Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Masahiro Abe (born May 12, 1978 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan) is a Nippon Professional Baseball player. He is currently with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yaky , meaning Professional Baseball. Outside of Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation of the "Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club" in 1934 and the original Japanese Baseball League. NPB was formed when that league reorganized in 1950.