The is one of the two

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

("ni-gun")"Minor League History,"
JapaneseBaseball.com. Accessed April 20, 2015. of

Japanese professional baseball Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s, but it was not until the was established in 1934 that the modern professional game had continued success. History Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, and its first ...

. The league is owned and managed by the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball (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 use the same uniforms, as their parent team. The Western League contains the minor league affiliates of five Japanese professional teams (minor league homefield shown in parentheses): * Chunichi Dragons (

Nagoya, Aichi is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

) * Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ( Fukuoka, Fukuoka) * Hanshin Tigers ( Nishinomiya, Hyōgo) — called the Hanshin Jaguars until 1957 * Hiroshima Toyo Carp ( Iwakuni, Yamaguchi) — called the Hiroshima Greens, or Hiroshima Carp Greeners, before returning to their parent team's name in 1958 *

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

( Kobe, Hyōgo) — as the minor league affiliate of the Orix BlueWave called Surpass Kobe in 2000, and then the Surpass in 2005; returned to the parent team's name in 2009

History

Kansai Farm League

The league was created in 1952 as the Kansai Farm League, and was initially completely separate from the workings of the Nippon Professional Baseball. It featured the minor league teams of the six professional teams that had their homefields in the western region of Japan, as well one independent team not affiliated with an NPB franchise. The initial complement of teams: *

Hankyu Braves The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

* Hanshin Jaguars *

Nagoya 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) ...

* Nankai Hawks *

Nishitetsu Lions 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, wh ...

Sanyo Crowns Sanyo Crowns was a baseball team that played a single season in 1952 in the Kansai Farm League. Formed in September 1950 by the Sanyo Electric Railway Company and officially called Sanyo Electric Railway Baseball Club and played at Himeji Stad ...

— independent * Shochiku Robins The Sanyo Crowns were dissolved after the 1952 season. The Shochiku Robins merged with the

Taiyo Whales 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 current ...

in 1953, but the

Kintetsu Pearls The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...

' farm team joined the league that year, keeping the number of teams at six. In 1954 the six teams of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League decided to form their own minor league, called the New Japan League. With the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers affiliates dropping out to join the new minor league, only four teams remained in the Kansai Farm League.

Formation of the Western League

Both minor league decided to join forces with NPB in 1955, and the 14 farm teams of the Central League and Pacific League were split up to create the Western League and Eastern League, each with seven teams. 1955 Western League lineup (minor league homefield shown in parentheses): * Chunichi Dragons (

) *

( Kobe, Hyōgo) * Hanshin Jaguars ( Nishinomiya, Hyōgo) * Hiroshima Greens ( Iwakuni, Yamaguchi) *

* Nankai Hawks ( Fukuoka, Fukuoka) *

Shrinkage

The Lions moved their franchise to Saitama in 1979 to join the Eastern League, leaving six teams, and in 2005 the Orix BlueWave and Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged to become the

, leaving five teams in the Western League.

References

External links

Western League standings from 1955–2011
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Western League (Japanese Baseball) 2 3 Sports leagues established in 1952 1952 establishments in Japan Professional sports leagues in Japan