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tehsuigi · 06-03-2020, 11:21 AM

TOKYO - October 17, 2021

The owners' groups of the Central and Pacific Leagues have completed their selections for the expansion bids approved by *** earlier this month.

The Central League, picking first, opted for the strongest bid - the Niigata franchise, owned by Komatsu Ltd, will begin play in 2022, and participate in an expansion draft during the offseason. Komatsu CEO Hiroyuki Ogawa was ebullient in his remarks, grateful for the opportunity to join Japan's finest teams and hoping to bring high quality baseball to the Sea of Japan coast.

The Pacific League selected the Naha franchise, owned by Kirin Corporation, next. However, the PL would announce that this franchise would begin play in 2024, the second round of expansion. No explanation was given at the time. Kirin CEO Yoshinori Isozaki declined to comment.

The Central League will be heading to the island of Shikoku in 2024, with the Honda-owned Matsuyama franchise selected third. Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo is confident the civil suit underway instigated by the Shikoku Island League Plus can be amicably resolved in time.

Finally, the Pacific League selected the Shizuoka franchise to start in 2022 alongside Niigata-Komatsu. Present at the announcement were representatives of the team's consortium of owners - Sumitomo Corp, Fuji Dream Airlines, JR Central, and Ito En Ltd (whose president, Yosuke Honjo, will represent the team in the PL owners' group). Although the team is at least funded, a consortium does tend to lead to smaller budgets (such as that of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp), a constraint whichever GM takes the job will be stuck with.

The *** expansion draft will see all players with less than 2 years' professional service time unavailable, with up to 22 players to be selected. Each team can only lose 8 players to the draft, with the draft running 40 rounds deep (to assist in building out the farm team).

Niigata's farm team will be located along the same Shinkansen line in Takasaki, added to the Eastern League. Shizuoka's farm team joins the Western League out of Hamamatsu, just east of Nagoya.

06-03-2020, 11:21 AM	#2
tehsuigi All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2019 Posts: 755	TOKYO - October 17, 2021 The owners' groups of the Central and Pacific Leagues have completed their selections for the expansion bids approved by * earlier this month. The Central League, picking first, opted for the strongest bid - the Niigata franchise, owned by Komatsu Ltd, will begin play in 2022, and participate in an expansion draft during the offseason. Komatsu CEO Hiroyuki Ogawa was ebullient in his remarks, grateful for the opportunity to join Japan's finest teams and hoping to bring high quality baseball to the Sea of Japan coast. The Pacific League selected the Naha franchise, owned by Kirin Corporation, next. However, the PL would announce that this franchise would begin play in 2024, the second round of expansion. No explanation was given at the time. Kirin CEO Yoshinori Isozaki declined to comment. The Central League will be heading to the island of Shikoku in 2024, with the Honda-owned Matsuyama franchise selected third. Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo is confident the civil suit underway instigated by the Shikoku Island League Plus can be amicably resolved in time. Finally, the Pacific League selected the Shizuoka franchise to start in 2022 alongside Niigata-Komatsu. Present at the announcement were representatives of the team's consortium of owners - Sumitomo Corp, Fuji Dream Airlines, JR Central, and Ito En Ltd (whose president, Yosuke Honjo, will represent the team in the PL owners' group). Although the team is at least funded, a consortium does tend to lead to smaller budgets (such as that of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp), a constraint whichever GM takes the job will be stuck with. The * expansion draft will see all players with less than 2 years' professional service time unavailable, with up to 22 players to be selected. Each team can only lose 8 players to the draft, with the draft running 40 rounds deep (to assist in building out the farm team). Niigata's farm team will be located along the same Shinkansen line in Takasaki, added to the Eastern League. Shizuoka's farm team joins the Western League out of Hamamatsu, just east of Nagoya. Last edited by tehsuigi; 06-03-2020 at 11:08 PM.