Whither goes Japanese professional baseball? That question must have come to the minds of many Japanese when they heard last week the news that officials of two professional baseball clubs, the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave, have reached a basic agreement to merge the teams. The news came in the third month of red-hot competition for the championship of the Central League and the Pacific League. Spokesmen for other teams declined comment on the news, as if they had expected it all along.
Mr. Tsuneo Watanabe, owner of the Yomiuri Giants and chairman of the conference of professional baseball club owners, reacted coolly, saying he was hoping to hear the views of other officials at a meeting in July. Mr. Watanabe had raised strong objections to Kintetsu's earlier proposal to sell the naming rights for the "Buffaloes." Mr. Watanabe's conflicting reactions stirred speculation about possible behind-the-scenes moves in professional baseball.
Since early this year, rumors have been rampant about reorganizing the two leagues and 12 teams in Japanese professional baseball into one league and 10 clubs. According to the rumors, four of the six PL teams would be merged -- Kintetsu and Orix as well as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and the Chiba Lotte Marines -- to form two teams and that a single-league system would be restored.