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Xi’an surprised many in Chinese League Baseball by finishing atop the Northern League in 1994 at 105-57. It was their first playoff berth since 1979, led by a pitching staff that set a CLB record with 1835 strikeouts. This is still the most Ks in a CLB season as of 2037. It was also the first time since 1988 that Dalian wasn’t atop the NL standings. The three-time defending China Series champs did still extend their postseason streak to six seasons, finishing second at 97-65. Harbin was the closest competitor at five games back.

The Hellcats had the Northern League MVP in 1B Xiaoyu Su. The 29-year old righty led in runs (93), RBI (93), total bases (324), stolen bases (83), and WAR (11.3). Su added 33 home runs and a .295 average. Dalian’s Jiancheng Jiao picked up Pitcher of the Year. The 31-year old led in ERA (1.70) while adding a 16-7 record over 227 innings, 252 strikeouts, and 5.3 WAR. Also of note, Hangzhou closer Zhiming Cao won his fourth Reliever of the Year. He had an impressive 0.87 ERA in 92.2 innings with 39 saves, 179 strikeouts, and 6.4 WAR.



In the Southern League, Macau finished first at 105-57. This gave the Magicians a sixth playoff berth in seven years. Xiamen secured a third consecutive playoff berth with a second place finish at 96-66. Chengdu (95-67) was one game short of snapping a seven-year playoff skid. Wuhan, who was the China Series runner-up last year, dropped to fifth at 83-79.

Xiamen 1B Dehai Tai won Southern League MVP, leading the league in home runs (45), RBI (104), and total bases (320). Tai added 8.4 WAR and 202 wRC+. The Mutts also had Pitcher of the Year Guangjun Ma, who led in WHIP at 0.72. He had an 18-7 record and 12 saves over 238.1 innings with a 1.77 ERA and 6.8 WAR.

The semifinal playoff series saw the two Northern League teams prevail over their Southern League counterparts. Xi’an topped Xiamen 4-2, sending the Attack to their third-ever China Series (1974, 76). Dalian went on the road and easily dispatched Macau 4-1 to give the Gold Dragons a record sixth consecutive finals berth.



The 25th China Series was a seven game classic. Dalian had to go on the road against their divisional foe Xi’an, but the Gold Dragons continued the dynasty and won it 4-3. Dalian became the first (and as of 2037, the only) CLB team to four-peat as champs. It was also the fifth title in six years for the Gold Dragons, putting them in rare territory in any world league. 3B Dexin Weng was finals MVP as the 31-year old had 12 hits, 5 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 5 RBI in 12 playoff starts. This would mark the end of Dalian’s dynasty, but it still holds up as the most impressive sustained run in Chinese baseball history.



Other notes: Lisheng Yang of Xi’an set a single-game CLB record, striking out 21 batters over 9.2 innings against Beijing. 1B/P Wei Qin won his tenth Silver Slugger. 2B Liang Shang Guan won his eighth Silver Slugger.