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Nippon Professional Baseball League
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation of the in Tokyo, founded in 1934, and the original circuit for the sport in the Empire two years later – Japanese Baseball League (1936–1949), and continued to play even through the final years of World War II. The league that is today's NPB for Japan was formed when that sports organization reorganized in 1950, creating two leagues with six teams each in the Central League and the Pacific League with an annual season-ending Japan Series championship play-off series of games starting that year. The NPB also oversees the Western League and the Eastern League, NPB's minor leagues. Since the first Japan Series in , the Yomiuri Giants have the most championships with 22, and the most appearances with 37. Entering the 2023 season, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around Japan. History The circuit was founded as the Taiheiyo Baseball Union (太平洋野球連盟, ''Taiheiyo Yakyu Renmei'') in 1949 (the name changing to its current form in 1980). Daiei Stars owner Masaichi Nagata was the first president of the Pacific League. The league began with seven teams: four holdovers from the previous iteration, the Japanese Baseball League — the Hankyu Braves, the Nankai Hawks, the Daiei Stars, and the Tokyu Flyers — and three new teams — the Kintetsu Pearls, the Mainichi Orions, and the Nishitetsu Clippers. In 1954, an eighth Pacific League team was founded, the Takahashi Unions, to increase the number of teams to eight. Although the team was stocked with players fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western League (Japanese Baseball)
The is one of the two minor leagues ("ni-gun")"Minor League History," JapaneseBaseball.com. Accessed April 20, 2015. of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the of (NPB). Teams in the Western League generally play an 80-game schedule every year. Teams Most of the Japanese minor league teams carry the same name, and u ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainout (sports)
Rainout, washout, rain delay, and rain stopped play are terms regarding an outdoor event, generally a sporting event, delayed or canceled due to rain, or the threat of rain. It is not to be confused with a type of out in baseball, though a baseball game can be rained out. Delays due to other forms of weather are named "snow delay", "lightning delay", "thunderstorm delay", or "fog delay" (or generically "weather delay"), while there are many other effects of weather on sport. Also, a night game can be delayed if the floodlight system fails. Often spectators will be issued a ticket for a make up event, known as a " rain check". Sports typically stopped due to the onset of rain include baseball, golf, tennis, and cricket, where even slightly damp conditions in the latter three sports seriously affect playing quality and the players' safety. In the case of tennis, several venues (such as those of Wimbledon and the Australian Open) have built retractable roofs atop their existing co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All-star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, but sometimes dividing the players by an attribute such as nationality. Selection of the players may be done by a vote of the coaches and/or news media; in professional leagues, fans may vote on some or all of the roster. An all-star game usually occurs at the midpoint of the regular season. An exception is American football's NFL Pro Bowl, which occurs at the end of the season. All-star games are usually organized like regular games, but are often played with less emphasis on victory. Competing goals are to give many players time in the game and to avoid injury. In ice hockey, for example, there is no serious checking, while in American football no blitzing is allowed. In basketball, there is virtually no defense played unt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1985 Japan Series
The 1985 Japan Series was the 36th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. Making their first appearance in the Japan Series since 1964, the Tigers finally won their first Japan Series championship. To this day, it remains the only Japan Series title won by the Tigers. Summary Matchups Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 See also *1985 World Series The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the N ... * Curse of the Colonel References {{Japan-baseball-stub Japan Series category:Hanshin Tigers Seibu Lions Japan Series, 1985 Japan Series Japan Series Japan Series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interleague Play (NPB)
, officially titled Nippon Life Interleague Play for event sponsor Nippon Life, is an event consisting of 108 regular-season baseball games played between Central League (CL) and Pacific League (PL) teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Prior to 2005, matchups between CL and PL teams occurred only during spring training, the All-Star Series, a short-lived exhibition tournament called the Suntory Cup, and the Japan Series. Central League teams were reluctant to implement regular-season interleague play as it would reduce the money generated from games played against the Yomiuri Giants, the hugely popular CL team that generates the most money in Japanese baseball. However, during the 2004 NPB realignment, the merger of two PL teams that were struggling financially, the rumor of a second PL team merger, and talks of contracting and restructuring the two-league system into one ten-team league prompted the suggestion of interleague play as a possible solution. Team repre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Designated Hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by the National League in 2022, making it universal in MLB. Within that time frame, nearly all amateur, collegiate, and professional leagues worldwide have adopted the designated hitter or some variant, with the notable exception of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Major League Baseball rule In Major League Baseball, the designated hitter is a player who does not play a position in the field, but instead replaces the pitcher in the batting order. The DH may only be used for the pitcher (and not any other position player), as stated in Rule 5.11. Use of the DH is optional, but must be determined before the start of the game. Prior to 2022, if a team did not begin a game with a DH, the pitcher (or a pinch hitter) had to bat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major Professional Sports Leagues In The United States And Canada
The major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada commonly refer to the highest men's professional competitions of team sports in those countries. The four leagues traditionally included in the definition are Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). Other prominent leagues include Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL are commonly referred to as the "Big Four." Each of these is the wealthiest professional club competition in its sport worldwide, and along with the English Premier League they make up the top five sports leagues by revenue in the world. In addition, the sports of these four leagues were all developed in their modern forms in North America, and all except American football have become popular internationally. Because the leagues enjoy a significant place in popular culture in the U.S. and C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shikoku Island League Plus
The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. The Shikoku Island League has two principal sponsors, the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) and the Shikoku Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Other sponsors include Taiyo Oil Company, Shikoku Meiji Dairies, Japan Airlines, sporting goods maker Mizuno Corp., Internet service provider Biglobe, convenience store chain FamilyMart, and Nihon McDonald's. The Shikoku Island League Plus is part of the Japan Independent Baseball League Organization (which also includes the Route Inn Baseball Challenge League). League play Originally, each team played 90 games per season: 45 at home and 45 away. With the 2008 expansion, each team's schedule changed to 80 games a year, 40 at home and 40 away, so the season consists of 240 games. Teams attempt to sche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball In Japan
Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872 and is Japan's most popular participatory and spectator sport. The first professional competitions emerged in the 1920s. The highest level of baseball in Japan is Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League, with six teams in each league. High school baseball enjoys a particularly strong public profile and fan base, much like college football and college basketball in the United States; the Japanese High School Baseball Championship ("Summer ''Kōshien''"), which takes place each August, is nationally televised and includes regional champions from each of Japan's 47 prefectures. In Japanese, baseball is commonly called (; yakyū), combining the characters for ''field'' and ''ball''. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the atmosphere of Japanese baseball games is less relaxed than in the United States, with fans regularly singing and dancing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were moved to Fukuoka (which had been without NPB baseball since the Lions departed in 1979). The team subsequently became known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks until 2005, when they were purchased by SoftBank. The franchise has won 11 Japan Series championships and 19 Pacific League pennants, with the most recent of both coming in . History Nankai Electric Railway Company ownership (1938–1988) The franchise that eventually became the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks was founded on February 22, 1938 by Nankai Electric Railway president Jinkichi Terada as Nankai Club, based in central Osaka. The organization was said to be created as a result of riv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2022 Japan Series
The 2022 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2022'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's season. The 73rd edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the winning teams of the Pacific League and Central League's Climax Series. The series began on October 22 and ended on October 30. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows advanced to the Japan Series from the 2022 Central League Climax Series. They faced the Orix Buffaloes, winners of the 2022 Pacific League Climax Series. This matchup was a rematch of the previous year's Japan Series, when Yakult won in six games. In the 2022 series, Yakult won Games 1 and 3, while Game 2 ended in a twelve-inning tie. Orix then won the next four games to win the series, taking home the first Japan Series under the Buffaloes moniker in league history and Orix's first since 1996, when they were the Orix BlueWave. Yutaro Sugimoto won the Japan Series Most Valuable Player ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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