher Taisei Ito (born October 27, 2007, 18 years old)
Oldest: Seibu Lions player Takeya Nakamura (born August 15, 1983, 43 years old)

Rakuten Eagles pitcher Ito, who turns 19 on October 27, joined the Rakuten Eagles as the 5th draft pick in 2025 from Reimei High School. In this rookie year, he appeared in 7 games in the farm league. We look forward to his breakthrough from next season onwards.

The oldest player in the Pacific League, Takeya Nakamura, appeared as a pinch hitter in the 11th extra inning of the game against the Rakuten Eagles on August 21, deciding the game with a grand slam that marked his 23rd consecutive year with a Home Run. In 2026, the year his contemporary Takumi Kuriyama retired from active duty, he continues to be an indispensable presence for the team.

There is a 25-year age gap between the two players, which is almost like a parent and child. Takeya Nakamura's eldest son, Yuto, who made headlines for participating in this year's Invitational High School baseball Tournament, is a second-year student in the baseball club at Osaka Toin High School, meaning he is only two years apart in age from pitcher Ito.

By the way, others born in 2007 like pitcher Ito include Aya Ogawa of Nogizaka46, Momiji Nishiya who won the gold medal in women's street skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics, and Lamine Yamal of the Spanish national team who contributed to the 2026 Soccer World Cup victory.

On the other hand, those in the same school year as Nakamura include actors Kazunari Ninomiya, Jun Matsumoto, and Asami Mizukawa. It is quite a distinguished lineup!

Which letter of the alphabet is most commonly tattooed on people's backs?

The name on the back of a jersey catches your eye during a game. Currently, the player with the longest name in terms of alphabet count is Hokkaido Nippon-Ham's Daigo Kamikawahata. 'KAMIKAWABATA' is an impressive 12 letters long, engraved across the entire back.

Kamikawabata joined Hokkaido Nippon-Ham in 2021 as the 9th pick in the draft from NTT East Japan. He is known for his solid defense and played in over 100 games in 2023 and 2024. So far in 2026, he has played in 23 games with a batting average of .220.

Incidentally, several players have 11-letter names on their jerseys, one less than the others, including Fukuoka Softbank pitcher Taiga Kamichatani Kamichatani. Among the players with 11-letter names, there was also a commonality: their surnames included "Hayashi," such as Rakuten Eagles Itsuki Murabayashi 's Kazuki Murabayashi, Orix Buffaloes Kotaro Kobayashi Seibu Lions and Saitama Seibu's Rakuto Wakabayashi.

The 'left-handed pitcher, right-handed batter' is the only young eagle!

Among the 419 players, there are 228 "right-handed pitchers/right-handed batters," 118 "right-handed pitchers/left-handed batters," 5 "right-handed pitchers/switch-hitters," and 67 "left-handed pitchers/left-handed batters," but Rakuten Eagles pitcher Katsutoshi Tai was the only "left-handed pitcher/right-handed batter" in the Pacific League.

In his fifth year, pitcher Tai recorded his first professional appearance and first win last season. This season, he has pitched in a career-high 25 games, fighting hard with 2 wins, 3 losses, 10 holds, and a 3.42 ERA. However, partly because he is a reliever, he had no opportunities to stand in the batter’s box even during interleague play. Since the Central League will also introduce the DH system starting next season, it seems it will be difficult to see pitcher Tai enter the right batter’s box.

Furthermore, there were 0 "left-handed pitchers/switch-hitters."

Fans, please try to find the "1 out of 419" in the Pacific League!