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Kawasaki and Hiroshima both earned back-to-back division titles in the Japan League. The defending league champ Killer Whales won the North Division at 98-64, finishing eight games better than Sendai. Kawasaki led the league in both runs scored at 769 and fewest allowed at 593. The Hammerheads claimed the South Division at 93-69, six games ahead of Fukuoka.

Two-way star Totaro Uchiyama won both MVP and Pitcher of the Year for Hiroshima. It was the second Pitcher of the Year and first MVP for the 27-year old righty. On the mound, he led in innings pitched (271), quality starts (26) and complete games (15) with a 2.23 ERA, 18-13 record, 258 strikeouts, and 6.4 WAR. Offensively mostly at third base, he had 7.0 WAR in 127 games with 30 home runs, 140 hits, 83 runs, and a .302 average.



The Korea League also had the same two teams at the top yet again. For the Pyongyang dynasty, they secured a record eighth straight North Division title at 105-57, leading in both runs scored (780) and runs allowed (573). The previous high mark for consecutive playoff berths was seven by Gwangju from 1924-30. Oddly enough for the three-time defending EAB champs, 105 wins is the lowest total they’ve had during the run. Seoul was second in the division with a respectable 95-67 season. In the South Division, Yongin won for the third straight season. The Gold Sox at 87-75 fended off Busan by two games and Ulsan by five.

Pyongyang shortstop Kyung-Hwan Choi won MVP in an incredible comeback season after missing all of 1967 with a ruptured MCL. The 31-year old had a league-best .355 average for his third career batting title. He also led in hits with 222, adding 8.7 WAR and a 12.2 Zone Rating defensively. Pitcher of the Year was Yongin’s Tae-Hong Kim. The 25-year old led in FIP- at 67, adding 7.8 WAR, a 2.52 ERA in 253.2 innings and 265 strikeouts. Also of note, Pythons closer Geun-U Phan won his third straight Reliever of the Year, this time posting 36 saves with a 1.57 ERA.

In the Japan League Championship Series rematch, Hiroshima got revenge by this time defeating Kawasaki in five games. It is the third league title for the Hammerheads, who also won in 1939 and 1959. In the Korea League Championship Series, Pyongyang’s dynasty continued by beating Yongin in five. It is a four-peat for the Pythons with six Korean titles in eight years and a record ten overall.



In the 48^th East Asian Championship, Hiroshima came as close as anyone to unseating the Pyongyang dynasty. The Pythons survived the seven game classic to become the first (and as of 2037, the only) team to four-peat as overall EAB champ. Catcher Hui-Jun Youn was the playoff leader as the KLCS MVP. In 12 games, he had 15 hits, 7 runs, and 5 RBI. At this point in history, this is one of only two four-peats in any of the major leagues, joining the 1941-44 Philadelphia Phillies of MLB. Pyongyang also now has a record eight EAB titles, more overall rings than any other pro franchise (the Phillies and Houston have seven in MLB).



Other notes: On July 28, Ulsan’s Dong-Ju Hahn became the second EAB hitter to reach 3000 career hits. Two weeks later, Hamhung’s Young-Hwan Sha became the third. Man-Hee Cho and Chu Park became the eighth and ninth EAB hitters to 1500 career RBI. Kawasaki’s Kakauzo Yokoyama hit 61 home runs, joining Lei Meng as the only EAB hitters with three seasons of 60+ homers. He was still shy of Chu Park’s single-season record of 67. Yeo Jeun became the eighth pitcher to 4000 strikeouts. SS Han-Hyeol Bu became an 11 Gold Glove winner and catcher Wan-Seon Kwan won his ninth. Min-Hyeok Shin won his ninth Silver Slugger at 2B, a record for the position.