Baseball In Japan

[EE Broadway Local]

Hi! Do you know about baseball in Japan and that the Yomiuri Giants are like the Yankees of Japan with 21 Japan Series titles and 33 Central League Pennants?

 

Baseball there has some similiarities to baseball here:

 

*Two Leagues: Central League and Pacific League

*Pacific League uses Designated Hitter; Central League does not.

*Interleague play (began in 2005)

 

And some differences

 

*144 game regular season

*Games can end as ties after 12 innings of play

*Standings are listed as wins-losses-ties-percentage

 

Top three teams meet in postseason play (Climax Series and Japan Series):

*In Stage 1: the second and third place teams meet in a best of three series, All games are played at the second place team's home stadium,

*In Stage 2: the first place team meets the winner of Stage 1 in a best of six. A bit odd, you may think. In Japan, the league champion is awarded home field advantage and a one win advantage for finishing first!

*The 12 inning rule applies. If a Climax Series series ends in a tie, the team with the higher regular season finish advances. The team with the lower regular season finish is done.

 

The winning teams meet in the best of seven Japan Series.

 

Japanese Baseball has some neat team nicknames:

 

Central League:

*Chunichi Dragons

* Hanshin Tigers

* Hiroshima Toyo Carp

* Yakult Swallows

* Yokohama Bay Stars

* Yomiuri Giants

 

Pacific League:

* Chiba Lotte Marines

* Fukuoka Softbank Hawks

* Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

* Orix Buffaloes

* Seibu Lions

* Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

 

If you're interested in baseball in Japan, this wonderful page in English will introduce you to these teams and give you more info, including standings, statistics, team web sites, stadium maps and directions: http://www.japanball.com/baseball/japan.htm

[MattTrain]

Baseball is strong in Japan alright, the Tokyo Giants are the best team around in that major leagues.