We open the list with an anime that is not precisely about baseball but shows exactly how Japanese see baseball compared to other sports. Shippu! Iron Leaguer occurs in a far future where humans no longer play games, but instead, have an “Iron League” where different robots compete in diverse sport events for humans’ entertainment. The Dark Organization, a team that prefers cheating rather than good sportsmanship, controls the league; but the Silver Castle, a team formed by older robots, wants to win by following the old rules.

The reason why this anime is on the list is because the leader of Silver Castle is Magnum Ace, a leaguer who specializes in Baseball. Besides that, Baseball is one of the main sports in the League’s tournament, together with Soccer and Hockey. So, in general, we get to see a lot of the king of sports, without it being the only focus so it is a great gateway anime for those who aren’t enamored with baseball but want to see how Japan sees it.

No baseball anime list would be complete without one based on Mitsuru Adachi’s works. Slow Step is one of the less known outside of Japan, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking for it. Here, we meet Minatsu, a young girl who really hates being chased by both Shu Akiba, and Naoto Kadomatsu, who are members of the boxing club; and also by Yamazakura sensei, the softball and boxing club’s coach. This leads her to perform crazy stunts trying to hide her identity, while also participating in both clubs. While baseball (or, in this case, softball) is not the main focus of the story, it is part of many of the most important scenes and plot points in the anime.

The baseball action in the OVA is short but sweet. We can see that Adachi really loves the sport and it shows in how it’s depicted. Yes, two of Minatsu’s suitors are boxers, since Adachi also enjoys it, but it’s in the softball scenes where we can see the art shine. Also, in the anime, unlike the manga, Minatsu decides to marry Yamazakura sensei, and their interactions are more in the softball diamond.

Love for baseball usually runs in the family. A perfect example of this is Hyouma Hoshi, a young pitcher who learned the sport with his father, Ittetsu Hoshi, who used to be an incredible third baseman until he had to retire due to a terrible injury. Hyouma has more talent in the pitching mound, and he is soon drafted to the Yomiuri Giants where he realizes that sheer talent is not enough to be a baseball star. Still, he tries even harder to take his team to the championship, in honor of his father, and his team.

Created originally by Ikki Kajiwara and Noboru Kawasaki, Kyojin no Hoshi (Which can be translated to Star of the Giants) is a classic baseball manga that was created to popularize the sport back in the sixties. It was commissioned by the Yomiuri Group, the owners of the Yomiuri Giants, and depicted a fictional group of players to play in the real team. It grew so popular that the series had not only six movies, but also three sequels; one made in 1977, one in 1979, and the most recent in 2002. A real treat for any anime and baseball fan who also has a taste for the classics.

Cats are usually adorable. That’s pretty much the reason why Neko Pitcher exists, where we meet the very first cat pitcher in the Japanese Baseball league. Now, this is not a Zootopia-like world where cats are forbidden from playing for some reason. No, in a world full of humans, a normal house cat is now a starting pitcher. Of course, he can pitch like a pro, but he also does things that normal cats do, such as finding the most comfortable place to sleep that is also the place where he won’t let anyone else do anything, or use the bats as scratching posts.

Neko pitcher is a cute collection of short situational jokes around cats and baseball. Every episode is about 2 minutes long, which is perfect to make you smile. There are also small factoids about baseball at the end of each episode, which can be educational if you don’t know much about the game. Consider this series a small snack that will let you know if you have a taste for baseball anime that is longer.

We’ve been talking about shows that showcase people that love baseball; however, Moshidora is the exception to the rule because Minami Kawashima, the main character of Moshidora, hates baseball with all her heart. But when her best friend Yuuki Miyata can’t be the manager of their school team anymore, she immediately volunteers to make her friend happy. Problem is, as she hates the sport, she has no idea how to manage a team, so she decides to buy a book to give her some pointers. Second problem? She picked up a business management book, not a baseball management one.

Moshidora is the perfect anime for someone who doesn’t like baseball but kind of wants to know why it’s so popular as a subject for stories. It has everything a sports anime has, with the addition of a main character that just won’t let her personal issues get in the way of her friend’s wishes. It’s an amazing tale of friendship and sportsmanship that is sure to entertain both baseball fans and those who don’t like it.

Baseball can be many things for many people. It’s a sport, and a form of entertainment, and, of course, a business. Gurazeni is one of the few baseball anime that touches the business side without much exaggeration. Our main character is Natsunosuke Honda, who despite being a professional player is only a relief pitcher for the Spiders. Similar to how it works in the real world, the team has a very clear rule: the player’s salary is determined by their performance in the field. Natsunosuke is one of the highest paid players in the team, and so, he continuously judges other players by their salary, ready to challenge them and remain in his comfortable position in the team.

While most baseball anime focuses on the love of the sport and the teamwork, Gurazeni is special since Natsunosuke tends to be more of a loner. He wants to keep his high salary, and for that, he has to be the best. This is why he keeps challenging others rather than looking for their friendship. We have here a more cynical look at the sport, but at the same time, a very enjoyable slice of life anime that will make you smile as we follow the Spiders and their players.

Tarou “Dokaben” Yamada wasn’t sure he wanted to continue his judo career when he entered high school, so he let his friends and new classmates talk him into joining the baseball club at Meikun high. There, he discovers that his judo training will not go to waste, as his arms are very powerful and soon get him a place in the team as the heavy hitter, the player they all can count on him for long fly balls to the outfields and homeruns when the time is needed. So he and his equally exceptional friends are ready to take the Koshien by storm.

Dokaben is a classic baseball anime that has wormed its way into the hearts of many viewers thanks both to the exciting stories, the dynamic way in which the games are presented, and the unique-looking characters. Although it’s not well-known to casual viewers, it’s usually cited in anime books and stories because it influenced authors such as Takehiko Inoue, and it’s even mentioned in Understanding Comics as the main example of how the sport genre works in Japan. Just for that, if you have the chance, watch this amazing series.

Every baseball fan knows that sometimes, life throws you a curveball and that when that happens, the only thing you can do is grab the bat tightly, keep your eye on that curve and hit it with all your might. This is exactly what happened to Yuki Mizuhara when she enrolled in college wanting to become a veterinarian and instead got drafted to become the first female pitcher for the Japanese Mets. So instead of complaining, once she debuted, she decided to show everyone that women are as good as men at the King of sports.

Yakyuukyou no Uta, together with Dokaben are two of the oldest baseball anime, and both are based on manga by the same author, Shiji Mizushima. While Dokaben focuses more on how men see the sport, Yakyuukyou no Uta derives most of its comedy from how the point of view of a woman can see things differently. Now, make no mistake, this is a shounen, not a shoujo, so the action is always on the sport and not on romance.

One of the most important parts of a baseball team is the battery: the pitcher and the catcher. Sure, the whole team must be united and understand that if one makes a mistake, they all suffer for it; but the battery is the center of their defense. The pitcher gets the ball rolling and the catcher must see the whole field and make quick decisions for the game, knowing that the pitcher will trust him. Takumi Harada, a young high school pitcher, knows that Go Nakagura is the catcher who can keep up with him. So he convinces Go to join the team at their school, decided to become the best battery high school baseball has ever seen.

Unlike other sports anime, Battery focuses much more on the relationship between the characters than in the actual game, so we see little of the sport being played. Still, it is a touching story about teammates and working together for a mutual goal. Not only that, but it avoids falling into some of the traps of the genre: Takumi is far more interested in becoming a good battery with Go than in winning, so that changes a lot of what we’ve come to expect. Add to that nice animation and good music, and you got a highly enjoyable series, even if you’re not a big fan of sports anime.

If there’s a fictional player that understands that a pitcher is nothing without his team, it’s Eijun Sawamura. He’s naturally talented at the change-up pitch, which means that in his local junior high school, he’s the best player around and the one who tries to get the whole team to nationals, despite the fact that the other players aren’t that good. But when Seidou High School offers him a scholarship and a place in their prestigious team… he refuses. It takes all his friends and family to make him accept that he can do better at Seidou, and that if he reaches the Nationals, it can be in his friends’ name. So he changes schools, and it’s at Seidou where he finds out that natural talent is not enough to win, and that one player alone doesn’t define the team.

From its first season, Ace of Diamond has been one of the best baseball anime on Japanese TV in modern times. While at some points it can be considered a bit cliché with the resolution of some arguments, at the end it shows a very good grasp of baseball and high school teams, managing to balance both the drama among teenagers –who are highly competitive and know that every game must be won if they want to reach the Nationals- and the actual game play, which can keep you on the edge of your seat just like real baseball games do.