Sounds of baseballs popping into gloves and the crack of bat against ball are ringing out in Okinawa, south Kyushu and Shikoku as the 12 Central and Pacific League teams began spring training Feb. 1 in preparation for what promises to be an exciting Japan pro ball season that begins in just 46 days with Pa League openers on March 20.
Unlike the major leagues where spring camps open later in February and pitchers and catchers usually report earlier than infielders and outfielders, all the players on Japanese teams start at the same time, and it's always Feb. 1.
Some foreigners have described Japanese spring training as something akin to a military boot camp, especially in some of the small towns, and the first-year guys spend their first 30 days or so in the country trying to acquire a taste for onigiri rice balls wrapped in seaweed and making friends with new teammates who don't speak the same language.