The Central League or Ce League, also known as the JERA Central League for sponsorship reasons, 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 Japan Series uses a 2–3–3-3 format, with the latter four games in theory if additional games are needed following tiebreakers.
Sachio Kinugasa was a Japanese professional baseball third baseman for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 1965 to 1987. He was nicknamed Tetsujin, meaning "Iron Man". He played in a record-breaking 2,215 consecutive games, having surpassed Lou Gehrig's record by 1987.
Yutaka Ohno, is a former Japanese baseball player of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League.
Tohto University Baseball League is an intercollegiate baseball league that features 21 prominent universities in the Tokyo area.
The 1991 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1991 season. It was the 42nd Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions against the Central League champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Seibu won their second consecutive PL pennant to reach the series, and Hiroshima finished first in the CL for the sixth time in franchise history. Played at Seibu Lions Stadium and Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, the Lions defeated the Carp four games to three in the best-of-seven series to win the franchise's 10th Japan Series title. Seibu slugger and regular season stolen-base champion Koji Akiyama was named Most Valuable Player of the series. The series was played between October 19 and October 28 with home field advantage going to the Pacific League.
The Hiroshima Toyo Carp is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by Hajime Matsuda, who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder (34.2%), which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family. Because of that, Mazda is not considered the owner firm. However, the company connection is highlighted in the club name; until 1984, Mazda's official name was Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.. The Carp are the only one of the 28 Asian professional baseball teams to be majority privately owned. As the Carp was founded only four years after the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and had risen to the Central League champion along with the reconstruction of Hiroshima, the team is often referred to as "the symbol of the post-war reconstruction of Hiroshima".
The 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 64th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
The 2013 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) consisted of two consecutive series, Stage 1 being a best-of-three series and Stage 2 being a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2013 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2013 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began on with the first game of Stage 1 on October 12 and ended with the final game of Stage 2 on October 18.
Hideji Katō is a Japanese former professional baseball first baseman in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Hankyu Braves from 1969 to 1982, Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1983, Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1984 to 1985, Yomiuri Giants in 1986 and the Nankai Hawks in 1987. He was the Pacific League MVP in 1975.
Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league, and the highest level of baseball in Japan. The NPB is organized into two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League. After the regular season, the top three teams of each league play off in the Climax Series, which determines which team from each league will play off in the Japan Series to determine the national championship team. The 2016 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 67th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950. The Japan Series championship competition was played between the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, with the Nippon-Ham fighters winning the overall championship.
The 2016 Japan Series was the 67th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, champions of the Central League, played the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, champions of the Pacific League, in a best-of-seven series beginning on October 22. The Japan Series was sponsored by the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and was officially known as the SMBC Nippon Series 2016.
The 1986 Japan Series was the 37th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. The series is notable for being the only time to date in Japan Series history that an eighth game was played. After the first game ended in a tie, the Carp won the next three games. However, the Lions would respond by winning the next four in a row, reverse sweeping the Carp to capture their sixth Japan Series championship and their third title in five years.
The 1980 Japan Series was the 31st edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. This series was a rematch of the previous year's series, which matched the Central League champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp against the Pacific League champion Kintetsu Buffaloes. The Carp defeated the Buffaloes in seven games to capture their second consecutive Japan Series championship.
The 1975 Japan Series was the 26th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp against the Pacific League champion Hankyu Braves. The Braves defeated the Carp in six games, four games to zero, with Games 1 and 4 finishing tied. This was the Braves' first championship in team history.
The 2016 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a post-season playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined who would represent the Central League in the Japan Series. The First Stage was a best-of-three series and the Final Stage was a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2016 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2016 Pacific League Climax Series winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began with the first game of the First Stage on October 8 and ended with the final game of the Final Stage on October 16.
The 2018 Japan Series was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2018 season. The 69th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the Pacific League's (PL) Climax Series champion and defending Japan Series champions, and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, the Central League's (CL) Climax Series champion. The Hawks defeated the Carp, 4–1–1, in six games, to win their second consecutive Japan Series championship and their fifth in eight years.
The 1984 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 35th season of operation for the league.
The 2018 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a post-season playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined who would represent the Central League in the Japan Series. The First Stage was a best-of-three series and the Final Stage was a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2018 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2018 Pacific League Climax Series winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began with the first game of the First Stage on October 13.
The 2023 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) is a set of two consecutive playoff series in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The first stage began on October 14 and the final stage will conclude by October 23. The first stage was a best-of-three series between the second-place Hiroshima Toyo Carp and the third-place Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The final stage will be a best-of-six with the Hanshin Tigers, the Central League champion, being awarded a one-win advantage against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, the winner of the first stage. The Tigers advanced to the 2023 Japan Series to compete against the Orix Buffaloes, the 2023 Pacific League Climax Series winner.
