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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-01-2025, 06:35 AM

Chinese League Baseball made two significant changes prior to the 2028 season. The first was increasing the active roster size from 25 to 26 players. The only other world league at 26 was South Asia Baseball, who had only made the move in 2026. 25 was the “default” but many of the world leagues had lowered their active roster sizes over the years.

The other changes were made to increase offensive numbers league wide. CLB had been an extremely low offense environment, usually battling with Austronesia Professional Baseball for which had the least scoring. The changes weren’t so extreme to turn CLB into a high-scoring league, but officials felt the environment was possibly stunting league growth.

The league average ERA in the 1970s was around 2.80 and had fallen towards around the 2.30 mark when CLB first made changes to spark offense in 2016. It had hovered back around the 2.80 region since, but the changes would boost the league ERA to around the 3.20s. The batting average also grew from around .230 to around .245. CLB was still a low offense league on the global scale, but would now have some distance from APB’s bottom ranked stats.

The Northern League’s four playoff teams were completely different from the prior year. Hangzhou took first at 92-70 to notably earn their third playoff berth in four years, leading all of CLB with 652 runs scored. It was the second-time ever that the Hens finished first in the standings (1979). Beijing was one back in second at 91-71 and allowed the NL’s fewest runs at 538. This ended a 12-year playoff drought for the Bears, which had been the longest active drought in China.

It was a crowded mess for the final two playoff spots. Qingdao took third at 87-75 to end their four-year playoff drought. Urumqi and Harbin tied at 86-76, but the Unicorns advanced by winning the tiebreaker game. The Unicorns ended a three-year playoff drought. Just missing the cut were Shijiazhuang (83-79), Tianjin (82-80), Nanjing (81-81), and Xi’an (80-82). Defending China Series winner Zhengzhou shockingly fell to last place at 70-92. Last year’s first place finisher Jinan fell to 77-85.

Harbin’s Ming Li won his second Northern League MVP in three seasons. The 26-year old CF led in runs (114), total bases (373), and WAR (11.0). Li had 182 hits, 27 doubles, 13 triples, 46 homers, 109 RBI, 53 steals, and a .304/.352/.624 slash.

Beijing’s Kai-Wen Hung was Pitcher of the Year as the 30-year old Taiwanese lefty led in wins at 19-6. Hung had a 2.49 ERA, 263.1 innings, 221 strikeouts, 134 ERA+, and 4.4 WAR. The pitching WAR total was notably the second-lowest by a CLB POTY winner to date. Hung was notably a regular pinch hitter and had 1.5 WAR offensively with 12 homers, 23 RBI, .845 OPS, and 140 wRC+ over 153 at-bats.

Qingdao (5-1) and Hangzhou (3-3) advanced out of the round robin while Urumqi and Beijing were both eliminated at 2-4. The Hens earned their second semifinal trip in three years, while the Devils hadn’t gotten there since 2012. Qingdao rolled 4-1 over Hangzhou in the semi to earn only their third-ever trip to the China Series (1992, 2008, 2028).

In the Southern League, Changsha (99-63) edged out last year’s runner up Xiamen (98-64) for the top spot. The Cannons led the SL in scoring (639) and ended a five-year playoff drought. It was only their third time atop the standings (1997, 2004). The Mutts would end up as the only 2027 playoff team to make it back in 2028. Last year’s top seed, Xiamen picked up a fifth playoff berth in six years.

Shenzhen (92-70) and Dongguan (90-72) took the remaining spots. Wenzhou (88-74) was the first team out despite allowing the fewest runs (469). The Spartans snapped a decade-long playoff drought and the Donkeys ended a five-year skid. Chongqing, Kunming, and Nanning each finished 84-78, which ended three-year playoff streaks for both the Cavaliers and Muscle.

Changsha’s Tao Cai won his third Southern League MVP, returning to the perch after winning way back in 2021-22. The 31-year old LF led in OBP (.421) and OPS (1.062). Cai had 206 hits, 105 runs, 31 doubles, 40 home runs, 105 RBI, .352 average, and 11.2 WAR. There was tough competition, including Shenzhen’s Faqing Zhang and Chongqing’s Aniwa Xirzat. Zhang was the WARlord at 12.0, while Xirzat set new CLB single-season records for batting average (.392) and hits (235). Both of those marks still hold as of 2037.

Guangzhou’s Kamesh Sajeev won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously won in 2022-23. The 29-year old Indian righty led in WHIP (0.78) complete games (20), and shutouts (6). Sajeev had a 17-6 record and 11 saves, 1.96 ERA, 234 innings, 256 strikeouts, 154 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR. The Gamecocks would trade him to Xiamen for five prospects in the offseason as a long-term deal wasn’t coming together. Sajeev spent one year with the Mutts, then departed for MLB and a six-year, $160,800,000 deal with Ottawa.

Shenzhen was the top team in the round robin at 5-1, their first semifinal trip since 2015. Changsha and Xiamen were both 3-3 and Dongguan finished 1-5. The tiebreaker pushed the Mutts ahead for their fifth semi in six years. Although Xiamen barely got out of the round robin, they cruised to a semifinal sweep over the Spartans to earn back-to-back China Series trips. The Mutts earned their fifth finals appearance (1981, 2006, 09, 27, 28).

In the 59^th China Series, Xiamen defeated Qingdao 4-2 to break up the Northern League’s five-year run of titles. The Mutts earned their third ring, having also won it all in 2006 and 2009. Second year LF Shubin Liu was finals MVP, getting 16 hits, 8 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 7 RBI, 5 steals, and 1.306 OPS over 10 playoff starts.

Other notes: Tianjin set a league team record with 117 triples. Beijing’s .314 team OBP was the second-best in NL history. Shantou’s Feng Smith had a 32-game hitting streak, breaking the previous CLB record of only 27. Lung Ding set a bad record by getting caught stealing 85 times. Tao Cai became the 14^th member of the 400 home run club and Kenny Sang became the 17^th to score 1000 runs. Yihai Wu became the 10^th to 300 saves.

04-01-2025, 06:35 AM	#2182
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,781	2028 in CLB Chinese League Baseball made two significant changes prior to the 2028 season. The first was increasing the active roster size from 25 to 26 players. The only other world league at 26 was South Asia Baseball, who had only made the move in 2026. 25 was the “default” but many of the world leagues had lowered their active roster sizes over the years. The other changes were made to increase offensive numbers league wide. CLB had been an extremely low offense environment, usually battling with Austronesia Professional Baseball for which had the least scoring. The changes weren’t so extreme to turn CLB into a high-scoring league, but officials felt the environment was possibly stunting league growth. The league average ERA in the 1970s was around 2.80 and had fallen towards around the 2.30 mark when CLB first made changes to spark offense in 2016. It had hovered back around the 2.80 region since, but the changes would boost the league ERA to around the 3.20s. The batting average also grew from around .230 to around .245. CLB was still a low offense league on the global scale, but would now have some distance from APB’s bottom ranked stats. The Northern League’s four playoff teams were completely different from the prior year. Hangzhou took first at 92-70 to notably earn their third playoff berth in four years, leading all of CLB with 652 runs scored. It was the second-time ever that the Hens finished first in the standings (1979). Beijing was one back in second at 91-71 and allowed the NL’s fewest runs at 538. This ended a 12-year playoff drought for the Bears, which had been the longest active drought in China. It was a crowded mess for the final two playoff spots. Qingdao took third at 87-75 to end their four-year playoff drought. Urumqi and Harbin tied at 86-76, but the Unicorns advanced by winning the tiebreaker game. The Unicorns ended a three-year playoff drought. Just missing the cut were Shijiazhuang (83-79), Tianjin (82-80), Nanjing (81-81), and Xi’an (80-82). Defending China Series winner Zhengzhou shockingly fell to last place at 70-92. Last year’s first place finisher Jinan fell to 77-85. Harbin’s Ming Li won his second Northern League MVP in three seasons. The 26-year old CF led in runs (114), total bases (373), and WAR (11.0). Li had 182 hits, 27 doubles, 13 triples, 46 homers, 109 RBI, 53 steals, and a .304/.352/.624 slash. Beijing’s Kai-Wen Hung was Pitcher of the Year as the 30-year old Taiwanese lefty led in wins at 19-6. Hung had a 2.49 ERA, 263.1 innings, 221 strikeouts, 134 ERA+, and 4.4 WAR. The pitching WAR total was notably the second-lowest by a CLB POTY winner to date. Hung was notably a regular pinch hitter and had 1.5 WAR offensively with 12 homers, 23 RBI, .845 OPS, and 140 wRC+ over 153 at-bats. Qingdao (5-1) and Hangzhou (3-3) advanced out of the round robin while Urumqi and Beijing were both eliminated at 2-4. The Hens earned their second semifinal trip in three years, while the Devils hadn’t gotten there since 2012. Qingdao rolled 4-1 over Hangzhou in the semi to earn only their third-ever trip to the China Series (1992, 2008, 2028). In the Southern League, Changsha (99-63) edged out last year’s runner up Xiamen (98-64) for the top spot. The Cannons led the SL in scoring (639) and ended a five-year playoff drought. It was only their third time atop the standings (1997, 2004). The Mutts would end up as the only 2027 playoff team to make it back in 2028. Last year’s top seed, Xiamen picked up a fifth playoff berth in six years. Shenzhen (92-70) and Dongguan (90-72) took the remaining spots. Wenzhou (88-74) was the first team out despite allowing the fewest runs (469). The Spartans snapped a decade-long playoff drought and the Donkeys ended a five-year skid. Chongqing, Kunming, and Nanning each finished 84-78, which ended three-year playoff streaks for both the Cavaliers and Muscle. Changsha’s Tao Cai won his third Southern League MVP, returning to the perch after winning way back in 2021-22. The 31-year old LF led in OBP (.421) and OPS (1.062). Cai had 206 hits, 105 runs, 31 doubles, 40 home runs, 105 RBI, .352 average, and 11.2 WAR. There was tough competition, including Shenzhen’s Faqing Zhang and Chongqing’s Aniwa Xirzat. Zhang was the WARlord at 12.0, while Xirzat set new CLB single-season records for batting average (.392) and hits (235). Both of those marks still hold as of 2037. Guangzhou’s Kamesh Sajeev won his third Pitcher of the Year, having previously won in 2022-23. The 29-year old Indian righty led in WHIP (0.78) complete games (20), and shutouts (6). Sajeev had a 17-6 record and 11 saves, 1.96 ERA, 234 innings, 256 strikeouts, 154 ERA+, and 6.4 WAR. The Gamecocks would trade him to Xiamen for five prospects in the offseason as a long-term deal wasn’t coming together. Sajeev spent one year with the Mutts, then departed for MLB and a six-year, $160,800,000 deal with Ottawa. Shenzhen was the top team in the round robin at 5-1, their first semifinal trip since 2015. Changsha and Xiamen were both 3-3 and Dongguan finished 1-5. The tiebreaker pushed the Mutts ahead for their fifth semi in six years. Although Xiamen barely got out of the round robin, they cruised to a semifinal sweep over the Spartans to earn back-to-back China Series trips. The Mutts earned their fifth finals appearance (1981, 2006, 09, 27, 28). In the 59^th China Series, Xiamen defeated Qingdao 4-2 to break up the Northern League’s five-year run of titles. The Mutts earned their third ring, having also won it all in 2006 and 2009. Second year LF Shubin Liu was finals MVP, getting 16 hits, 8 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 7 RBI, 5 steals, and 1.306 OPS over 10 playoff starts. Other notes: Tianjin set a league team record with 117 triples. Beijing’s .314 team OBP was the second-best in NL history. Shantou’s Feng Smith had a 32-game hitting streak, breaking the previous CLB record of only 27. Lung Ding set a bad record by getting caught stealing 85 times. Tao Cai became the 14^th member of the 400 home run club and Kenny Sang became the 17^th to score 1000 runs. Yihai Wu became the 10^th to 300 saves. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)