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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-07-2025, 06:06 AM

Fukuoka won their third straight West Division title in 2022, but they did it in remarkably dominant fashion. The Frogs were the only team above 100 wins in all of East Asia Baseball, rolling the Japan League field at 11-52. Fukuoka allowed the fewest runs in all of EAB at 471 and scored the second-most runs in Japan at 681. The Frogs’ pitching staff had a 11.25 K/9, setting a new EAB team record. Hiroshima was a solid 94-68 in the division, but with only division champs advancing to the playoffs in the JL, that didn’t mean much.

The Central Division was quite top heavy with defending EAB champ Kyoto advancing at 99-63, holding off 97-65 Nagoya and 91-71 Osaka. The Kamikaze pitching staff allowed 191 walks with a 1.19 BB/9, the second-lowest marks in EAB history behind their own efforts the prior year. The Nightowls notably had their first winning season in a decade.

The other two divisions both had weak winners. In the North, Saitama (84-78) sneaked by Sapporo (82-80) to repeat. In the Capital, 83-79 was good enough for Tokyo to end a 12-year playoff drought. Yokohama was seven back, while last year’s division champ Kawasaki fell from 103 wins to only 73.

Earning Japan league MVP was Nagoya two-way player Ienobu Kan. On the mound, the 25-year old righty led in quality starts (25), adding a 2.50 ERA over 245 innings, 18-7 record, 231 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR. He had 135 games at the plate primarily in right field, posting 159 hits, 91 runs, 21 doubles, 31 homers, 86 RBI, 1.024 OPS, 216 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Kan’s 14.6 WAR was the third-best two-way season in EAB history and ranked as the fifth-best when factoring in all EAB players.

Kan had been the #1 overall pick for Nagoya out of high school in the 2015 EAB Draft. They had hoped he could be EAB’s next two-way star and 2022 showed what his max potential was. The Nightowls gave him a three-year, $35,800,000 extension in May. Sadly, he suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder at the end of the season. 2022 was essentially one of two full load seasons in Kan’s career, as he’d be constantly plagued by elbow and shoulder injuries.

Leading Fukuoka to the top seed was Toshikuni Naikai winning his sixth Pitcher of the Year in seven seasons. The 29-year old lefty again led in ERA (1.53), strikeouts (415), WHIP (0.60), K/BB (21.8), shutouts (4), FIP- (17), ERA+ (218), and WAR (12.5). Naikai had an 18-2 record and 14 saves over 211.2 innings.

Naikai didn’t have the otherworldly totals of some of his prior years, but he did break his own K/9 record at 17.65. This set a new world record among starters, beating Austronesia Professional Baseball stud Ching-Chen Yao’s 16.9 from 2012. Naikai has EAB’s top five seasons by K/9 and has four of the top ten seasons in all of pro baseball history. The 415 strikeouts were his third-best total and the sixth-best in EAB history. Naikai also had his third no-hitter, striking out 19 against Kumamoto on May 10. That was the second-most Ks in an EAB no-no behind his own 21 from 2019.

The top teams prevailed in the first round with Fukuoka over Tokyo 3-1 and Kyoto over Saitama 3-2. The Kamikaze’s repeat bid was alive, while the Frogs were in their second Japan League Championship Series in three years. Fukuoka showed that top seed was no fluke, dethroning the reigning champ Kyoto 4-1 to end a 41-year pennant drought. The Frogs became four-time Japan League champs (1928, 1929, 1980, 2022).

There wasn’t a clear #1 team in the Korea League as the top seed and second wild card were separated by only three wins. Defending KL champ Changwon had the top seed at 95-67 atop the South Division, earning their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Both wild cards were in the South with Busan (94-68) and Daegu (92-70) close behind. The Blue Jays earned their third consecutive playoff berth and the Diamondbacks got their second in four years.

In the North Division, Incheon grabbed their first title and playoff berth since 2014. The Inferno finished 94-68, taking the division by eight games over 86-76 Seongnam. Last year’s division champ Suwon was third at 84-78. Changwon led the KL in scoring (832) while Incheon allowed the fewest runs (602).

Ji-Hwan Kim repeated as Korea League MVP, although he did it with a different team. After 11 years with Jeonju, Kim joined Incheon on a six-year, $112,800,000 deal. The 30-year old switch-hitting left fielder delivered a playoff berth and led in runs (125) and total bases (366). Kim had 46 homers, 117 RBI, 1.009 OPS, 163 wRC+, and 8.1 WAR.

Earning Pitcher of the Year was Suwon lefty Jun-Hwi Jung. The 29-year old lefty led in wins (22-6), complete games (19), and WAR (7.4). Jung posted a 2.39 ERA over 263.1 innings with 272 strikeouts in his eighth year for the Snappers. Jung would get another big extension from Suwon in April 2024 at $158,400,000 over six years.

Daegu earned a 3-2 road win over top seed Changwon in the first round and Incheon bested Busan 3-1. The Diamondbacks got their first Korea League Championship Series since winning it all in 2013. For the Inferno, they hadn’t gotten this far since 2003. Despite the similar records, the KLCS wasn’t remotely competitive with Daegu sweeping Incheon. The Diamondbacks became a record 15-time Korea League champ.

The 102^nd East Asian Championship saw Fukuoka defeat Daegu 4-2 to give the Frogs only their third-ever title (1929, 1980, 2022). Finals MVP went to 1B Shinichi Suzuki with the 27-year old starting 15 playoff games with 19 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, and 11 RBI.

Pitcher of the Year Toshikuni Naikai was a beast in the playoffs as well, destroying the former EAB playoff strikeout record of 55. Naikai fanned 64 in only 35 innings, posting a 1.03 ERA, 3-0 record, 325 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. It was the fourth-time an EAB pitcher had 2+ WAR in the playoffs, a mark Naikai himself had reached two years prior.

Other notes: EAB’s 38^th Perfect Game was thrown by Jeonju’s Seon-Keun Yun on August 2, striking out 10 versus Suwon. Hitoshi Kubota became the 5^th member of the 800 home run club and the 23^rd member of the 3000 hit club. Kubota also won his 12^th Silver Slugger in left field, matching Lei Meng’s position record. 3B CHul Park won his 9^th Silver Slugger. Jae-A Choi was the 46^th to reach 1500 RBI. Takeo Nagai and Si-Hun Choi both reached 3500 strikeouts as pitchers, a mark met by 40 EAB arms.

01-07-2025, 06:06 AM	#1954
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,031	2022 in EAB Fukuoka won their third straight West Division title in 2022, but they did it in remarkably dominant fashion. The Frogs were the only team above 100 wins in all of East Asia Baseball, rolling the Japan League field at 11-52. Fukuoka allowed the fewest runs in all of EAB at 471 and scored the second-most runs in Japan at 681. The Frogs’ pitching staff had a 11.25 K/9, setting a new EAB team record. Hiroshima was a solid 94-68 in the division, but with only division champs advancing to the playoffs in the JL, that didn’t mean much. The Central Division was quite top heavy with defending EAB champ Kyoto advancing at 99-63, holding off 97-65 Nagoya and 91-71 Osaka. The Kamikaze pitching staff allowed 191 walks with a 1.19 BB/9, the second-lowest marks in EAB history behind their own efforts the prior year. The Nightowls notably had their first winning season in a decade. The other two divisions both had weak winners. In the North, Saitama (84-78) sneaked by Sapporo (82-80) to repeat. In the Capital, 83-79 was good enough for Tokyo to end a 12-year playoff drought. Yokohama was seven back, while last year’s division champ Kawasaki fell from 103 wins to only 73. Earning Japan league MVP was Nagoya two-way player Ienobu Kan. On the mound, the 25-year old righty led in quality starts (25), adding a 2.50 ERA over 245 innings, 18-7 record, 231 strikeouts, and 6.3 WAR. He had 135 games at the plate primarily in right field, posting 159 hits, 91 runs, 21 doubles, 31 homers, 86 RBI, 1.024 OPS, 216 wRC+, and 8.3 WAR. Kan’s 14.6 WAR was the third-best two-way season in EAB history and ranked as the fifth-best when factoring in all EAB players. Kan had been the #1 overall pick for Nagoya out of high school in the 2015 EAB Draft. They had hoped he could be EAB’s next two-way star and 2022 showed what his max potential was. The Nightowls gave him a three-year, $35,800,000 extension in May. Sadly, he suffered a fractured coracoid bone in his shoulder at the end of the season. 2022 was essentially one of two full load seasons in Kan’s career, as he’d be constantly plagued by elbow and shoulder injuries. Leading Fukuoka to the top seed was Toshikuni Naikai winning his sixth Pitcher of the Year in seven seasons. The 29-year old lefty again led in ERA (1.53), strikeouts (415), WHIP (0.60), K/BB (21.8), shutouts (4), FIP- (17), ERA+ (218), and WAR (12.5). Naikai had an 18-2 record and 14 saves over 211.2 innings. Naikai didn’t have the otherworldly totals of some of his prior years, but he did break his own K/9 record at 17.65. This set a new world record among starters, beating Austronesia Professional Baseball stud Ching-Chen Yao’s 16.9 from 2012. Naikai has EAB’s top five seasons by K/9 and has four of the top ten seasons in all of pro baseball history. The 415 strikeouts were his third-best total and the sixth-best in EAB history. Naikai also had his third no-hitter, striking out 19 against Kumamoto on May 10. That was the second-most Ks in an EAB no-no behind his own 21 from 2019. The top teams prevailed in the first round with Fukuoka over Tokyo 3-1 and Kyoto over Saitama 3-2. The Kamikaze’s repeat bid was alive, while the Frogs were in their second Japan League Championship Series in three years. Fukuoka showed that top seed was no fluke, dethroning the reigning champ Kyoto 4-1 to end a 41-year pennant drought. The Frogs became four-time Japan League champs (1928, 1929, 1980, 2022). There wasn’t a clear #1 team in the Korea League as the top seed and second wild card were separated by only three wins. Defending KL champ Changwon had the top seed at 95-67 atop the South Division, earning their sixth playoff berth in seven years. Both wild cards were in the South with Busan (94-68) and Daegu (92-70) close behind. The Blue Jays earned their third consecutive playoff berth and the Diamondbacks got their second in four years. In the North Division, Incheon grabbed their first title and playoff berth since 2014. The Inferno finished 94-68, taking the division by eight games over 86-76 Seongnam. Last year’s division champ Suwon was third at 84-78. Changwon led the KL in scoring (832) while Incheon allowed the fewest runs (602). Ji-Hwan Kim repeated as Korea League MVP, although he did it with a different team. After 11 years with Jeonju, Kim joined Incheon on a six-year, $112,800,000 deal. The 30-year old switch-hitting left fielder delivered a playoff berth and led in runs (125) and total bases (366). Kim had 46 homers, 117 RBI, 1.009 OPS, 163 wRC+, and 8.1 WAR. Earning Pitcher of the Year was Suwon lefty Jun-Hwi Jung. The 29-year old lefty led in wins (22-6), complete games (19), and WAR (7.4). Jung posted a 2.39 ERA over 263.1 innings with 272 strikeouts in his eighth year for the Snappers. Jung would get another big extension from Suwon in April 2024 at $158,400,000 over six years. Daegu earned a 3-2 road win over top seed Changwon in the first round and Incheon bested Busan 3-1. The Diamondbacks got their first Korea League Championship Series since winning it all in 2013. For the Inferno, they hadn’t gotten this far since 2003. Despite the similar records, the KLCS wasn’t remotely competitive with Daegu sweeping Incheon. The Diamondbacks became a record 15-time Korea League champ. The 102^nd East Asian Championship saw Fukuoka defeat Daegu 4-2 to give the Frogs only their third-ever title (1929, 1980, 2022). Finals MVP went to 1B Shinichi Suzuki with the 27-year old starting 15 playoff games with 19 hits, 10 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, and 11 RBI. Pitcher of the Year Toshikuni Naikai was a beast in the playoffs as well, destroying the former EAB playoff strikeout record of 55. Naikai fanned 64 in only 35 innings, posting a 1.03 ERA, 3-0 record, 325 ERA+, and 2.0 WAR. It was the fourth-time an EAB pitcher had 2+ WAR in the playoffs, a mark Naikai himself had reached two years prior. Other notes: EAB’s 38^th Perfect Game was thrown by Jeonju’s Seon-Keun Yun on August 2, striking out 10 versus Suwon. Hitoshi Kubota became the 5^th member of the 800 home run club and the 23^rd member of the 3000 hit club. Kubota also won his 12^th Silver Slugger in left field, matching Lei Meng’s position record. 3B CHul Park won his 9^th Silver Slugger. Jae-A Choi was the 46^th to reach 1500 RBI. Takeo Nagai and Si-Hun Choi both reached 3500 strikeouts as pitchers, a mark met by 40 EAB arms. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)