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FuzzyRussianHat · 01-19-2025, 08:06 AM

For the 2023 season, East Asia Baseball lowered its active roster size from 25 back to 24 players. EAB had started with 25, then lowered to 24 for the 1967 season. They had moved back to 25 from 1998 until changing again to 24 for 2023.

The Japan League had notable parity in 2023 with no 100+ win teams and only two games separating the #1 seed from #3. Chiba surprised many by taking the top spot at 97-65 atop the Capital Division, bouncing back from repeat 70-92 seasons. The Comets were 11 games ahead of last year’s division winner Tokyo.

Kobe at 96-66 claimed the Central Division and the #2 seed, although they had the toughest opposition. Nagoya missed by three at 93-69 while Osaka was 90-72 and Kyoto was 87-75, ending the Kamikaze’s bid for a third straight JLCS berth. The Orange Sox got their ninth consecutive winning season. For the Blaze, this ended an 18-year postseason drought, which was the longest active skid in Japan. Kobe was a mere 67-95 the prior year and hadn’t been above .500 since 2016. The Blaze allowed the fewest runs in the JL (536) while Osaka scored the most (718).

Reigning EAB champ Fukuoka fell significantly from their historic 110-win 2022, but still won a fourth straight West Division at 95-67. Kumamoto was their only competitor at 90-72, which was an impressive turnaround as they hadn’t even won 70+ games since 2017. Sapporo was the only team of note in the North Division at 90-72 for their fourth division title in six years. Saitama, who won the North the prior two seasons, limped to 70-92.

Leading Kobe’s turnaround was Japan League MVP Se-Yeon Kwan in his fourth year starting. The 25-year old center fielder led in total bases (340) and WAR (9.7). Kwan had 107 runs, 28 doubles, 19 triples, 28 homers, 83 RBI, 71 stolen bases, and .951 OPS. He also hit for the cycle in May against Sendai. The Blaze secured him into his 30s with an eight-year, $230 million extension signed in the winter.

Fukuoka ace Toshikuni Naikai won his seventh Pitcher of the Year and his sixth consecutive, joining Yu-Geon Moon as EAB’s only seven-timers. His accumulations were down noticeably as a herniated disc and wrist soreness cost him a sizeable chunk of the season, including the playoffs. Still, Naikai was dominant enough again to lead in WAR (10.3) despite only 147.2 innings.

Naikai didn’t have the innings to qualify for his seventh ERA title, but his 1.04 mark would’ve won easily. He had a 14-3 record, 282 strikeouts, 0.61 WHIP, 334 ERA+, and 7 FIP-. On April 6, he tossed his fourth no-hitter in a 17 strikeout, 1 walk effort over Hiroshima. Naikai joined 1920s legend Zeshin Saito as the only EAB pitchers with four career no-nos.

This would be his final year of unprecedented dominance at age 32. Naikai would still pitch four more seasons, but injuries would make him finally appear mortal. Still, his eight year 2016-23 run may be the most dominant stretch of any pitcher ever, posting 97.9 WAR over 1580 innings, 2877 strikeouts, 132-25 record, and a 1.17 ERA.

Even with Naikai hurt, Fukuoka swept Kobe in the first round to keep their repeat hopes alive. Chiba swept Sapporo on the other side, sending the Comets to their first Japan League Championship Series since 2013. Home field advantage wasn’t enough for Chiba to dethrone Fukuoka, as the Frogs won it 4-2 to repeat. This was the fifth JL pennant for Fukuoka (1928, 1929, 1980, 2022, 2023).

The Korea League’s South Division again was where the strength was concentrated. Changwon repeated as division champ with an impressive 108-54 finish, earning their seventh playoff berth in eight years. The Crabs led in both runs scored (819) and fewest allowed (558). Busan (98-64) and defending KL champ Daegu (95-67) both easily got repeat wild cards with Suwon a distant third at 87-75. The Blue Jays’ playoff streak grew to four seasons.

The North Division did see a shakeup with Bucheon on top at 92-70, earning their first playoff berth since 2012. The Bolts had been awful recently, going 70-92 the prior year with three 100+ loss seasons before that. Suwon (87-75), last year’s division winner Incheon (86-76) and Seongnam (85-77) were the closest foes. The Spiders notably posted a tenth straight winning season, although it was the third year running that they missed the playoffs anyway.

Daegu swept the top awards, led by Korea League MVP In-Seong Doko. The 24-year old DH led in hits (209), OBP (.393), and wRC+ (171). Doko added 7.0 WAR, 103 runs, 40 doubles, 34 homers, and 116 RBI. He eventually inked an eight-year, $240 million extension with the Diamondbacks after the 2025 season, although he’d run into injuries and a steep decline soon after that deal.

Hyuk Kim was Pitcher of the Year in his sixth full season with the Diamondbacks, leading in wins at 23-5. Kim had a 2.47 ERA over 255 innings, 266 strikeouts, 151 ERA+, and 8.2 WAR. He signed a four-year, $107,400,000 extension in 2023’s spring training. Kim also would run into injuries and would have trouble replicating his 2023 success.

Those two led Daegu to a 3-1 first round upset over top seed Changwon, keeping the Diamondbacks’ repeat hopes alive. The other wild card Busan also secured a 3-1 upset over Bucheon, sending the Blue Jays to their second Korea League Championship Series in three years. Busan downed Daegu 4-2 to earn their first pennant since 2009. This was the 12^th time as Korean champ for the Blue Jays, which ranked as the third most behind the Diamondbacks (15) and Pyongyang (13).

In the 103^rd East Asian Championship, Fukuoka rolled 4-1 over Busan to secure repeat titles and their fourth overall (1929, 1980, 2022, 2023). RF Ji-Su Cho was finals MVP in his eighth year for the Frogs. In 14 playoff starts, Cho had 22 hits, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, and 16 RBI for 1.234 OPS.

Other notes: Chiba’s Naohisa Sakiyama set a new playoff record for OBP at .588 over 34 plate appearances. Sang-Beom Shin became the 33^rd member of the 600 home run club and Masaru Ochiai became the 71^st member of the 500 home run club. Jae-A Choi became the 24^th to reach 3000 hits. SS Yuko Onishi won his 7^th Gold Glove.

01-19-2025, 08:06 AM	#1991
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,891	2023 in EAB For the 2023 season, East Asia Baseball lowered its active roster size from 25 back to 24 players. EAB had started with 25, then lowered to 24 for the 1967 season. They had moved back to 25 from 1998 until changing again to 24 for 2023. The Japan League had notable parity in 2023 with no 100+ win teams and only two games separating the #1 seed from #3. Chiba surprised many by taking the top spot at 97-65 atop the Capital Division, bouncing back from repeat 70-92 seasons. The Comets were 11 games ahead of last year’s division winner Tokyo. Kobe at 96-66 claimed the Central Division and the #2 seed, although they had the toughest opposition. Nagoya missed by three at 93-69 while Osaka was 90-72 and Kyoto was 87-75, ending the Kamikaze’s bid for a third straight JLCS berth. The Orange Sox got their ninth consecutive winning season. For the Blaze, this ended an 18-year postseason drought, which was the longest active skid in Japan. Kobe was a mere 67-95 the prior year and hadn’t been above .500 since 2016. The Blaze allowed the fewest runs in the JL (536) while Osaka scored the most (718). Reigning EAB champ Fukuoka fell significantly from their historic 110-win 2022, but still won a fourth straight West Division at 95-67. Kumamoto was their only competitor at 90-72, which was an impressive turnaround as they hadn’t even won 70+ games since 2017. Sapporo was the only team of note in the North Division at 90-72 for their fourth division title in six years. Saitama, who won the North the prior two seasons, limped to 70-92. Leading Kobe’s turnaround was Japan League MVP Se-Yeon Kwan in his fourth year starting. The 25-year old center fielder led in total bases (340) and WAR (9.7). Kwan had 107 runs, 28 doubles, 19 triples, 28 homers, 83 RBI, 71 stolen bases, and .951 OPS. He also hit for the cycle in May against Sendai. The Blaze secured him into his 30s with an eight-year, $230 million extension signed in the winter. Fukuoka ace Toshikuni Naikai won his seventh Pitcher of the Year and his sixth consecutive, joining Yu-Geon Moon as EAB’s only seven-timers. His accumulations were down noticeably as a herniated disc and wrist soreness cost him a sizeable chunk of the season, including the playoffs. Still, Naikai was dominant enough again to lead in WAR (10.3) despite only 147.2 innings. Naikai didn’t have the innings to qualify for his seventh ERA title, but his 1.04 mark would’ve won easily. He had a 14-3 record, 282 strikeouts, 0.61 WHIP, 334 ERA+, and 7 FIP-. On April 6, he tossed his fourth no-hitter in a 17 strikeout, 1 walk effort over Hiroshima. Naikai joined 1920s legend Zeshin Saito as the only EAB pitchers with four career no-nos. This would be his final year of unprecedented dominance at age 32. Naikai would still pitch four more seasons, but injuries would make him finally appear mortal. Still, his eight year 2016-23 run may be the most dominant stretch of any pitcher ever, posting 97.9 WAR over 1580 innings, 2877 strikeouts, 132-25 record, and a 1.17 ERA. Even with Naikai hurt, Fukuoka swept Kobe in the first round to keep their repeat hopes alive. Chiba swept Sapporo on the other side, sending the Comets to their first Japan League Championship Series since 2013. Home field advantage wasn’t enough for Chiba to dethrone Fukuoka, as the Frogs won it 4-2 to repeat. This was the fifth JL pennant for Fukuoka (1928, 1929, 1980, 2022, 2023). The Korea League’s South Division again was where the strength was concentrated. Changwon repeated as division champ with an impressive 108-54 finish, earning their seventh playoff berth in eight years. The Crabs led in both runs scored (819) and fewest allowed (558). Busan (98-64) and defending KL champ Daegu (95-67) both easily got repeat wild cards with Suwon a distant third at 87-75. The Blue Jays’ playoff streak grew to four seasons. The North Division did see a shakeup with Bucheon on top at 92-70, earning their first playoff berth since 2012. The Bolts had been awful recently, going 70-92 the prior year with three 100+ loss seasons before that. Suwon (87-75), last year’s division winner Incheon (86-76) and Seongnam (85-77) were the closest foes. The Spiders notably posted a tenth straight winning season, although it was the third year running that they missed the playoffs anyway. Daegu swept the top awards, led by Korea League MVP In-Seong Doko. The 24-year old DH led in hits (209), OBP (.393), and wRC+ (171). Doko added 7.0 WAR, 103 runs, 40 doubles, 34 homers, and 116 RBI. He eventually inked an eight-year, $240 million extension with the Diamondbacks after the 2025 season, although he’d run into injuries and a steep decline soon after that deal. Hyuk Kim was Pitcher of the Year in his sixth full season with the Diamondbacks, leading in wins at 23-5. Kim had a 2.47 ERA over 255 innings, 266 strikeouts, 151 ERA+, and 8.2 WAR. He signed a four-year, $107,400,000 extension in 2023’s spring training. Kim also would run into injuries and would have trouble replicating his 2023 success. Those two led Daegu to a 3-1 first round upset over top seed Changwon, keeping the Diamondbacks’ repeat hopes alive. The other wild card Busan also secured a 3-1 upset over Bucheon, sending the Blue Jays to their second Korea League Championship Series in three years. Busan downed Daegu 4-2 to earn their first pennant since 2009. This was the 12^th time as Korean champ for the Blue Jays, which ranked as the third most behind the Diamondbacks (15) and Pyongyang (13). In the 103^rd East Asian Championship, Fukuoka rolled 4-1 over Busan to secure repeat titles and their fourth overall (1929, 1980, 2022, 2023). RF Ji-Su Cho was finals MVP in his eighth year for the Frogs. In 14 playoff starts, Cho had 22 hits, 11 runs, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, and 16 RBI for 1.234 OPS. Other notes: Chiba’s Naohisa Sakiyama set a new playoff record for OBP at .588 over 34 plate appearances. Sang-Beom Shin became the 33^rd member of the 600 home run club and Masaru Ochiai became the 71^st member of the 500 home run club. Jae-A Choi became the 24^th to reach 3000 hits. SS Yuko Onishi won his 7^th Gold Glove. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)