Wager Mage
Photo by James Wheeler Pexels Logo Photo: James Wheeler

What's Japan's national sport?

Sumo Technically speaking, Sumo is the national sport of Japan, but with sold-out stadiums around the country, baseball is very popular. Japan's twelve professional baseball teams garner a devoted following from people of all ages.

Is it illegal to use a VPN for online gambling?
Is it illegal to use a VPN for online gambling?

Using a VPN is one of the safest ways to secure your online traffic from being tracked and hacked and to unblock geo-restricted gambling sites....

Read More »
Should I use heavier or lighter darts?
Should I use heavier or lighter darts?

If you like to throw with a lot of force, a lighter dart may be the way to go. If you have a more relaxed style of throwing, heavier is probably...

Read More »

February 2017

Baseball, the National Sport of Japan?

Uniting two Countries

Technically speaking, Sumo is the national sport of Japan, but with sold-out stadiums around the country, baseball is very popular. Japan’s twelve professional baseball teams garner a devoted following from people of all ages. At every game, there are always fans enthusiastically cheering on their favorite players and teams in many ways, such as: waving banners, releasing balloons into the air in unison, and chanting to the beat of instruments played by their team’s fan club in the stands. Baseball is so popular that even the high school baseball tournaments held at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture are broadcasted into the homes around the country via national television and radio stations.

The Waseda University Baseball Team, circa 1916

The Library of Congress

Baseball originally made its way across the Pacific to Japan in the 1870s. The sport quickly gained popularity, and amateur college club teams began appearing by the end of the decade. The first exchanges between Japanese and American players occurred through these clubs. Japanese professional baseball began in earnest during the 1920s and the Japanese Baseball League, the predecessor to present day Nippon Professional Baseball, was formed in 1936 in part due to the influence of the American all-star teams that came to promote the sport. Perhaps the most famous all-star team to tour was the one of 1934, which included legendary players like Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees and "Lefty" O'Doul of the now defunct New York Giants. The latter of these two legends provided the inspiration for the formation of the Tokyo Giants, which in turn has contributed significantly to the success of Japanese professional baseball. Babe Ruth also left an indelible mark on the evolution and popularity of baseball in Japan. In the words of the U.S. Ambassador at the time, Joseph Grew, in his book “Ten Years in Japan,” the Bambino was “A great deal more effective Ambassador than [he] could ever be.” In part due to this legacy, there are many foreign players on Japanese rosters who attract loyal fans through their exploits on the field to this day. Notable players have included former Mets Manager Bobby Valentine and Hall of Famer and former Yankee Goose Gossage.

Ichiro Suzuki

Creative Commons

Since the 1960s there have also been many Japanese baseball players who have spent significant portions of their careers in the MLB. Some famous examples who have played for New York area teams include Hideki Matsui, Masahiro Tanaka, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro, as he is commonly known, is possibly the most famous currently active Japanese player in the MLB, beginning his record-setting career playing for the Seattle Mariners, continuing as a Yankee between 2012 and 2014, and most recently as a part of the Miami Marlins. The delight of seeing Ichiro play was even mentioned by President Obama in his speech at Pearl Harbor with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December 2016 as an example of the “the shared pride of two peoples… united in peace and friendship.

Creative Commons

Who has the fastest hat-trick in Premier League?
Who has the fastest hat-trick in Premier League?

forward Sadio Mane Who scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick? Liverpool forward Sadio Mane currently holds the record of fastest Premier...

Read More »
Can you track a scammer?
Can you track a scammer?

An IP address can be used to trace the location of the scammer if the IP address is not hidden using a VPN or other means. There are a variety of...

Read More »

What sport do girls like best?

The results revealed that 57% of women found climbing attractive, making it the sexiest sport from a female perspective. In second place was extreme sports (56%), followed by football (52%), and hiking (51%). At the bottom of their list came aerobics and golf, with just 9% and 13% of the vote, respectively.

Quirkology recently teamed up with fitness expert Sam Murphy to explore the relationship between sport and attraction. They surveyed thousands of people to find out which sporting activities would make a member of the opposite sex more attractive. The results revealed that 57% of women found climbing attractive, making it the sexiest sport from a female perspective. In second place was extreme sports (56%), followed by football (52%), and hiking (51%). At the bottom of their list came aerobics and golf, with just 9% and 13% of the vote, respectively. Meanwhile, men revealed to be most attracted to women into aerobics (70%), followed by yoga (65%), and going to the gym (64%). Last on the list was bodybuilding (5%), rugby (6%), and golf (18%). 'Our findings suggest that women who've been pounding the pavements in search of love would do better taking up aerobics, while men seeking women need to ditch the weights and get on the climbing wall,' said Murphy. 'That said, the best way to find happiness - not to mention a long-lasting fitness regime - is to do what you love. Unless that is, it's golf!'

Here are the full results:

Women

Aerobics | 9

Golf | 13

Bodybuilding | 19

Yoga/Pilates | 20

Cycling 37

Rowing | 43

Martial arts | 44

Rugby | 44

Running | 44

Skiing | 46

Going to the gym | 50

Hiking | 51

Football (soccer) | 52

Extreme sports | 56

Climbing | 57

Men

Bodybuilding | 5

Rugby | 6

Golf | 18

Rowing | 20

Football (soccer) | 30

Extreme sports| 32

Martial arts | 35

Cycling | 39

Climbing | 41

Hiking | 41

Skiing | 53

Running | 55

Going to the gym | 64

Yoga/Pilates | 65

Aerobics | 70

What does an odds ratio of 1.25 mean?
What does an odds ratio of 1.25 mean?

“For example, if the Odds Ratio was, for example, 1.25, it would mean that the fact of being a woman is a risk factor for cancer because for every...

Read More »
Do online casinos affect credit score?
Do online casinos affect credit score?

Your credit score is not linked to any online gambling, so lenders will not be able to see that you are gambling from your credit score alone....

Read More »
Should you leave a gambling addict?
Should you leave a gambling addict?

Leave even if its early days as far as the addiction is concerned. Leave because it'll get much much worse. To be with a gambler is actually to be...

Read More »
How do you predict if both teams will score?
How do you predict if both teams will score?

Goals Scored and Conceded We recommend looking for 1.50 goals conceded as a value indication, combined with an opponent having a high number of...

Read More »