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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-21-2023, 08:54 AM

Entering the 1953 season, Sendai was the only franchise in East Asia Baseball left without a playoff appearance. The Samurai changed that with the best record in Japan at 105-57, outracing 101-61 Yokohama in a strong North Division. Last year’s EAB champ Chiba was third at 89-73. In the South, Kitakyushu took first at 94-68, five games ahead of Fukuoka. It is only the third playoff berth for the Kodiaks, who also won the division in 1950 and 1924.

Sendai 3B Kyuji Saida won the league MVP at age 31. He won the batting title with a .335 average and had a 183 wRC+, posting 7.0 WAR in only 120 starts. Yokohama ace Haruo Matsuzaki won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 30-year old lefty had a league-best 1.77 ERA and 300 strikeouts for 8.2 WAR. He was just two wins shy of a Triple Crown.

In the Korea League, the best overall record in a very competitive field went to Pyongyang at 96-66; their first North Division title since 1944. The Pythons beat Incheon and Seoul both by three games and Seongnam by eight. Defending Korean champ Daegu won the South Division for the third straight season. The Diamondbacks at 93-69 ended five games better than Yongin and eight ahead of Gwangju.

Korea’s MVP for the second straight season was Hamhung RF Young-Hwan Sha. Still only 25-years old, Sha led in WAR (7.1), OBP (.415), slugging (.646), OPS (1.061), and wRC+ (178). He added 42 home runs and 100 RBI. Incheon’s Jae-Ha Pak was the Pitcher of the Year, also only at age 25. The lefty had a league-best 10.3 WAR with 24 complete games, a 15.1 K//BB ration, a 2.35 ERA, and 271 strikeouts.

The Japan League Championship Series went seven games for the first time since 1942 with two teams shooting for their first-ever title. Sendai prevailed over Kitakyushu in their first-ever shot at the final. The Korea League Championship Series went to Daegu over Pyongyang 4-1, giving the Diamondbacks back-to-back Korean titles. Daegu earned its first East Asian Championship as well by stopping the Samurai in five games.

Other notes: In his final season, the legendary Byung-Oh Tan became the first player to cross both 2000 runs scored and 2000 runs batted in. He’d finish with all-time records at retirement in runs (2010), RBI (2023), home runs (718), and hits (3871). Changwon’s Sung-Ki Hong had a 31-game hitting streak, becoming the fifth player to have a streak above 30. Ju-Han Choi became the seventh EAB pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts.

04-21-2023, 08:54 AM	#256
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,023	1953 in EAB Entering the 1953 season, Sendai was the only franchise in East Asia Baseball left without a playoff appearance. The Samurai changed that with the best record in Japan at 105-57, outracing 101-61 Yokohama in a strong North Division. Last year’s EAB champ Chiba was third at 89-73. In the South, Kitakyushu took first at 94-68, five games ahead of Fukuoka. It is only the third playoff berth for the Kodiaks, who also won the division in 1950 and 1924. Sendai 3B Kyuji Saida won the league MVP at age 31. He won the batting title with a .335 average and had a 183 wRC+, posting 7.0 WAR in only 120 starts. Yokohama ace Haruo Matsuzaki won his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 30-year old lefty had a league-best 1.77 ERA and 300 strikeouts for 8.2 WAR. He was just two wins shy of a Triple Crown. In the Korea League, the best overall record in a very competitive field went to Pyongyang at 96-66; their first North Division title since 1944. The Pythons beat Incheon and Seoul both by three games and Seongnam by eight. Defending Korean champ Daegu won the South Division for the third straight season. The Diamondbacks at 93-69 ended five games better than Yongin and eight ahead of Gwangju. Korea’s MVP for the second straight season was Hamhung RF Young-Hwan Sha. Still only 25-years old, Sha led in WAR (7.1), OBP (.415), slugging (.646), OPS (1.061), and wRC+ (178). He added 42 home runs and 100 RBI. Incheon’s Jae-Ha Pak was the Pitcher of the Year, also only at age 25. The lefty had a league-best 10.3 WAR with 24 complete games, a 15.1 K//BB ration, a 2.35 ERA, and 271 strikeouts. The Japan League Championship Series went seven games for the first time since 1942 with two teams shooting for their first-ever title. Sendai prevailed over Kitakyushu in their first-ever shot at the final. The Korea League Championship Series went to Daegu over Pyongyang 4-1, giving the Diamondbacks back-to-back Korean titles. Daegu earned its first East Asian Championship as well by stopping the Samurai in five games. Other notes: In his final season, the legendary Byung-Oh Tan became the first player to cross both 2000 runs scored and 2000 runs batted in. He’d finish with all-time records at retirement in runs (2010), RBI (2023), home runs (718), and hits (3871). Changwon’s Sung-Ki Hong had a 31-game hitting streak, becoming the fifth player to have a streak above 30. Ju-Han Choi became the seventh EAB pitcher to 4000 career strikeouts. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)