The 2008

Nippon Professional Baseball 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 ...

season was the 59th season since the NPB was reorganized in . The regular season started on March 20 with the

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 consis ...

opener, and on March 28 with the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

opener. On March 25 and 26, the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

played 2 regular season

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

games at

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

. During their visit, they also played exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants.

Format

Both League

* Season Format ** Regular Season ** Climax Series 1st Stage: Regular Season 2nd place vs. Regular Season 3rd place – Best of 3 ** Climax Series 2nd Stage: Regular Season 1st place vs. Climax Series 1st Stage winner – Best of 7 (regular-season 1st place take a one-win advantage) * Regular Season 1st place is the champion

Japan Series

* Central League Climax Series 2nd Stage winner vs. Pacific League Climax Series 2nd Stage winner – Best of 7

Changes

The Seibu Lions added the prefecture name "Saitama" in front of the team name starting with this season. As to reduce the interference to teams whose main players would play in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, this year's trade and new foreign players deadlines were pushed to the end of July, instead of the end of June. Also, teams having more than three players selected by National teams were given an extra quota of foreign player limit during the Olympic Games. The postseason playoff ("Climax Series") regulations have changed to give more advantages to League Champions, now the second stage series will play for 6 games, while the League Champion will have a one-win advantage. In late June, the

Free Agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

regulation was amended after negotiation between the players committee and owners. Players are now eligible for free agency after 8 years of service to a team (1 playing year = 145 days on the active roster), players drafted before 2007 are shortened to 7 (University/Company/Independent League) to 8 (High School) years. However, oversea FA right which allow them to play in the

still needs 9 playing years. This amendment is also effective on non-Japanese players.

Alex Ramírez Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez (born 3 October 1974) is a Venezuelan-born Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who had a long career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is the first foreign-born player to record 2,000 ...

, who served 8 playing years in Japan, became a "local player" after the season.In NPB, no team can have more than 4 "non-local" players in their active roster, and they cannot be all pitchers or all fielders, non-Japanese players who entered NPB by draft, or obtained the FA right are not bounded with this restriction.

Standings

Central League

Regular season

Climax Series 1st Stage

Hanshin Tigers (1) vs. Chunichi Dragons (2)

Climax Series 2nd Stage

Yomiuri Giants (3) vs. Chunichi Dragons (1) ''The Giants have a one-game advantage.''

Pacific League

Regular season

Climax Series 1st Stage

Orix Buffaloes (0) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2)

Climax Series 2nd Stage

Saitama Seibu Lions (4) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2) ''The Lions have a one-game advantage.''

Interleague Games

Climax Series

''Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.''

Japan Series

Saitama Seibu Lions (4) vs. Yomiuri Giants (3)

References

Central League standings

External links

* {{2008 NPB season

Format

Both League

Japan Series

Changes

Standings

Central League

Regular season

Climax Series 1st Stage

Climax Series 2nd Stage

Pacific League

Regular season

Climax Series 1st Stage

Climax Series 2nd Stage

Interleague Games

Climax Series

Japan Series

See also

References

External links