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FuzzyRussianHat · 09-17-2023, 05:47 AM

The Japan League saw Tokyo and Kyoto on top again in 1976 with the Kamikaze winning the South Division for the fourth straight year and the Tides taking the North Division for the third time in four years. Defending league champ Tokyo had the best overall record at 105-57, outracing a 99-63 Yokohama. Kyoto was 100-62, finishing seven games better than Kobe.

Winning Japan League MVP was Tokyo’s Rui Guo. The 28-year old Chinese LF led the league in OBP (.418), slugging (.732), OPS (1.150), and wRC+ (225), adding 8.9 WAR, a .328 average, 54 home runs, and 112 RBI. Five hitters had 50+ home runs in the Japan League, led by Yokohama’s Makata Araki with 61. Pitcher of the Year was Kobe’s So-Woong Hong, winning for the second time in three years. He had the most wins at 23-10 and the most innings at 278.1, adding a 2.36 ERA, 236 strikeouts, and 8.0 WAR.

After stunning East Asia Baseball last year by winning the overall title despite an 81-81 record, Daegu improved to 95-67. This gave the Diamondbacks their fourth straight Korea League South Division title, finishing five ahead of Busan. In the North Division, Hamhung snapped a five year playoff drought by posting the best record in Korea at 103-59. This kept them ahead of defending division champ Goyang, second at 96-66 as well as 95-67 Incheon.

Winning league MVP was Incheon 3B Young-Kwang Na. It was the breakout year for the 26-year old switch hitter who led in WAR (9.8), total bases (394), slugging (.659), and OPS (1.059), adding 41 home runs and 118 RBI. Pitcher of the Year was Hamhung’s Jae-Min Lee, his second as he had won back in 1972. The 26-year old righty led in ERA (2.46), strikeouts (397), WHIP (0.97), quality starts (25), complete games (18), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.2), adding a 20-7 record in 267.1 innings. The 397 strikeouts was a new East Asia Baseball single-season record that wouldn’t be topped until 2015. This beat the prior record of 380 by Young-Gwon Shin in 1952.

The Japan League Championship Series rematch was another seven game classic just like the prior year. Kyoto finally got the better of Tokyo, giving the Kamikaze their second title in three years. The Korea League Championship Series was a seven-game thriller as well with Daegu completing the four-peat by defeating Hamhung. The Diamondbacks join Pyongyang (1969-69) as the only EAB teams to win four consecutive titles in their league. It is also Daegu’s eighth Korean crown.

In the 56hth East Asia Championship, it was a rematch of the 1974 final which saw Kyoto prevail over Daegu. The Kamikaze took it again, this time 4-1, to give them the franchise’s second ring. Finals MVP was 31-year old LF Sung-Hwa Oum, who in 12 playoff starts had 18 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, and 6 RBI.

Other notes: Daegu’s I-Deun Mok had a 39-game hitting streak in 1976. This is EAB’s second longest streak to date, just behind Sang-Hyun Kang’s 42 games in 1921. Yu-Chan Jang and Min-Su Namkoong both crossed 3000 career hits, making it seven batters in EAB to have done so. Jang would play three more years and finish with 3429 hits, retiring third all-time. Namkoong also became the 15^th batter to reach 600 career home runs. Seoul’s pitching staff allowed only 210 walks, a single-season record that still stands as of 2037 in the Korea League. RF Hyeog-Jun Win won his 12^th Gold Glove.

09-17-2023, 05:47 AM	#588
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,041	1976 in EAB The Japan League saw Tokyo and Kyoto on top again in 1976 with the Kamikaze winning the South Division for the fourth straight year and the Tides taking the North Division for the third time in four years. Defending league champ Tokyo had the best overall record at 105-57, outracing a 99-63 Yokohama. Kyoto was 100-62, finishing seven games better than Kobe. Winning Japan League MVP was Tokyo’s Rui Guo. The 28-year old Chinese LF led the league in OBP (.418), slugging (.732), OPS (1.150), and wRC+ (225), adding 8.9 WAR, a .328 average, 54 home runs, and 112 RBI. Five hitters had 50+ home runs in the Japan League, led by Yokohama’s Makata Araki with 61. Pitcher of the Year was Kobe’s So-Woong Hong, winning for the second time in three years. He had the most wins at 23-10 and the most innings at 278.1, adding a 2.36 ERA, 236 strikeouts, and 8.0 WAR. After stunning East Asia Baseball last year by winning the overall title despite an 81-81 record, Daegu improved to 95-67. This gave the Diamondbacks their fourth straight Korea League South Division title, finishing five ahead of Busan. In the North Division, Hamhung snapped a five year playoff drought by posting the best record in Korea at 103-59. This kept them ahead of defending division champ Goyang, second at 96-66 as well as 95-67 Incheon. Winning league MVP was Incheon 3B Young-Kwang Na. It was the breakout year for the 26-year old switch hitter who led in WAR (9.8), total bases (394), slugging (.659), and OPS (1.059), adding 41 home runs and 118 RBI. Pitcher of the Year was Hamhung’s Jae-Min Lee, his second as he had won back in 1972. The 26-year old righty led in ERA (2.46), strikeouts (397), WHIP (0.97), quality starts (25), complete games (18), FIP- (55), and WAR (10.2), adding a 20-7 record in 267.1 innings. The 397 strikeouts was a new East Asia Baseball single-season record that wouldn’t be topped until 2015. This beat the prior record of 380 by Young-Gwon Shin in 1952. The Japan League Championship Series rematch was another seven game classic just like the prior year. Kyoto finally got the better of Tokyo, giving the Kamikaze their second title in three years. The Korea League Championship Series was a seven-game thriller as well with Daegu completing the four-peat by defeating Hamhung. The Diamondbacks join Pyongyang (1969-69) as the only EAB teams to win four consecutive titles in their league. It is also Daegu’s eighth Korean crown. In the 56hth East Asia Championship, it was a rematch of the 1974 final which saw Kyoto prevail over Daegu. The Kamikaze took it again, this time 4-1, to give them the franchise’s second ring. Finals MVP was 31-year old LF Sung-Hwa Oum, who in 12 playoff starts had 18 hits, 12 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, and 6 RBI. Other notes: Daegu’s I-Deun Mok had a 39-game hitting streak in 1976. This is EAB’s second longest streak to date, just behind Sang-Hyun Kang’s 42 games in 1921. Yu-Chan Jang and Min-Su Namkoong both crossed 3000 career hits, making it seven batters in EAB to have done so. Jang would play three more years and finish with 3429 hits, retiring third all-time. Namkoong also became the 15^th batter to reach 600 career home runs. Seoul’s pitching staff allowed only 210 walks, a single-season record that still stands as of 2037 in the Korea League. RF Hyeog-Jun Win won his 12^th Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)