Historic Opening Day: Giants' Cabbage and DeNA's Maki Hit Record-Setting Leadoff Home Runs!

On March 27th, as the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season kicked off, a historic first was recorded. Yomiuri Giants' player Cabbage and Yokohama DeNA BayStars' player Shugo Maki each blasted a leadoff home run in their respective opening games, etching their names into baseball history.

In the Giants' clash against the Hanshin Tigers, Cabbage launched a powerful blast against the opposing opening day starter. This marked the Giants' first leadoff home run in an opening game in 19 years, providing significant momentum for the team. The team went on to secure a splendid victory in their season opener, highlighted by rookie pitcher Kazuyuki Takemaru earning the franchise's first-ever opening day win for a rookie starter, and new foreign import Dalbec hitting his first home run in Japan.

Meanwhile, in the BayStars' game against the Hiroshima Carp, Shugo Maki, batting leadoff for the first time in his professional career, responded by crushing the very first pitch for a leadoff home run. Though it seemed like an auspicious start, his team ultimately couldn't hold onto their lead and suffered a defeat.

This simultaneous occurrence of leadoff home runs in two different ballparks on opening day was an unprecedented first in NPB history. The shocking start ignited a flurry of excited comments on social media, with fans exclaiming "Thrilling!" and "Unbelievable!" The way the balls were flying even sparked speculation among some about potential changes to ball specifications compared to last season.

The historic blasts by both players vividly colored the start of the new professional baseball season, further heightening expectations for the battles to come.

The context

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is Japan's premier professional baseball league, comparable to Major League Baseball (MLB) in North America. Opening Day, the first game of the season, is a highly anticipated event for fans and a crucial opportunity for teams to set a positive tone for the year. A "leadoff home run" is a home run hit by the first batter of the game (or an inning), a relatively rare feat, especially when it happens on the very first pitch. For two such events to occur simultaneously in different ballparks on the same opening day is truly extraordinary in the 80-plus year history of the league.

The Yomiuri Giants are one of Japan's most historically successful and popular baseball teams, based in Tokyo. The Yokohama DeNA BayStars are another prominent team, based in Yokohama. The Hanshin Tigers and Hiroshima Carp are also popular and well-established NPB teams. The mention of "foreign imports" (助っ人, sukketto) refers to players, often from North America or Latin America, who join NPB teams, like Dalbec in this article. Speculation about "ball specifications" is common in baseball when there's a noticeable increase in offensive production, as slight changes to the ball's construction can significantly impact how far it travels.