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FuzzyRussianHat · 10-16-2023, 01:48 PM

The top record in the Japan League in 1979 went to Sapporo, who saw an impressive turnaround from 71 wins the prior year to 100-62. This won them the North Division for their first playoff berth since 1974. Defending East Asian Champion Sendai actually improved their record, but were a distant second at 91-71. The Capital Division was tough with Kawasaki taking first at 95-67, snapping a seven-year playoff drought. The Killer Whales were three ahead of defending division champ Chiba and five better than Yokohama. In the Central Division, Nagoya narrowly won back-to-back divisions at 87-75, edging Kobe by one game and Kyoto by four. Kitakyushu also secured back-to-back division titles, taking the West at 84-78.

Winning Japan League MVP was Sendai’s Ryota Shintani, his second in three years. The 28-year old center fielder was the WARlord (11.0) and leader in runs (118), total bases (377), OBP (.402), slugging (.694), OPS (1.097), and wRC+ (212), adding 49 home runs and 119 RBI with 65 stolen bases. He took the honor over four guys who hit 50+ home runs, including Saitama’s Chuji Kaizoji (62), and Yokohama’s Makata Araki (61). Pitcher of the Year was Sapporo’s Hisataka Otsuka. The 29-year old lefty joined the Swordfish as a free agent in the offseason after being with Kyoto prior. Otsuka led in wins (23-7), ERA (2.17), and quality starts (29), adding 236 strikeouts in 269 innings with 7.1 WAR.

Both first round playoff series went all five games and saw the team with the worse record advance. Kitakyushu edged Sapporo and Nagoya knocked off Kawasaki. This gave the Kodiaks back-to-back Japan League Championship Series appearances, while it was the first since their 1964 title for the Nightowls. Nagoya would win the JLCS 4-2 to become seven-time Japan League champs (1931, 34, 37, 40, 48, 64, 79).

Seoul earned back-to-back playoff berths and their first Korea League North Division title since winning the league in 1951. The Seahawks finished 104-58 for the best record in the KL. Suwon was second at 97-65 to take the first wild card to end a playoff drought of 43 seasons (1935). That was the longest active drought in Korea and the second longest in all of EAB (Fukuoka’s last berth was 1929). Defending division champ Goyang dropped to 85-77. In the South Division, Daejeon ended their own lengthy drought by finishing first at 96-66. The Ducks most recent division title was back in 1950. Defending Korean champ Daegu finished second at 95-67, edging Busan by two games and Changwon by four in the battle for the second wild card. This kept the Diamondbacks playoff streak alive, extending it to seven seasons.

To snap their massive drought, Suwon had both the league MVP and Pitcher of the Year. MVP went to second year LF Myeong-Won Song, who had an impressive Rookie of the Year campaign the prior season. Song led the Korea League in triple slash (.379/.446/.690), OPS (1.136), wRC+ (208), and WAR (10.1), adding 43 home runs and 111 RBI. Yu-Min Kim was Pitcher of the Year, bouncing back from a torn elbow ligament and partially torn labrum in the prior two seasons. Kim had a 2.71 ERA and 16-6 record in 232.2 inning with 237 strikeouts and 4.6 WAR.

Seoul cruised to a sweep of Daegu in the first round, while Suwon stopped Deajeon in four games. This sent the Seahawks to their first Korea League Championship Series since 1951 and the first for the Snappers since 1935. Seoul secured the title 4-1 for their fourth league title, joining their dynasty run from 1948-51.

The 59^th East Asian Championship was the second finals meeting between Seoul and Nagoya, with the lone Seahawk title coming in their 1948 encounter. Seoul prevailed in the rematch, surviving a seven game classic against the Nightowls. 1978 KL MVP Takuya Yamada was the finals MVP, posting 19 hits, 16 runs, 9 home runs, and 20 RBI over 15 playoff starts. Also worth mentioning is Nagoya’s Sol Kim, who had an incredible playoff run with 36 hits and 24 runs in 18 playoff games. He remains the single postseason record holder as of 2037 for runs, hits, and singles (25).

Other notes: Hyeog-Jun Wi became the eighth EAB batter to reach 700 career home runs and the 13^th to 1500 runs scored. Ha-Rang Pan became the eighth to 3000 career hits. Pan played one more season and retired with 3157 hits, fifth best at his retirement. 1979 was the final season for Yu-Chan Jang, who finished with 3429 hits. He retired third all-time and still sits fifth as of 2037. LF Ki-Chun Park won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove.

For the 1970s, the Japan League had a league batting average around .250 and the Korea League was .259; while the ERA was 3.59 in Japan and 3.77 in Korea. These numbers were almost unchanged from the prior decade and historically were considered very average. Interestingly enough, the next few decades would see a slight increase in offense in Korea and a slight decrease in Japan.

10-16-2023, 01:48 PM	#646
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,440	1979 in EAB The top record in the Japan League in 1979 went to Sapporo, who saw an impressive turnaround from 71 wins the prior year to 100-62. This won them the North Division for their first playoff berth since 1974. Defending East Asian Champion Sendai actually improved their record, but were a distant second at 91-71. The Capital Division was tough with Kawasaki taking first at 95-67, snapping a seven-year playoff drought. The Killer Whales were three ahead of defending division champ Chiba and five better than Yokohama. In the Central Division, Nagoya narrowly won back-to-back divisions at 87-75, edging Kobe by one game and Kyoto by four. Kitakyushu also secured back-to-back division titles, taking the West at 84-78. Winning Japan League MVP was Sendai’s Ryota Shintani, his second in three years. The 28-year old center fielder was the WARlord (11.0) and leader in runs (118), total bases (377), OBP (.402), slugging (.694), OPS (1.097), and wRC+ (212), adding 49 home runs and 119 RBI with 65 stolen bases. He took the honor over four guys who hit 50+ home runs, including Saitama’s Chuji Kaizoji (62), and Yokohama’s Makata Araki (61). Pitcher of the Year was Sapporo’s Hisataka Otsuka. The 29-year old lefty joined the Swordfish as a free agent in the offseason after being with Kyoto prior. Otsuka led in wins (23-7), ERA (2.17), and quality starts (29), adding 236 strikeouts in 269 innings with 7.1 WAR. Both first round playoff series went all five games and saw the team with the worse record advance. Kitakyushu edged Sapporo and Nagoya knocked off Kawasaki. This gave the Kodiaks back-to-back Japan League Championship Series appearances, while it was the first since their 1964 title for the Nightowls. Nagoya would win the JLCS 4-2 to become seven-time Japan League champs (1931, 34, 37, 40, 48, 64, 79). Seoul earned back-to-back playoff berths and their first Korea League North Division title since winning the league in 1951. The Seahawks finished 104-58 for the best record in the KL. Suwon was second at 97-65 to take the first wild card to end a playoff drought of 43 seasons (1935). That was the longest active drought in Korea and the second longest in all of EAB (Fukuoka’s last berth was 1929). Defending division champ Goyang dropped to 85-77. In the South Division, Daejeon ended their own lengthy drought by finishing first at 96-66. The Ducks most recent division title was back in 1950. Defending Korean champ Daegu finished second at 95-67, edging Busan by two games and Changwon by four in the battle for the second wild card. This kept the Diamondbacks playoff streak alive, extending it to seven seasons. To snap their massive drought, Suwon had both the league MVP and Pitcher of the Year. MVP went to second year LF Myeong-Won Song, who had an impressive Rookie of the Year campaign the prior season. Song led the Korea League in triple slash (.379/.446/.690), OPS (1.136), wRC+ (208), and WAR (10.1), adding 43 home runs and 111 RBI. Yu-Min Kim was Pitcher of the Year, bouncing back from a torn elbow ligament and partially torn labrum in the prior two seasons. Kim had a 2.71 ERA and 16-6 record in 232.2 inning with 237 strikeouts and 4.6 WAR. Seoul cruised to a sweep of Daegu in the first round, while Suwon stopped Deajeon in four games. This sent the Seahawks to their first Korea League Championship Series since 1951 and the first for the Snappers since 1935. Seoul secured the title 4-1 for their fourth league title, joining their dynasty run from 1948-51. The 59^th East Asian Championship was the second finals meeting between Seoul and Nagoya, with the lone Seahawk title coming in their 1948 encounter. Seoul prevailed in the rematch, surviving a seven game classic against the Nightowls. 1978 KL MVP Takuya Yamada was the finals MVP, posting 19 hits, 16 runs, 9 home runs, and 20 RBI over 15 playoff starts. Also worth mentioning is Nagoya’s Sol Kim, who had an incredible playoff run with 36 hits and 24 runs in 18 playoff games. He remains the single postseason record holder as of 2037 for runs, hits, and singles (25). Other notes: Hyeog-Jun Wi became the eighth EAB batter to reach 700 career home runs and the 13^th to 1500 runs scored. Ha-Rang Pan became the eighth to 3000 career hits. Pan played one more season and retired with 3157 hits, fifth best at his retirement. 1979 was the final season for Yu-Chan Jang, who finished with 3429 hits. He retired third all-time and still sits fifth as of 2037. LF Ki-Chun Park won his ninth consecutive Gold Glove. For the 1970s, the Japan League had a league batting average around .250 and the Korea League was .259; while the ERA was 3.59 in Japan and 3.77 in Korea. These numbers were almost unchanged from the prior decade and historically were considered very average. Interestingly enough, the next few decades would see a slight increase in offense in Korea and a slight decrease in Japan. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)