The Professor and Root bond over their love of baseball, in particular the Hanshin Tigers. This comes with some difficulties—because the Professor’s memory stops in 1975, he still believes that his favorite pitcher, Enatsu, still plays for the Tigers. This means that Root has to find creative ways to talk about the Tigers so as not to remind the Professor that it’s no longer 1975. Still, this shared interest allows them to give each other meaningful experiences. Because the Professor only knows baseball through statistics, they get to bring the game to life for him. Conversely, the Professor helps Root understand the beauty of the numbers behind the game.

Baseball becomes a symbol of the Professor’s health. In 1992, the year the novel takes place, the Tigers have a good run and nearly win the pennant, and they begin to improve as Root and the narrator develop their relationship with the Professor. The high point of this relationship and their time together is the game they attend at the beginning of June, which the Tigers win, and in which their pitcher almost throws a no-hitter. A little while later, as the narrator, Root, and the Professor celebrate his prize win and Root’s birthday—the last night the narrator and Root spend with the Professor—the Tigers tie Yakult the night and start their slump.