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After missing the playoffs in 1975, 1974 Chinese League Baseball champ Xi’An bounced back to emphatically take first in the Northern League at 113-49. The Attack led in both runs scored (693) and fewest allowed (428). Shanghai would take the second place spot for back-to-back seasons with a 91-71 finish. The Seawolves finished one game better than Zhengzhou. Last year’s China Series winner Dalian dropped to sixth place at 78-84.

NL MVP went to Hangzhou centerfielder and pitcher Nick Wei. The 24-year old was the leader in slugging (.564), OPS (.921), and wRC+ (197), adding 9.5 WAR and 28 home runs. As a pitcher, Wei added 234.2 innings, a 2.65 ERA, and 4.2 WAR with 193 strikeouts and a 13-14 record. Xi’An’s Guichao Li won his third Pitcher of the Year, leading the league in ERA (1.55), strikeouts (341), K/BB (11.8), FIP- (29), and WAR (13.2), adding a 20-4 record in 255.2 innings.



In the Southern League, Kunming finished first at 107-55 for their first-ever playoff berth. Wuhan at 100-62 took second for a third straight playoff berth. Last year’s finalist Macau dropped to a seventh place 77-85. Their drop wasn’t the steepest though as Guangzhou, who won 90 the prior year and had made four straight playoff berths before that, fell off a cliff to a CLB worst 53-109.

Southern League MVP went to Chongquing 1B Haojun Pang. He led the league in the triple slash (.313/.402/.611), OPS (1.013), wRC+ (221), total bases (312), and RBI (99), adding 8.7 WAR and 39 home runs. Hong Kong’s Zhijan Dong was the Pitcher of the Year, falling two wins shy of a Triple Crown. The 25-year old had an 18-7 record with a 1.39 ERA over 253 innings with 323 strikeouts, a 0.70 WHIP, and 11.3 WAR. Dong capped off the season with CLB’s fifth Perfect Game, striking out 12 against Chongqing on June 25.

Both Northern League teams would defeat their Southern League counterparts in the semifinal. Xi’An handled Wuhan 4-1, while Shanghai upset Kunming with a surprising sweep to earn its first finals berth. In the seventh China Series, the Attack prevailed 4-2 over the Seawolves, giving Xi’An its second CLB title in three years. They also become the first team to win the overall title twice. Finals MVP was 3B Zhuping Ma. The 23-year old in 11 playoff games had 16 hits, 9 runs, 5 home runs, and 16 RBI.





Other notes: Chunqing Li stole 124 bases in 1976, a single-season record that still stands as of 2037. Li Jin became the first CLB hitter to 2000 career strikeouts. 1B Shenchao As and LF Ruilong Yuan each won their seventh Gold Glove, giving them one for each CLB season to date. RF Xinze Yan won his seventh Silver Slugger. Xiamen pitcher Yonglai Li threw three no-hitters in the 1976 season. The first was on April 14 against Hong Kong with the second on August 24 against Shenzhen. Then, in his next start on August 29, he did it again versus Changsha.