The Pacific League (ãƒ'シフィック・リーグ, Pashifikku RÄ«gu) or Pa League (ãƒ'リーグ, Pa RÄ«gu) 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 in 1949 (the name changing to its current form in 1980). Daiei Stars owner Masaichi Nagata was the first president of the Pacific League.
The league began with seven teams: four holdovers from the previous iteration, the Japanese Baseball League â€" the Hankyu Braves, the Nankai Hawks, the Daiei Stars, and the Tokyu Flyers â€" and three new teams â€" 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). The Unions existed for a single season, finishing 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.
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 season, the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged to form the Orix Buffaloes. A franchise was granted to 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 the five-game final against the top team. 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
Pacific League pennant winners
- 2014 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- 2013 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
- 2012 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 2011 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- 2010 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- 2009 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions
- 2007 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 2006 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (after play-offs)
- 2005 Chiba Lotte Marines (after play-offs)
- 2004 Seibu Lions (after play-offs)
- 2003 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
- 2002 Seibu Lions
- 2001 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
- 2000 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
- 1999 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
- 1998 Seibu Lions
- 1997 Seibu Lions
- 1996 Orix BlueWave
- 1995 Orix BlueWave
- 1994 Seibu Lions
- 1993 Seibu Lions
- 1992 Seibu Lions
- 1991 Seibu Lions
- 1990 Seibu Lions
- 1989 Kintetsu Buffaloes
- 1988 Seibu Lions
- 1987 Seibu Lions
- 1986 Seibu Lions
- 1985 Seibu Lions
- 1984 Hankyu Braves
- 1983 Seibu Lions
- 1982 Seibu Lions
- 1981 Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 1980 Kintetsu Buffaloes
- 1979 Kintetsu Buffaloes
- 1978 Hankyu Braves
- 1977 Hankyu Braves
- 1976 Hankyu Braves
- 1975 Hankyu Braves
- 1974 Lotte Orions
- 1973 Nankai Hawks
- 1972 Hankyu Braves
- 1971 Hankyu Braves
- 1970 Lotte Orions
- 1969 Hankyu Braves
- 1968 Hankyu Braves
- 1967 Hankyu Braves
- 1966 Nankai Hawks
- 1965 Nankai Hawks
- 1964 Nankai Hawks
- 1963 Nishitetsu Lions
- 1962 Toei Flyers
- 1961 Nankai Hawks
- 1960 Daimai Orions
- 1959 Nankai Hawks
- 1958 Nishitetsu Lions
- 1957 Nishitetsu Lions
- 1956 Nishitetsu Lions
- 1955 Nankai Hawks
- 1954 Nishitetsu Lions
- 1953 Nankai Hawks
- 1952 Nankai Hawks
- 1951 Nankai Hawks
- 1950 Mainichi Orions
Climax Series Winners
- 2014 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- 2013 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
- 2012 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 2011 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- 2010 Chiba Lotte Marines
- 2009 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions
- 2007 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
Pacific League statistics
Most Valuable Pitcher
- See: Best Nine Award#Other notes
Best Nine Awards
See also
- Nippon Professional Baseball
References
External links
- (Japanese) Official website
- (Japanese) PACIFIC LEAGUE.JP
- Japanese Baseball Data Archive at The Baseball Guru
- List of players at Japanese Baseball
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