The Yakult Swallows and Yokohama BayStars on Wednesday joined the Hanshin Tigers in growing calls to curb what appears to be an accelerating move toward a contraction of Japanese professional baseball.
Meanwhile, the Tigers put a positive spin on the situation, saying the club will propose the introduction of interleague games between Central and Pacific League teams at a series of meetings of baseball officials later this month in a bid to help maintain the two-league system.
"The image of baseball will be hurt if it contracts (to one league)," Swallows president Yoshikazu Tagiku said, saying the current two-league system should be maintained for the sake of baseball circles as a whole.