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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-17-2025, 05:08 PM

The Northern League had a competitive field in 2023 with only ten games separating first place from eighth. The top two pulled away slightly at the end with Tianjin first (95-67) and Qingdao second (94-68). Both earned repeat playoff berths, although the Jackrabbits hadn’t finished first since 2005. Tianjin set a new Chinese League Baseball team record with 111 triples. The Devils meanwhile had the most runs in CLB in 2023 at 631.

Dalian at 89-73 narrowly took third for their first playoff berth in a decade. Changchun and Nanjing tied for the final spot at 88-74, while Beijing (87-75), Jinan (86-76), and defending NL champ Urumqi (85-77) each fell just short. The Camels defeated the Nuggets in the one game playoff to advance for their fifth playoff berth in eight years. Nanjing’s playoff streak ended at three seasons despite allowing the fewest runs in CLB at 417.

Northern League MVP went to Qingdao 3B Xiku Yan in his sixth season. The 28-year old lefty led in runs (97), hits (185), and WAR (10.4). Yan added 36 home runs, 105 RBI, .951 OPS, and 222 wRC+. The Devils committed to him after the 2024 season to a seven-year, $162,400,000 extension.

Changchun righty Zhifeng Gao secured Pitcher of the Year, leading in ERA (1.45), strikeouts (344), WHIP (0.65), K/BB (15.6), and WAR (10.1). The 31-year old had a 187 ERA+ over 223.1 innings and 16-8 record. Unfortunately for Gao, an arthritic elbow the following year ended his Camels tenure. He’d still secure the bag on a four-year, $106.4 million deal with MLB’s Houston in 2025, but would be out of the game by 2026 after back-to-back rotator cuff tears.

The Northern League’s Round Robin was a mess as all four teams finished at 3-3. After sorting out tiebreakers, Tianjin and Dalian advanced to the semifinal. The Jackrabbits hadn’t gotten that far since 2005, while the Gold Dragons’ last trip was 2007. After all the parity, top-seeded Tianjin dominated Dalian in a semifinal sweep. The Jackrabbits earned their seventh China Series trip, although they hadn’t gotten through since their mid 1980s dynasty.

Xiamen surprised many by dominating the Southern League standings at 107-55. It was the first-ever 100+ win season for the Mutts, whose last playoff berth was their 2009 CLB Championship. That ended what was the longest active playoff drought in CLB at 13 seasons. Xiamen hadn’t finished first in the standings since 2006. The Mutts allowed the fewest runs in the SL at 446.

15 games away in second was 92-70 Guangzhou, earning their second playoff berth in three years. The final two spots had a glut with Foshan (87-75) getting third to extend their playoff streak to six. The Flyers were the SL’s top scoring team with 615 runs. Fourth saw a tie at 86-78 between Hong Kong and Kunming, while Shantou (85-77) and Changsha (84-78) just missed.

The one-game tiebreaker had HK defeat the Muscle, keeping the reigning China Series winner’s repeat bid alive. The Champions earned a sixth straight playoff berth, having won the SL in four of the prior five seasons. Dongguan went from first in 2022 to 11^th in 2023 at 75-87.

Leading Xiamen’s turnaround was an unlikely hero in Jeremy Marien, who won Southern League MVP. The 30-year old French first baseman was a late bloomer who failed to make the show in Europe in his 20s. The Mutts signed him in 2020 and he was only a part-timer in his first three years in China with 95 starts and 151 games. Marien earned the starting gig for the first time in 2023 and thrived, leading in RBI (102), walks (85), OBP (.408), slugging (.607), OPS (1.015), and wRC+ (214). He also had 97 runs, 46 home runs, .311 average, and 9.2 WAR.

Guangzhou’s Kamesh Sajeev repeated as Pitcher of the Year in only his third season. The 24-year old Indian righty led in wins (17-9), strikeouts (334), WHIP (0.78), K/BB (11.9), complete games (19), FIP- (47), and WAR (10.1). Sajeev had a 1.86 ERA and 159 ERA+ over 251.2 innings.

The top two seeds Xiamen and Guangzhou rolled to 5-1 in the Round Robin with both Hong Kong and Foshan going 1-5. The Gamecocks earned their second semifinal trip in three years and came away with a big upset despite being 15 wins beneath the Mutts. Guangzhou cruised to a 4-1 semifinal win over Xiamen for their first China Series trip since 2012. The Gamecocks earned their seventh finals berth overall.

The 54^th China Series was the second time that Tianjin and Guangzhou had met in the championship. In the second-ever finale, the Gamecocks upset a 123-win Jackrabbits squad. Tianjin whooped Guangzhou 4-0 in the 2023 encounter to become five-time CLB champs (1972, 1983, 1986, 1988, 2023. The Jackrabbits were now tied with Beijing for the second-most rings with only Dalian (6) with more.

Tianjin ended a 34-year title drought, the longest streak between titles in CLB history to that point. The previous long was Guangzhou at 28 years (1972-1999). SS Jun Xin was finals MVP in his ninth year for the Jackrabbits, bouncing back after missing the summer to a partially torn labrum. In 14 playoff starts, Xin had 15 hits, 5 runs,5 doubles, and 3 RBI. This continued a run of relatively uncompetitive China Series meetings, as each series from 2017-23 was either a sweep or 4-1.

Other notes: 2023 was the final CLB season for three-time MVP CF Zhen Zhang, who would depart for MLB’s Philadelphia for his final three seasons at age 36. Zhang finished at 151.1 WAR, just shy of Junjie Hsiung’s 152.6 for the top spot among CLB position players. Zhang also left CLB ranked 4^th in home runs (474), 3^rd in hits (2396), 2^nd in runs (1159), and 2^nd in RBI (1212).

Boyu Long and Cheng Kang formed the 500 home run club four days apart with Kang getting there on April 1 and Long on April 5. Wenzhou’s Long reclaimed the top spot by the end of the year, finishing his career with 537 homers. In his last year with Shijiazhuang, Kang got to 524 homers. The 35-year old Kang would have one more CLB season in 2024 with Guangzhou.

Long, Kang, and Zhang each passed Xinze Yan’s career RBI mark of 1157. The season ended with Long first at 1238, followed by Zhang (1212) and Kang (1199). Kang and Long became the 14^th and 15^th to score 1000 career runs and Kang was the 15^th to 2000 hits. Both Zhang (CF) and Long (RF) notably became nine-time Silver Slugger winners. 2B Kenny Sang won his 7^th Silver Slugger. Bozhao Zhu became the 11^th to 400 home runs. RF Haojian Fang and 1B Jingzhe Liao both won a 7^th consecutive Gold Glove.

01-17-2025, 05:08 PM	#1985
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,954	2023 in CLB The Northern League had a competitive field in 2023 with only ten games separating first place from eighth. The top two pulled away slightly at the end with Tianjin first (95-67) and Qingdao second (94-68). Both earned repeat playoff berths, although the Jackrabbits hadn’t finished first since 2005. Tianjin set a new Chinese League Baseball team record with 111 triples. The Devils meanwhile had the most runs in CLB in 2023 at 631. Dalian at 89-73 narrowly took third for their first playoff berth in a decade. Changchun and Nanjing tied for the final spot at 88-74, while Beijing (87-75), Jinan (86-76), and defending NL champ Urumqi (85-77) each fell just short. The Camels defeated the Nuggets in the one game playoff to advance for their fifth playoff berth in eight years. Nanjing’s playoff streak ended at three seasons despite allowing the fewest runs in CLB at 417. Northern League MVP went to Qingdao 3B Xiku Yan in his sixth season. The 28-year old lefty led in runs (97), hits (185), and WAR (10.4). Yan added 36 home runs, 105 RBI, .951 OPS, and 222 wRC+. The Devils committed to him after the 2024 season to a seven-year, $162,400,000 extension. Changchun righty Zhifeng Gao secured Pitcher of the Year, leading in ERA (1.45), strikeouts (344), WHIP (0.65), K/BB (15.6), and WAR (10.1). The 31-year old had a 187 ERA+ over 223.1 innings and 16-8 record. Unfortunately for Gao, an arthritic elbow the following year ended his Camels tenure. He’d still secure the bag on a four-year, $106.4 million deal with MLB’s Houston in 2025, but would be out of the game by 2026 after back-to-back rotator cuff tears. The Northern League’s Round Robin was a mess as all four teams finished at 3-3. After sorting out tiebreakers, Tianjin and Dalian advanced to the semifinal. The Jackrabbits hadn’t gotten that far since 2005, while the Gold Dragons’ last trip was 2007. After all the parity, top-seeded Tianjin dominated Dalian in a semifinal sweep. The Jackrabbits earned their seventh China Series trip, although they hadn’t gotten through since their mid 1980s dynasty. Xiamen surprised many by dominating the Southern League standings at 107-55. It was the first-ever 100+ win season for the Mutts, whose last playoff berth was their 2009 CLB Championship. That ended what was the longest active playoff drought in CLB at 13 seasons. Xiamen hadn’t finished first in the standings since 2006. The Mutts allowed the fewest runs in the SL at 446. 15 games away in second was 92-70 Guangzhou, earning their second playoff berth in three years. The final two spots had a glut with Foshan (87-75) getting third to extend their playoff streak to six. The Flyers were the SL’s top scoring team with 615 runs. Fourth saw a tie at 86-78 between Hong Kong and Kunming, while Shantou (85-77) and Changsha (84-78) just missed. The one-game tiebreaker had HK defeat the Muscle, keeping the reigning China Series winner’s repeat bid alive. The Champions earned a sixth straight playoff berth, having won the SL in four of the prior five seasons. Dongguan went from first in 2022 to 11^th in 2023 at 75-87. Leading Xiamen’s turnaround was an unlikely hero in Jeremy Marien, who won Southern League MVP. The 30-year old French first baseman was a late bloomer who failed to make the show in Europe in his 20s. The Mutts signed him in 2020 and he was only a part-timer in his first three years in China with 95 starts and 151 games. Marien earned the starting gig for the first time in 2023 and thrived, leading in RBI (102), walks (85), OBP (.408), slugging (.607), OPS (1.015), and wRC+ (214). He also had 97 runs, 46 home runs, .311 average, and 9.2 WAR. Guangzhou’s Kamesh Sajeev repeated as Pitcher of the Year in only his third season. The 24-year old Indian righty led in wins (17-9), strikeouts (334), WHIP (0.78), K/BB (11.9), complete games (19), FIP- (47), and WAR (10.1). Sajeev had a 1.86 ERA and 159 ERA+ over 251.2 innings. The top two seeds Xiamen and Guangzhou rolled to 5-1 in the Round Robin with both Hong Kong and Foshan going 1-5. The Gamecocks earned their second semifinal trip in three years and came away with a big upset despite being 15 wins beneath the Mutts. Guangzhou cruised to a 4-1 semifinal win over Xiamen for their first China Series trip since 2012. The Gamecocks earned their seventh finals berth overall. The 54^th China Series was the second time that Tianjin and Guangzhou had met in the championship. In the second-ever finale, the Gamecocks upset a 123-win Jackrabbits squad. Tianjin whooped Guangzhou 4-0 in the 2023 encounter to become five-time CLB champs (1972, 1983, 1986, 1988, 2023. The Jackrabbits were now tied with Beijing for the second-most rings with only Dalian (6) with more. Tianjin ended a 34-year title drought, the longest streak between titles in CLB history to that point. The previous long was Guangzhou at 28 years (1972-1999). SS Jun Xin was finals MVP in his ninth year for the Jackrabbits, bouncing back after missing the summer to a partially torn labrum. In 14 playoff starts, Xin had 15 hits, 5 runs,5 doubles, and 3 RBI. This continued a run of relatively uncompetitive China Series meetings, as each series from 2017-23 was either a sweep or 4-1. Other notes: 2023 was the final CLB season for three-time MVP CF Zhen Zhang, who would depart for MLB’s Philadelphia for his final three seasons at age 36. Zhang finished at 151.1 WAR, just shy of Junjie Hsiung’s 152.6 for the top spot among CLB position players. Zhang also left CLB ranked 4^th in home runs (474), 3^rd in hits (2396), 2^nd in runs (1159), and 2^nd in RBI (1212). Boyu Long and Cheng Kang formed the 500 home run club four days apart with Kang getting there on April 1 and Long on April 5. Wenzhou’s Long reclaimed the top spot by the end of the year, finishing his career with 537 homers. In his last year with Shijiazhuang, Kang got to 524 homers. The 35-year old Kang would have one more CLB season in 2024 with Guangzhou. Long, Kang, and Zhang each passed Xinze Yan’s career RBI mark of 1157. The season ended with Long first at 1238, followed by Zhang (1212) and Kang (1199). Kang and Long became the 14^th and 15^th to score 1000 career runs and Kang was the 15^th to 2000 hits. Both Zhang (CF) and Long (RF) notably became nine-time Silver Slugger winners. 2B Kenny Sang won his 7^th Silver Slugger. Bozhao Zhu became the 11^th to 400 home runs. RF Haojian Fang and 1B Jingzhe Liao both won a 7^th consecutive Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)