The or is one of the two professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

leagues that constitute

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 ...

in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of 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 cons ...

in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country. Unlike the Pacific League,

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 th ...

s are not used during Central League home games.

History

The Central League was founded in 1949 with eight teams: four holdovers from the previous

Japanese Baseball League was a professional baseball league in Japan which operated from 1936 to 1949, before reorganizing in 1950 as Nippon Professional Baseball. The league's dominant team was Tokyo Kyojin (renamed the Yomiuri Giants in 1947), which won nine league c ...

— the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

, the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

, the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, and the

Shochiku Robins The Shochiku Robins were a Japanese baseball team that played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The franchise originated in the Japanese Baseball League (NPB's predecessor) and existed from 1936–1953, when it merged with the Taiyo Whales. ...

(formerly the Taiyō Robins) — and four new teams — the

Hiroshima Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Mats ...

, the Kokutetsu Swallows, the Nishi Nippon Pirates, and the Taiyō Whales. The Nishi Nippon Pirates existed for one season — they placed sixth in 1950, and the following season merged with the also

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

-based

Nishitetsu Clippers The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, w ...

(a member of the

) to form the Nishitetsu Lions, who joined the Pacific League. This brought the number of Central League teams down to an ungainly arrangement of seven. Ryuji Suzuki became president of the Central League in 1952."SUZUKI, Ryuji,"
The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Japan). Accessed March 27, 2015. In 1952, it was decided that any team ending the season with a winning percentage below .300 would be disbanded or merged with other teams. The

fell into this category, and were merged with the Taiyō Whales to become the Taiyō Shochiku Robins in January 1953. This enabled the Central League to shrink to an even number of six teams. Ryuji Suzuki retired as CL president in 1984 after 33 years at the post. In 2007, a new

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...

was introduced. This playoff series was inspired by the stepladder playoff used in the

for the top three teams of the league to determine which one progressed to the Japan Series. Under the previous system, there was no post-season playoff and the winner of the pennant automatically qualified for the Japan Series.

Current teams

Central League pennant winners

*2022

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the ...

*2021

*2020

*2019

*2018 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *2017 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *2016 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *2015

*2014

*2013

*2012

*2011

*2010

*2009

*2008

*2007

*2006

*2005

*2004

*2003

*2002

*2001 Yakult Swallows *2000

*1999

*1998

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

*1997 Yakult Swallows *1996

*1995 Yakult Swallows *1994

*1993 Yakult Swallows *1992 Yakult Swallows *1991 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *1990

*1989

*1988

*1987

*1986 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *1985

*1984 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *1983

*1982

*1981

*1980 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *1979 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *1978 Yakult Swallows *1977

*1976

*1975 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *1974

*1973

*1972

*1971

*1970

*1969

*1968

*1967

*1966

*1965

*1964

*1963

*1962

*1961

*1960 Taiyo Whales *1959

*1958

*1957

*1956

*1955

*1954

*1953

*1952

*1951

*1950

Climax Series winners

*2021 Tokyo Yakult Swallows *2020 Yomiuri Giants *2019 Yomiuri Giants *2018 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *2017 Yokohama DeNA BayStars *2016 Hiroshima Toyo Carp *2015 Tokyo Yakult Swallows *2014 Hanshin Tigers *2013 Yomiuri Giants *2012 Yomiuri Giants *2011 Chunichi Dragons *2010 Chunichi Dragons *2009 Yomiuri Giants *2008 Yomiuri Giants *2007 Chunichi Dragons

Central League statistics

Most Valuable Pitcher

:''See: Best Nine Award#Other notes''

Best Nine Awards

References

External links

*
Official website

List of players at ''Japanese Baseball''
{{Authority control 1 2 1949 establishments in Japan Sports leagues established in 1949 Annual events in Japan Professional sports leagues in Japan