Since the National League adopted the DH in 2022, NPB's Central League has been the last major league that required pitchers to hit. The NPB season ended on October 28, after the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks swept the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 4-0 to win the Japan Series. Like the World Series, the Japan Series uses a 2-3-2 fomat, and the Central League's BayStars had home field advantage. Thus Game 2 of the 2026 Japan Series, played on October 25 at Yokohama Stadium, was likely the last baseball game played in any major professional league to not feature the designated hitter.

It's officially the end of an era.