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FuzzyRussianHat · 06-10-2024, 05:46 PM

The Chinese Northern League had Tianjin atop the 2005 standings at 96-66, giving the Jackrabbits repeat playoff appearances. Dalian also earned a repeat spot, tying for second at 92-70 with Shanghai. For the Seawolves, this ended a 28 year playoff drought and was their first 90+ win season in that stretch. Shenyang at 89-73 and Qingdao at 86-76 were the closest competitors in the wild card race. After nabbing a playoff spot last year, Hangzhou dropped to 11^th at 70-92.

Tianjin’s Baogang Tian won Northern League MVP for the second time in three years. The 28-year old shortstop led in WAR (12.1), hits (190), triples (16), average (.324), and OBP (.365) while adding a 185 wRC+. The Jackrabbits locked up Tian after this effort with an eight-year, $43,320,000 extension in the offseason, becoming one of China’s richest ballplayers.

Shanghai’s John Vo won his second Pitcher of the Year, winning the ERA title at 1.32. The 27-year old Hongkonger also had a 17-8 record, 278.2 innings, 345 strikeouts, and 7.6 WAR. Also notable was Harbin’s Boyang Cao winning Reliever of the Year for the third time in four years. He posted a 1.07 ERA in 92.2 innings, 161 strikeouts, and 5.8 WAR.

The Southern League had the same three playoff teams from the prior year. Last year’s China Series runner-up Macau moved to the top slot at 105-57, something they hadn’t done since 1994. Defending CLB champ Changsha was second at 100-62 for a third straight playoff berth. Third place went to Wuhan at 98-64, extending the longest active playoff streak in Chinese baseball to five seasons. There was a big gap to fourth place Chongqing at 87-75.

Southern League MVP went to Wuhan second baseman Zifeng Zhou. The seventh-year righty had 9.9 WAR, 186 wRC+, a .265/.299/.476 slash, and 26 home runs. Notably taking third in the MVP race was Rookie of the Year winner Pengcheng Huang. The 30^th overall pick in 2004, Huang had an all-time great debut by leading in homers (32), slugging (.546), OPS (.893) and wRC+ (230) while posting 8.8 WAR.

Changsha’s Lei Li repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in WAR (8.8), shutouts (7), and FIP- (41). The 25-year old righty also had a 16-9 record and 10 saves over 220 innings with a 1.47 ERA and 281 strikeouts. Impressively from May 28 to July 21, Li had five shutouts. The Cannons wisely gave Li a seven-year, $36,840,000 extension in the offseason.

In the first round of the playoffs, Changsha swept Dalian 2-0 and Shanghai swept Wuhan 2-0. For the Seawolves, this was their first semifinal since winning it all in 1976. Both the Cannons and Macau were looking to win repeat semis, while the Jackrabbits had gotten there in 2001. Changsha outlasted Tianjin 4-3 to keep their repeat hopes alive, while Macau topped Shanghai 4-2.

The 36^th China Series was the first time in CLB history that the same two teams met in back-to-back seasons. The result was the exact same in 2005 as in 2004; Changsha over Macau 4-1. It was the third title for the Cannons (1997, 2004, 2005), who joined Kunming (1977-78), Beijing (1984-85), and Dalian (1991-94) as the only franchise to repeat. 1B Feng Du repeated as finals MVP, as the 24-year old 1B had 13 hits, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 6 RBI in 14 playoff starts. There wouldn’t be another repeat champ in China until 2016-17.

Other notes: Shenyang’s Zhun Dai set the CLB single-season record with 299 innings pitched, which still holds as of 2037. Qingdao’s Wei Jia also set a pitching record with 68 games started as he was used in an experimental opener role. He did post a 1.19 ERA over 121.1 innings and 5.0 WAR. Changsha’s offense had 244 doubles, a Southern League record that still stands in 2037.

CLB had two perfect games in 2005, making 34 in league history. On April 6, Nanjing’s Kevin Hollis struck out seven against Tianjin. On June 28, Kunming’s Weiman Shen fanned 13 against Xiamen. Two players had a 20+ game hit streak in 2005. There hadn’t been a 20+ streak in the dead ball CLB since 1998. RF Wenjie Huang won his ninth Gold Glove in a row.

06-10-2024, 05:46 PM	#1325
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,800	2005 in CLB The Chinese Northern League had Tianjin atop the 2005 standings at 96-66, giving the Jackrabbits repeat playoff appearances. Dalian also earned a repeat spot, tying for second at 92-70 with Shanghai. For the Seawolves, this ended a 28 year playoff drought and was their first 90+ win season in that stretch. Shenyang at 89-73 and Qingdao at 86-76 were the closest competitors in the wild card race. After nabbing a playoff spot last year, Hangzhou dropped to 11^th at 70-92. Tianjin’s Baogang Tian won Northern League MVP for the second time in three years. The 28-year old shortstop led in WAR (12.1), hits (190), triples (16), average (.324), and OBP (.365) while adding a 185 wRC+. The Jackrabbits locked up Tian after this effort with an eight-year, $43,320,000 extension in the offseason, becoming one of China’s richest ballplayers. Shanghai’s John Vo won his second Pitcher of the Year, winning the ERA title at 1.32. The 27-year old Hongkonger also had a 17-8 record, 278.2 innings, 345 strikeouts, and 7.6 WAR. Also notable was Harbin’s Boyang Cao winning Reliever of the Year for the third time in four years. He posted a 1.07 ERA in 92.2 innings, 161 strikeouts, and 5.8 WAR. The Southern League had the same three playoff teams from the prior year. Last year’s China Series runner-up Macau moved to the top slot at 105-57, something they hadn’t done since 1994. Defending CLB champ Changsha was second at 100-62 for a third straight playoff berth. Third place went to Wuhan at 98-64, extending the longest active playoff streak in Chinese baseball to five seasons. There was a big gap to fourth place Chongqing at 87-75. Southern League MVP went to Wuhan second baseman Zifeng Zhou. The seventh-year righty had 9.9 WAR, 186 wRC+, a .265/.299/.476 slash, and 26 home runs. Notably taking third in the MVP race was Rookie of the Year winner Pengcheng Huang. The 30^th overall pick in 2004, Huang had an all-time great debut by leading in homers (32), slugging (.546), OPS (.893) and wRC+ (230) while posting 8.8 WAR. Changsha’s Lei Li repeated as Pitcher of the Year, leading in WAR (8.8), shutouts (7), and FIP- (41). The 25-year old righty also had a 16-9 record and 10 saves over 220 innings with a 1.47 ERA and 281 strikeouts. Impressively from May 28 to July 21, Li had five shutouts. The Cannons wisely gave Li a seven-year, $36,840,000 extension in the offseason. In the first round of the playoffs, Changsha swept Dalian 2-0 and Shanghai swept Wuhan 2-0. For the Seawolves, this was their first semifinal since winning it all in 1976. Both the Cannons and Macau were looking to win repeat semis, while the Jackrabbits had gotten there in 2001. Changsha outlasted Tianjin 4-3 to keep their repeat hopes alive, while Macau topped Shanghai 4-2. The 36^th China Series was the first time in CLB history that the same two teams met in back-to-back seasons. The result was the exact same in 2005 as in 2004; Changsha over Macau 4-1. It was the third title for the Cannons (1997, 2004, 2005), who joined Kunming (1977-78), Beijing (1984-85), and Dalian (1991-94) as the only franchise to repeat. 1B Feng Du repeated as finals MVP, as the 24-year old 1B had 13 hits, 6 runs, 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 6 RBI in 14 playoff starts. There wouldn’t be another repeat champ in China until 2016-17. Other notes: Shenyang’s Zhun Dai set the CLB single-season record with 299 innings pitched, which still holds as of 2037. Qingdao’s Wei Jia also set a pitching record with 68 games started as he was used in an experimental opener role. He did post a 1.19 ERA over 121.1 innings and 5.0 WAR. Changsha’s offense had 244 doubles, a Southern League record that still stands in 2037. CLB had two perfect games in 2005, making 34 in league history. On April 6, Nanjing’s Kevin Hollis struck out seven against Tianjin. On June 28, Kunming’s Weiman Shen fanned 13 against Xiamen. Two players had a 20+ game hit streak in 2005. There hadn’t been a 20+ streak in the dead ball CLB since 1998. RF Wenjie Huang won his ninth Gold Glove in a row. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)