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FuzzyRussianHat · 07-14-2024, 07:35 AM

The Chinese Northern League was a tight battle with nine games separating first place from eighth. None of the 2007 playoff teams made it back in 2008 with two of them (Beijing and Dalian) finishing below .500. Shanghai took first at 91-71 to end a two-year playoff drought. It was the Seawolves fifth-ever playoff berth, but their first time taking the top spot in the standings.

The other playoff spots went to Qingdao (89-73) and Zhengzhou (87-75). Both teams earned their second berth in three years. Also in the hunt were Tianjin (86-76), Nanjing (83-79), Harbin (82-80), last year’s China Series runner-up Jinan (82-80), and Shenyang (82-80).

Jinan LF Mingchao Xu won Northern League MVP, leading in triples (23) and batting average (.307). The 26-year old lefty had 175 hits, 15 home runs, a 184 wRC+, and 8.1 WAR. The Jumbos signed Xu to a massive eight-year, $68,500,000 after the 2009 season.

Dalian’s Cheng Song won his fourth Pitcher of the Year in five years. He became the fourth CLB pitcher to win POTY four times. The 32-year old righty led in wins (21-6), strikeouts (326), complete games (21), shutouts (7), and WAR (9.2). Song had a 1.68 ERA over 262 innings and a 151 ERA+. Song had only one year left with the Gold Dragons, then played his final three years in Europe for Naples. Also of note, Harbin’s Boyang Cao won his fourth Reliever of the Year.

Macau made history in the Southern League at 118-44. This was the second-most wins in CLB history (and still is in 2037) behind Tianjin’s 123-39 from 1971. Macau led all of China in runs (617) and runs allowed (379). The Magicians ended a two-year playoff drought. Macau beat their own Southern League record for wins, having gone 115-47 in 1990.

Chengdu was second at 97-65, ending a nine-year playoff drought. The only 2007 playoff team to make it back in 2008 was defending CLB champ Hong Kong. The Champions were third at 88-74, beating Wuhan by three games and Changsha by five. The Cannons saw their playoff streak end at five seasons. After getting a wild card last year, Dongguan imploded and had China’s worst record at 56-106.

Southern League MVP was Macau 1B Huiqiang Deng in his third season. The 23-year old lefty won a Gold Glove and led in runs (100), OBP (.365), slugging (.561), OPS (.926), wRC+ (229), and WAR (10.6). Deng also had 158 hits, 39 home runs, and a .289 average. The Magicians would lock him up long-term after the 2010 season with an eight-year, $52,940,000 extension. Deng had a nice career, but wasn’t a MVP candidate ever again.

Macau also had the Pitcher of the Year Jing Htet. The 29-year old righty led in wins (24-2), quality starts (28), and WAR (8.8). His .923 winning percentage is the single-season record for CLB starters. Htet added a 1.64 ERA over 246.2 innings with 294 strikeouts and a 144 ERA+. Htet had one more year with the Magicians before leaving for Europe and a six-year, $39,900,000 deal with Madrid.

Macau also had 67 saves as a pitching staff, the second-most in CLB history behind Wuhan’s 74 from 1974. The Magicians’ Jingzhe Wu won Reliever of the Year with 55 saves, which was the third-most in CLB history behind Encai Xing’s 57 in 1974 and Zhibin Liao’s 56 in 2003.

Both Northern League teams won their first round playoff matchups against the Southern League rivals with Zhengzhou over Chengdu and Qingdao over Hong Kong, both 2-1. This sent the Zips to their second semifinal in three years, while it was the Devils’ first semifinal since 1992. Both semifinals ended up being seven game classics.

Qingdao shocked Macau, denying the Magicians despite their record-setting campaign. On the other side, Shanghai outlasted Zhengzhou. It was the second-ever finals berth for both winners and guaranteed a first-time CLB champ. Qingdao was the 1992 runner-up and Shanghai was the 1976 runner-up. This was also the first time since 1998 that the finals had two Northern League teams facing off.

In the 39^th China Series, Shanghai downed Qingdao 4-1. The Seawolves became the 16^th different CLB franchise to win it all. Pitcher Xin Chen was finals MVP in only his second season. He had four playoff starts with a 2-1 record, 31 innings, 1.45 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and 2 walks.

Other notes: Shenyang had only 996 hits as a team, the second lowest in Northern League history at that point. Hong Kong’s Yuyin Liu had a 21 strikeout game over 11 innings against Guangzhou. This was one strikeout short of Martin Cui’s 22 from 1996. CF Martin Schindler won his eighth Gold Glove. RF Minghui Ruan won his eighth Silver Slugger.

07-14-2024, 07:35 AM	#1425
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,829	2008 in CLB The Chinese Northern League was a tight battle with nine games separating first place from eighth. None of the 2007 playoff teams made it back in 2008 with two of them (Beijing and Dalian) finishing below .500. Shanghai took first at 91-71 to end a two-year playoff drought. It was the Seawolves fifth-ever playoff berth, but their first time taking the top spot in the standings. The other playoff spots went to Qingdao (89-73) and Zhengzhou (87-75). Both teams earned their second berth in three years. Also in the hunt were Tianjin (86-76), Nanjing (83-79), Harbin (82-80), last year’s China Series runner-up Jinan (82-80), and Shenyang (82-80). Jinan LF Mingchao Xu won Northern League MVP, leading in triples (23) and batting average (.307). The 26-year old lefty had 175 hits, 15 home runs, a 184 wRC+, and 8.1 WAR. The Jumbos signed Xu to a massive eight-year, $68,500,000 after the 2009 season. Dalian’s Cheng Song won his fourth Pitcher of the Year in five years. He became the fourth CLB pitcher to win POTY four times. The 32-year old righty led in wins (21-6), strikeouts (326), complete games (21), shutouts (7), and WAR (9.2). Song had a 1.68 ERA over 262 innings and a 151 ERA+. Song had only one year left with the Gold Dragons, then played his final three years in Europe for Naples. Also of note, Harbin’s Boyang Cao won his fourth Reliever of the Year. Macau made history in the Southern League at 118-44. This was the second-most wins in CLB history (and still is in 2037) behind Tianjin’s 123-39 from 1971. Macau led all of China in runs (617) and runs allowed (379). The Magicians ended a two-year playoff drought. Macau beat their own Southern League record for wins, having gone 115-47 in 1990. Chengdu was second at 97-65, ending a nine-year playoff drought. The only 2007 playoff team to make it back in 2008 was defending CLB champ Hong Kong. The Champions were third at 88-74, beating Wuhan by three games and Changsha by five. The Cannons saw their playoff streak end at five seasons. After getting a wild card last year, Dongguan imploded and had China’s worst record at 56-106. Southern League MVP was Macau 1B Huiqiang Deng in his third season. The 23-year old lefty won a Gold Glove and led in runs (100), OBP (.365), slugging (.561), OPS (.926), wRC+ (229), and WAR (10.6). Deng also had 158 hits, 39 home runs, and a .289 average. The Magicians would lock him up long-term after the 2010 season with an eight-year, $52,940,000 extension. Deng had a nice career, but wasn’t a MVP candidate ever again. Macau also had the Pitcher of the Year Jing Htet. The 29-year old righty led in wins (24-2), quality starts (28), and WAR (8.8). His .923 winning percentage is the single-season record for CLB starters. Htet added a 1.64 ERA over 246.2 innings with 294 strikeouts and a 144 ERA+. Htet had one more year with the Magicians before leaving for Europe and a six-year, $39,900,000 deal with Madrid. Macau also had 67 saves as a pitching staff, the second-most in CLB history behind Wuhan’s 74 from 1974. The Magicians’ Jingzhe Wu won Reliever of the Year with 55 saves, which was the third-most in CLB history behind Encai Xing’s 57 in 1974 and Zhibin Liao’s 56 in 2003. Both Northern League teams won their first round playoff matchups against the Southern League rivals with Zhengzhou over Chengdu and Qingdao over Hong Kong, both 2-1. This sent the Zips to their second semifinal in three years, while it was the Devils’ first semifinal since 1992. Both semifinals ended up being seven game classics. Qingdao shocked Macau, denying the Magicians despite their record-setting campaign. On the other side, Shanghai outlasted Zhengzhou. It was the second-ever finals berth for both winners and guaranteed a first-time CLB champ. Qingdao was the 1992 runner-up and Shanghai was the 1976 runner-up. This was also the first time since 1998 that the finals had two Northern League teams facing off. In the 39^th China Series, Shanghai downed Qingdao 4-1. The Seawolves became the 16^th different CLB franchise to win it all. Pitcher Xin Chen was finals MVP in only his second season. He had four playoff starts with a 2-1 record, 31 innings, 1.45 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and 2 walks. Other notes: Shenyang had only 996 hits as a team, the second lowest in Northern League history at that point. Hong Kong’s Yuyin Liu had a 21 strikeout game over 11 innings against Guangzhou. This was one strikeout short of Martin Cui’s 22 from 1996. CF Martin Schindler won his eighth Gold Glove. RF Minghui Ruan won his eighth Silver Slugger. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)