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Pacific League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	November 26, 1949; 75 years ago (1949-11-26) as Taiheiyo Baseball Union in Tokyo
No. of teams	6
Country	Japan
Most recent champion(s)	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (20th title)
Most titles	Saitama Seibu Lions (23)
Official website	NPB.jp/pl

The Pacific League (パシフィック・リーグ, Pashifikku Rīgu), or Pa League (パ・リーグ, Pa Rīgu), or the Persol Pacific League (パーソル パシフィック・リーグ), due to sponsorship reasons, 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 (太平洋野球連盟, Taiheiyo Yakyu Renmei) 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—the Hankyu Braves, the Nankai Hawks, the Daiei Stars, and the Tokyu Flyers—and three new teams—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). In their first season, the Unions finished 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 Nippon Professional Baseball season and, the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged to form the Orix Buffaloes. A franchise was granted to internet shopping company Rakuten and the city of Sendai, forming 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 a best-of-six final against the top team (the Pacific League pennant winner is granted a 1 game advantage in the Final Stage). 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

Insignia	Team	Japanese Name	Founded	Location	Stadium	Owner
	Chiba Lotte Marines	千葉ロッテマリーンズ Chiba Rotte Marīnzu	November 26, 1949	Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba	ZOZO Marine Stadium	Lotte
	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	福岡ソフトバンクホークス Fukuoka Sofutobanku Hōkusu	February 22, 1938	Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka	Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka	SoftBank Group
	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	北海道日本ハムファイターズ Hokkaidō Nippon-Hamu Faitāzu	November 6, 1945	Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō	Es Con Field Hokkaido	Nippon Ham
	Orix Buffaloes	オリックス・バファローズ Orikkusu Bafarōzu	January 23, 1936	Nishi-ku, Osaka, Osaka	Kyocera Dome Osaka	ORIX
	Saitama Seibu Lions	埼玉西武ライオンズ Saitama Seibu Raionzu	November 26, 1949	Tokorozawa, Saitama	Belluna Dome	Seibu Group
	Tōhoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス Tōhoku Rakuten Gōruden Īgurusu	November 2, 2004	Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi	Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi	Rakuten

Pacific League pennant winners

*From 2004 to 2006 the winner of the play-offs was considered Pacific League Champion, afterwards the regular season champion again.

Pacific League statistics

Most Valuable Pitcher

See: Best Nine Award#Other notes

Best Nine Awards

See also

• Nippon Professional Baseball

References

1. "Nagata, Masaichi". Hall of Famers List. The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
2. "Nakazawa, Fujio," Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Japan). Accessed March 27, 2015.
3. 一般社団法人日本野球機構. "球団別インデックス | NPB.jp 日本野球機構". Npb.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-23.

External links

• (in Japanese) Official website
• (in Japanese) PACIFIC LEAGUE.JP
• Japanese Baseball Data Archive at The Baseball Guru
• List of players at Japanese Baseball

v t e Baseball in Japan
WBSC Asia
Governing bodies	Baseball Federation of Japan
National teams (Samurai Japan)	Men's U-18 Women Baseball5
Competitions	Professional Nippon Professional Baseball Central League Pacific League Minor Eastern League Western League Miyazaki Phoenix League Collegiate Tokyo Big Six Kansai Big Six Tohto Independent Baseball Challenge League Shikoku Island League Plus Intercity Baseball Tournament High school baseball Spring Kōshien Summer Kōshien
Awards & honors	Most Valuable Player NPB Japan Series NPB Rookie of the Year NPB Comeback Player of the Year Eiji Sawamura Award Matsutaro Shoriki Award Mitsui Golden Glove Best Nine
Hosted events	World Baseball Classic 2006 2009 2013 2017 B and E 2023 Olympic Games 1964 2020 WBSC Premier12 2015 2019 2024 Asian Baseball Championship 1959 1967 1987 2003 2005 2009 Asia Series 2005 2006 2007 2008 Women's Baseball World Cup 2008 2014 1994 Asian Games 1934 MLB Tour 1980 Amateur World Series 2010 World University Championship
Related articles	Gyroball Shuuto Japan–South Korea baseball rivalry Major League Baseball players from Japan Comparison of MLB and NPB
Japanese-style baseball

• Nippon Professional Baseball
• Baseball leagues in Japan
• 1949 establishments in Japan
• Sports leagues established in 1949
• Annual events in Japan
• Professional sports leagues in Japan