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Defending East Asia Baseball champion Kawasaki and Saitama went back and forth in the Japan League North Division, finishing tied for the title at 99-63. In the one-game playoff to break the tie, the Killer Whales won to extend their playoff streak to five years. Kobe grabbed the North Division for the first time since 1936 and fourth time in franchise history. The Blaze went 92-70, five games ahead of both Hiroshima and Kyoto. Last year’s division champ Nagoya dropped to 79-wins.

Japan League MVP was Byung-Joo Kim of Kawasaki. The first baseman in his first full season at age 23 led in home runs (43), OBP (.369), slugging (.619), OPS (.988), and wRC+ (218). The Killer Whales also had the Pitcher of the Year in Toshihiro Tsukahara. The 34-year old veteran had a career year with a league-best 1.48 ERA and 6.7 WAR over 218.1 innings.



Goyang again controlled the Korea League North Division with a 101-61 record for their fifth division title in seven years. It was their franchise-best record as well. After missing the playoffs last year, Busan got back on track looking to reestablish their dynasty. The Blue Jays went 110-52 to lead EAB. Changwon was second with 99 wins, while defending Korea League champ Daegu was third at 92 wins.

Green Sox LF Byung-Oh Tan won his third MVP and eighth Silver Slugger. The 29-year old had his best season left with a league-best 10.7 WAR, 121 RBI, 212 hits, 117 runs, .367/.404/.687 slash, 1.091 OPS, and 199 wRC+. It was the sixth time he led in runs and fifth time leading in hits. Busan’s Yu-Geon Moon won his sixth Pitcher of the Year. The 34-year old veteran had a 2.09 ERA, leading the Korea League for the seventh time in his career. He also had 306 strikeouts and 8.5 WAR. He’s the first six-time PotY winner in EAB history.

Both League Championship Series went seven games. Kobe defeated Kawasaki to give the Blaze their second-ever league title. Busan bested Goyang to five the Blue Jays their fourth league title in five years and sixth of the last decade. Goyang falls in the KLCS for the fifth time in seven years. In the East Asian Championship, Busan beat Kobe in six games to give the Blue Jays their third overall title. They join Nagoya as the only franchises with three EAB titles to date.





Other notes: Hamhung’s Joon-Kyu Cho and Daejeon’s Hyeong-Jun Sim became the second and third pitchers to 4000 career strikeouts. Cho, Busan’s Yu-Geon Moon, and Kyoto’s Seugn-Mo Kim all made it to 200 wins, making it five pitchers to have crossed that benchmark. Hiroshima’s Huaiyu Lu is the third EAB batter to 500 home runs.