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The Central League or Ce League is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country. Unlike the Pacific League, designated hitters are not used during Central League home games.
The Japan Series, also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, and is played in October or November. The first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion each year. The winner of the Japan Series also goes on to be the Japanese representative team in the annual Asia Series. The Japan Series uses a 2-3-2 format.
The Chunichi Dragons 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 and the Japan Series twice. They were also champions in the 2007 Asia Series.
The Saitama Seibu Lions 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 Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group. The team experienced a recent period of financial difficulty, but the situation brightened when the team received a record ¥6 billion posting fee from the Boston Red Sox for the right to negotiate a contract with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Between 1978 and 2008, the team logo and mascot were based on the adult version of Kimba the White Lion, a classic Japanese anime and manga series by Osamu Tezuka. In 2004, former Seibu Lions player Kazuo Matsui became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball.
The Western League (ウエスタン・リーグ) is one of the two minor leagues ("ni-gun") of Japanese professional baseball. 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.
The Nishi Nippon Pirates or Nishinippon Pirates were a former Nippon Professional Baseball team and a founding member of the Central League in 1950. The team was owned by the Nishinippon Shimbun and played their home games in Heiwadai Stadium in Fukuoka. After only one season in which they fell victim to the first perfect game in professional Japanese baseball history, had financial and managerial problems, and finished in sixth place, the Pirates merged with the other Fukuoka-based Nishitetsu Clippers to form the Nishitetsu Lions in the Pacific League.
Heiwadai Baseball Stadium was a ballpark located in the Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. From 1950 to 1978, it served as the home ballpark of the Nishitetsu Lions, a team in Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League. It also briefly served as the home stadium for NPB teams the Nishi Nippon Pirates in 1950 and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks from 1989 to 1992. The stadium hosted 1,904 official NPB games in its almost 58-year history.
The 1950 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1950 season. It was the first Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Mainichi Orions, against the Central League champions, the Shochiku Robins.
The 1956 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1956 season. It was the seventh Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 1957 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1957 season. It was the eighth Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 1958 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1958 season. It was the ninth Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 1963 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1963 season. It was the 14th Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 62nd season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950. The season was delayed by the Tohoku earthquake. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, based in northern Japan, and coached by Senichi Hoshino, were particularly affected by the quake, as the Miyagi Baseball Stadium was badly damaged.
The 2011 Japan Series was the 62nd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff matched the Chunichi Dragons and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the respective champions of the Central League's and the Pacific League's Climax Series (postseason). The Series began on Saturday, November 12, 2011 and was a rematch of the 1999 Japan Series, which the Hawks won, four games to one.
The 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 63rd season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
The 1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the fifth season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
The 1988 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1988 season. It was the 39th Japan Series and featured the Central League champion Chunichi Dragons against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. Chunichi won the Central League pennant by a comfortable 12 games to advance to the championship. However, the representative from the Pacific League was undecided up until 3 days before Game 1 of the Japan Series. Seibu fought neck-and-neck for first place with the Kintetsu Buffaloes over most of the season and finished their regular-season schedule with a 0.5-game advantage over Kintetsu, with Kintetsu having 4 games left to play. On the last day of the season, Kintetsu had to win both games of an away double-header against the last-place Lotte Orions to claim the PL pennant. Kintetsu won the first game by one run, but Lotte forced a comeback tie in the second game, capping a dramatic finish to the season and giving Seibu the PL spot in the Japan Series for the fourth year in a row.
Tsutomu Tanaka was a Japanese professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played in Japan for the Nishitetsu Lions and the Chunichi Dragons. Tanaka was a top pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball shortly before scandals derailed his career. A 23-game winner in 1966, he also is one of the few NPB pitchers to ever throw a perfect game.
The 1982 Japan Series was the 33rd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Chunichi Dragons against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. The Lions defeated the Dragons in six games to win their fourth championship in team history, and first championship since 1958. This was also the Lions' first title since moving from Fukuoka to Saitama in 1979.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1954年度日本シリーズ 試合結果 [1954 Japan Series Results] (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.