Central League
Encyclopedia
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League
Pacific League
The or 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...
in the annual Japan Series
Japan Series
, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,
The Central League was founded in 1949
1949 in sports
-American football:* Cleveland Browns 21–7 San Francisco 49ers for the All-America Football Conference championship. After the 1949 season, the Browns, 49ers and original Baltimore Colts all joined the NFL for the 1950 season....
with eight teams. Unlike the Pacific League, designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
s are not used during Central League home games.
In 2007 a new Climax Series was introduced. This is a playoff series inspired by the stepladder playoff used in Pacific League
Pacific League
The or 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...
for the top three teams of the league to determine who progresses to the Japan Series. Under the previous system, there was no post-season playoff and the winner of the pennant automatically qualified for the Japan Series.
Current teams
| Team | Japanese Name | Place | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
中日ドラゴンズ Chūnichi Doragonzu |
Nagoya | Chunichi Shimbun Chunichi Shimbun The is a Japanese daily "broadsheet" newspaper published in mostly Aichi Prefecture and neighboring regions by . It is the owner of the Chunichi Dragons baseball team, and is also known as the main organizer of a famous international gymnastics event, the Chunichi Cup... |
| Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
阪神タイガース Hanshin Taigāsu |
Nishinomiya Nishinomiya, Hyogo is a city located in Hyōgo, Japan, between the cities of Ōsaka and Kōbe. On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary. It is best known as the home of Kōshien Stadium, where the Hanshin Tigers baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball... |
Hanshin Electric Railway Hanshin Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.The second character for Osaka and the first character for Kobe combine to form the company name, 阪神, which can be read Han-shin.IC cards are accepted when... |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp Hiroshima Toyo Carp The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,... |
広島東洋カープ Hiroshima Tōyō Kāpu |
Hiroshima Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M... |
Matsuda family (founding family of Mazda Mazda is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales... ) |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei... |
ヤクルトスワローズ Tōkyō Yakuruto Suwarōzu |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Yakult Yakult is a Japanese probiotic milk-like product made by fermenting a mixture of skimmed milk with a special strain of the bacterium Lactobacillus casei Shirota. It was created by Minoru Shirota who graduated from the Medical School of Kyoto University in 1930. In 1935, he started manufacturing and... |
| Yokohama BayStars Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium.... |
横浜ベイスターズ Yokohama Beisutāzu |
Yokohama Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu... |
TBS Tokyo Broadcasting System , TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named .... |
| Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
読売ジャイアンツ Yomiuri Jaiantsu |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Yomiuri Shimbun Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun... |
Central League pennant winners
- 2011 Chunichi Dragons
- 2010 Chunichi Dragons
- 2009 Yomiuri Giants
- 2008 Yomiuri Giants
- 2007 Yomiuri Giants
- 2006 Chunichi Dragons
- 2005 Hanshin Tigers
- 2004 Chunichi Dragons
- 2003 Hanshin Tigers
- 2002 Yomiuri Giants
- 2001 Yakult Swallows
- 2000 Yomiuri Giants
- 1999 Chunichi Dragons
- 1998 Yokohama BayStars
- 1997 Yakult Swallows
- 1996 Yomiuri Giants
- 1995 Yakult Swallows
- 1994 Yomiuri Giants
- 1993 Yakult Swallows
- 1992 Yakult Swallows
- 1991 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- 1990 Yomiuri Giants
- 1989 Yomiuri Giants
- 1988 Chunichi Dragons
- 1987 Yomiuri Giants
- 1986 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- 1985 Hanshin Tigers
- 1984 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- 1983 Yomiuri Giants
- 1982 Chunichi Dragons
- 1981 Yomiuri Giants
- 1980 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- 1979 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- 1978 Yakult Swallows
- 1977 Yomiuri Giants
- 1976 Yomiuri Giants
- 1975 Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- 1974 Chunichi Dragons
- 1973 Yomiuri Giants
- 1972 Yomiuri Giants
- 1971 Yomiuri Giants
- 1970 Yomiuri Giants
- 1969 Yomiuri Giants
- 1968 Yomiuri Giants
- 1967 Yomiuri Giants
- 1966 Yomiuri Giants
- 1965 Yomiuri Giants
- 1964 Hanshin Tigers
- 1963 Yomiuri Giants
- 1962 Hanshin Tigers
- 1961 Yomiuri Giants
- 1960 Taiyo WhalesYokohama BayStarsThe are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
- 1959 Yomiuri Giants
- 1958 Yomiuri Giants
- 1957 Yomiuri Giants
- 1956 Yomiuri Giants
- 1955 Yomiuri Giants
- 1954 Chunichi Dragons
- 1953 Yomiuri Giants
- 1952 Yomiuri Giants
- 1951 Yomiuri Giants
- 1950 Shochiku Robins
Central League Climax Series winners
- 2011 Chunichi Dragons
- 2010 Chunichi Dragons
- 2009 Yomiuri Giants
- 2008 Yomiuri Giants
- 2007 Chunichi Dragons
Central League statistics
| Team | Pennants Pennant (sports) A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a... |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
30 | 11 |
| Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
9 | 21 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp Hiroshima Toyo Carp The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,... |
6 | 6 |
| Yakult Swallows | 6 | 4 |
| Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
5 | 14 |
| Yokohama BayStars Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium.... |
2 | 4 |
| Shochiku Robins | 1 | 0 |