Pacific League
![]() | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (February 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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File:Pacific League Logo.png | |
Sport | Baseball |
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Founded | 1949 |
No. of teams | 6 |
Country | Japan |
Most recent champion(s) | Orix Buffaloes (14th pennant) |
Most titles | Saitama Seibu Lions (23) |
The Pacific League (パシフィック・リーグ, Pashifikku Rīgu) or Pa League (パ・リーグ, Pa Rīgu) 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 consists of six teams from around Japan.
History
The circuit was founded as the Taiheiyo Baseball Union (太平洋野球連盟, Taiheiyo Yakyu Renmei) in 1949 (the name changing to its current form in 1980). Daiei Stars owner Masaichi Nagata was the first president of the Pacific League.[1]
The league began with seven teams: four holdovers from the previous iteration, the Japanese Baseball League — the Hankyu Braves, the Nankai Hawks, the Daiei Stars, and the Tokyu Flyers — and three new teams — the Kintetsu Pearls, the Mainichi Orions, and the Nishitetsu Clippers.
In 1954, an eighth Pacific League team was founded, the Takahashi Unions, to increase the number of teams to eight. Although the team was stocked with players from the other Pacific League teams, the Unions struggled from the outset and finished in the second division every season. In 1957, the Unions were merged with the Daiei Stars to form the Daiei Unions (and again bringing the number of Pacific League teams down to seven). In their first season, the Unions finished in last place, 43-1/2 games out of first. In 1958, the Unions merged with the Mainichi Orions to form the Daimai Orions. This enabled the Pacific League to shrink from the ungainly seven-team arrangement to six teams.
Fujio Nakazawa, a former player and television commentator, became the PL's first full-time president in 1959, serving through 1965.[2]
From 1973 to 1982, the Pacific League employed a split season, with the first-half winner playing against the second-half winner in a mini-playoff to determine its champion.
Beginning in 1975, the Pacific League began using the designated hitter (DH), as in the American League in Major League Baseball. During interleague play (adopted in 2005), the DH is used in Pacific League teams' home games.
After the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season and, the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged to form the Orix Buffaloes. A franchise was granted to internet shopping company Rakuten and the city of Sendai, forming the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to fill the void caused by the merger.
Also since 2004, a three-team playoff system was introduced in the Pacific League (Pacific League Championship Series). The teams with the second- and third-best records play in the three-game first stage, with the winner advancing to a best-of-six final against the top team (the Pacific League pennant winner is granted a 1 game advantage in the Final Stage). The winner becomes the representative of the Pacific League to the Japan Series.
Since the Pacific League won every Japan Series after introducing this system, an identical system was introduced to the Central League in 2007, and the post-season intra-league games were renamed the "Climax Series" in both leagues. Player statistics and drafting order based on team records are not affected by these postseason games.
Current teams
Team | Japanese Name | Founded | Founded (Current Name) | Place | Stadium | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiba Lotte Marines | 千葉ロッテマリーンズ Chiba Rotte Marīnzu |
November 26, 1949[3] | November 18, 1991[4] | Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba | ZOZO Marine Stadium | Lotte |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 福岡ソフトバンクホークス Fukuoka Sofutobanku Hōkusu |
February 22, 1938 | January 28, 2005[5] | Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka | Fukuoka PayPay Dome | SoftBank |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 北海道日本ハムファイターズ Hokkaidō Nippon-Hamu Faitāzu |
November 6, 1945 | October 28, 2003[6] | Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō | ES CON Field Hokkaido | Nippon Ham |
Orix Buffaloes | オリックス・バファローズ Orikkusu Bafarōzu |
January 23, 1936 | December 1, 2004[7] | Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka | Kyocera Dome Osaka Hotto Motto Field |
ORIX |
Saitama Seibu Lions | 埼玉西武ライオンズ Saitama Seibu Raionzu |
November 26, 1949 | October 12, 1978[8] | Tokorozawa, Saitama | Belluna Dome | Prince Hotels |
Tōhoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス Tōhoku Rakuten Gōruden Īgurusu |
November 2, 2004 | November 2, 2004 | Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi | Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi | Rakuten |
Pacific League pennant winners
*From 2004 to 2006 the winner of the play-offs was considered Pacific League Champion, afterwards the regular season champion again.
Pacific League statistics
Team | First | Second | Third |
---|---|---|---|
Saitama Seibu Lions | 23 | 12 | 15 |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 19 | 17 | 7 |
Orix Buffaloes | 14 | 15 | 8 |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 7 | 8 | 15 |
Chiba Lotte Marines | 5 | 9 | 14 |
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 4 | 9 | 8 |
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Daiei Unions | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Takahashi Unions | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Most Valuable Pitcher
Best Nine Awards
See also
References
- ^ "Nagata, Masaichi". Hall of Famers List. The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ "Nakazawa, Fujio," Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Japan). Accessed March 27, 2015.
- ^ 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "球団別インデックス | NPB.jp 日本野球機構". Npb.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
- ^ Mainichi Shimbun November 19, 1991, page 16 "Farewell Orions, Reborn Marines Lotte New Nickname Decision 210,000 After the Sea" Mainichi Shimbun Reduced Edition November 1991 p786
- ^ "SOFTBANK Announces New Management Structures of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Corp and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Marketing Corp".
- ^ Yomiuri Shimbun, August 6, 2003, page 17, "Nippon Ham New Company Establishment Meeting in Sapporo" Yomiuri Shimbun, August 2003, p275
- ^ "Orix Buffaloes up and running". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. December 2, 2004. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ Yomiuri Shimbun October 1978, 10 evening edition 1st page "Lions (Crown Lighter) sold to Seibu Company for 1 billion yen" Yomiuri Shimbun reduced edition September 1978 p407
External links
- (in Japanese) Official website
- (in Japanese) PACIFIC LEAGUE.JP
- Japanese Baseball Data Archive at The Baseball Guru
- List of players at Japanese Baseball
- Webarchive template wayback links
- Articles needing translation from Japanese Wikipedia
- Articles with short description
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)
- Nippon Professional Baseball
- Baseball leagues in Japan
- 1949 establishments in Japan
- Sports leagues established in 1949
- Annual events in Japan
- Professional sports leagues in Japan