Pacific League
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 (NPB) in Japan.[1] There are six teams in the league.[2]
History
[change | change source]In 1949, The league was founded as the Taiheiyo Baseball Union. There were seven teams.
In 1980, the name was changed to Pacific League.
After the 2004 season, the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged to form the Orix Buffaloes.[3] At the same time, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were added to the league.[4]
Current teams
[change | change source]| Team | Japanese Name | Place | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiba Lotte Marines[2] | 千葉ロッテマリーンズ Chiba Rotte Marīnzu |
Chiba, Chiba | Lotte |
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks[2] | 福岡ソフトバンクホークス Fukuoka Sofutobanku Hōkusu |
Fukuoka, Fukuoka | SoftBank |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters[2] | 北海道日本ハムファイターズ Hokkaidō Nippon-Hamu Faitāzu |
Sapporo, Hokkaidō | Nippon Ham |
| Orix Buffaloes[2] | オリックス・バファローズ Orikkusu Bafarōzu |
Osaka, Osaka / Kobe, Hyōgo | ORIX |
| Saitama Seibu Lions[2] | 埼玉西武ライオンズ Saitama Seibu Raionzu |
Tokorozawa, Saitama | Seibu Railway |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles[2] | 東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス Tōhoku Rakuten Gōruden Īgurusu |
Sendai, Miyagi | Rakuten |
Championships
[change | change source]
League champion
[change | change source]The team which wins the most games in each year is the league champion or "pennant winner".[5]
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Since 2004, there has been a three-team playoff system called the "climax series". The teams with the 2nd- and 3rd-best records play in the 3-game first stage. The winner plays in a 5-game final series against the top-ranked team.[2]
Japan Series
[change | change source]Each year, the winner of the league championship competes against the Central League champion in the Japan Series (日本シリーズ, Nippon Shiriizu) or Japan Championship Series (日本選手権シリーズ, Nippon Senshuken Shiriizu).[6]
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), "Teams (Rosters, Schedules/Scores, Individual Stats); retrieved 2012-7-17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Tuchman, Robert. (2009). The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live, p. 325.
- ↑ Tamer, Greg. (2004). The Hardball Times Baseball Annual, p. 36.
- ↑ Tamer, p. 37.
- ↑ Bjarkman, Peter C. (2005). Diamonds Around The Globe: The Encyclopedia Of International Baseball, pp. 142.
- ↑ Tuchman, p. 324.
Other websites
[change | change source]
Media related to Pacific League at Wikimedia Commons
- (in Japanese) Pacific League website Archived 2012-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
