The is an independent

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

league on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

in Japan. (None of the teams in

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 ...

are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

. The Shikoku Island League has two principal sponsors, the

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...

(JR Shikoku) and the Shikoku

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

Bottling Company. Other sponsors include Taiyo Oil Company, Shikoku

Meiji Dairies is a Japanese food company. It was renamed into the , on March 31, 2011. It was a major dairy industry company established in 1917. Apart from dairy products like milk, ice cream, and cheese, their lineup includes sports drinks, pizza, choco ...

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

, sporting goods maker Mizuno Corp.,

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...

Biglobe (combination of the words "big" and "globe") is one of the leading internet service providers in Japan, operated by NEC BIGLOBE, Ltd., a 2006 spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work * Cor ...

, convenience store chain

FamilyMart is a Japanese convenience store franchise chain. It is Japan's second largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven. There are now 24,574 stores worldwide in Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Its ...

, and Nihon

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

. 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 schedule games for Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Friday games are night games. (Until the 2011 season, the Kōchi Fighting Dogs lacked the necessary lighting equipment and had to play all their home games during the day.) The Shikoku Island League uses

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. One technique the league uses to strengthen its ties to the locales where it plays is to have those players who come from Shikoku play for their home teams. Even if they are not regulars, they often appear as designated hitters, pinch hitters, relief pitchers, and substitutes.

History

The league was originally known as the Shikoku Island League. It was founded by former

star

Hiromichi Ishige Hiromichi Ishige (石毛宏典, born September 22, 1956) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player and manager in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played most of his career for the Seibu Lions. The 1986 Pacific League Most Va ...

under the corporate ownership of IBLJ Inc. (an abbreviation of "Independent Baseball League of Japan"). The first game in the league took place on April 29, 2005. On November 10, 2005, the Kochi Fighting Dogs won the first league championship. The league initially held all the rights to the teams, leadership and players, but in 2006 established separate corporations for the teams. On December 1, 2007, the league expanded to include the Fukuoka Red Warblers and the Nagasaki Saints; as the Saints were based in Kyūshū, the league changed its name accordingly, to the . The Red Warblers only lasted through the 2009 season. and a new team was added, the Mie Three Arrows. The Saints withdrew from the league following the 2010 season, while the Three Arrows folded after the 2011 season. The Japan Independent Baseball League Organization was formed during the summer of 2014. In June 2015, an all-star team of players of the Shikoku Island League played against all the teams from the independent

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...

in North America. They finished with a record of 6-10. An all-star team returned for the 2016 Can-Am League season, finishing with a record of 8-12.

Teams

Each team has 22 players, two coaches, and one manager.

Former Teams

League statistics

References

External links

Shikoku Island League plus
Official Site (in Japanese)
Shikoku Island League
Information Bureau (in Japanese) {{Professional Baseball Baseball leagues in Japan Sports leagues established in 2005 2005 establishments in Japan Professional sports leagues in Japan