Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球), meaning Professional Baseball. Outside of Japan, it is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
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 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.
Professional baseball in Taiwan started with the founding of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in 1989. At its 1997 peak, Taiwan had two leagues and 11 professional teams. The competing Taiwan Major League ran from 1997 until its absorption by the CPBL in 2003.
SSG Landers are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. Based in Incheon, they play their home games at Incheon SSG Landers Field.
The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four of the professional leagues that are associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) — Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization League, and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) — along with the CEB European Champion Cup holder and the host city, to bring the number of teams up to six.
The Chinese Professional Baseball League is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2003. As of the 2024 season, the CPBL consists of six organizations, all of which have teams in the main league and farm league.
The first Konami Cup Asia Series was held in November 2005 with four teams participating. The champions from the domestic leagues in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan along with a team of all stars from China's domestic league took part in the competition. All games were held in the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The tournament was sponsored by the Nippon Professional Baseball Association and Konami. The Chiba Lotte Marines defeated the Samsung Lions in the title game to win the championship for Japan. Outfielder Benny Agbayani was named the MVP of the series.
The second annual Konami Cup Asia Series was held in November 2006 with four teams participating. The champions from the domestic leagues in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan along with an all-star team from China took part in the competition. All games were held in the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The tournament was sponsored by the Nippon Professional Baseball Association and Konami. The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the La New Bears in the title game to win the championship for Japan. Starting pitcher Yu Darvish was named the MVP of the series.
The 2006 IBAF Intercontinental Cup was held in Taichung, Taiwan from November 9 through the 19th. Eight countries contested the tournament, which was played at Taichung Baseball Field and the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. The participating countries were Cuba, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines in addition to the hosts from Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation.
The China Stars was a baseball team established in 2005. It was made up of the best players in the China Baseball League. The team was established in purpose of playing with the winners from the professional baseball league in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in the annual Konami Cup Asia Series. The China Stars lost all the 9 games in their three participations.
The Chinese Taipei baseball team is the national men's baseball team of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked fourth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The team is usually made up of professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from the United States.
The 2007 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 58th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950 and the first to feature the Climax Series.
The 2008 Asia Series was contested on November 13–16 by the champions of Nippon Professional Baseball's Japan Series, the Korea Baseball Organization's Korean Series, Chinese Professional Baseball League's Taiwan Series, and the championship of the China Baseball League of the People's Republic of China. In 2008, it was the first time that the champion of the China Baseball League participates in instead of the all-star team China Stars. The winning team will receive ¥50 million yen, the second place team will receive ¥30 million yen, and the other teams will receive ¥10 million yen each. All games were held in Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan. The Saitama Seibu Lions defeated the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in the title game to win the championship for Japan. Outfielder Tomoaki Satoh was named the MVP of the series.
Kwang-hyun Kim is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher for the SSG Landers of the KBO League. He has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sun Dong-yol is a South Korean retired baseball pitcher and former manager. He was a pitcher in the KBO League and Nippon Professional Baseball, and the former manager of the Samsung Lions and the Kia Tigers in the KBO.
Ken Kadokura is a retired Japanese professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball and the KBO League. He threw a four-seam fastball, a slider, and a fork ball.
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 Asia Winter Baseball League is a professional baseball league hosted in Taiwan with 2012 as its inaugural season. Making use of the warm and dry winter climate in West Taiwan, the short term league aims to offer young baseball players additional training experience and continued exposure in off-season games. It is the de facto successor to the now defunct Asia Series.
