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FuzzyRussianHat · 11-13-2025, 07:12 AM

All eyes were on Hamamatsu following their historic 126-win season in 2037 en route to a third straight East Asia Baseball title and Baseball Grand Champion honors. The Chickenhawks couldn’t match that absurd pace, but were still excellent at 112-50 for their fifth straight Central Division title. It is the fourth time in that run that Hamamatsu won 110+ games. They had the most runs in EAB (821) and the best run differential (+329).

Last year’s Japan League runner-up Kawasaki gave them a challenge for the top seed at 107-55 for their fifth straight Capital Division crown and 100+ win season. The Killer Whales’ playoff streak grew to seven as they allowed the fewest runs in EAB at 490, two fewer than Hamamatsu. The division was loaded with Saitama (100-62) and Yokohama (96-66) easily taking the two wild card spots. It was the second playoff berth in three years for the Sting, while the Yellow Jackets ended a 19-year drought.

Sapporo repeated in the North Division at 99-63 and got their third straight playoff trip. Sendai was six back at 93-69 and three behind Yokohama for the final wild card. Niigata notably plummeted to 73-89 for their first losing season since 2024. Fukuoka meanwhile repeated as West Division champs, the only team above .500 at 99-63.

Hamamatsu 1B Mitsuru Ishida repeated as Japan League MVP and posted only the tenth hitting Triple Crown in EAB history. Masanori Fukuoka was the last to do it back in 2028. The 25-year old Ishida led in runs (128), hits (228), homers (55), RBI (149), total bases (443), average (.368), OBP (.418), OPS (1.129), wRC+ (219), and WAR (12.0). He also had 35 doubles and a .711 slugging. In February, the Chickenhawks extended their 6’8’’ slugger at $331 million over eight years.

Fukuoka’s Young-Su Wie won Pitcher of the Year, getting 24 first place votes and 222 points. Sendai’s Atsuo Sugaya was a competitive second with 11 first place votes and 171 points. Hamamatsu’s Masamichi Kasai and Kyoto’s Terutoshi Fujisawa also got first place nods. Sugaya notably had a 1.88 ERA, missing the title by less than a full point. Kasai was the WARlord (9.9) with Sugaya at 9.2.

Wie was the wins leader at 22-3 and had a 1.95 ERA over 235.1 innings, 271 strikeouts, 184 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 5.9 WAR. The 24-year old South Korean righty was in his third season starting with the Frogs. He had been drafted in the second round by Seongnam in 2030, but was traded to Fukuoka in summer 2032. The Frogs gave Wie a five-year, $71,500,000 extension in September 2036.

Fukuoka had the one-game bonus as a division champ in the wild card round, but Saitama dispatched them with 4-2, 4-1, and 5-3 road wins. Yokohama hoped to upset Sapporo and started with 3-2 and 5-1 road wins. The Swordfish had the one-game handicap and survived with 5-2 and 7-6 wins later in the series.

Despite a 12-win advantage for Hamamatsu, Saitama had won the season series 4-2. The Sting shocked the three-time defending champs in the divisional round with an emphatic sweep with 8-4, 10-2, and 3-1 wins. Saitama earned their first Japan League Championship Series trip since winning it all for the only time in 2025. Observers wondered if this would be a true end for the Chickenhawks dynasty, or if they’d bounce back from the shocking upset.

On the other side of the bracket, Kawasaki outlasted Sapporo 2-1 in 14 inning game one. Game two went 11 innings with the Swordfish getting the 7-5 road victory. Sapporo scored four in the eighth inning to even the contest after trailing all game. Then in game three, it was the Killer Whales’ turn at the road win in another marathon. This one went 15 innings before Kawasaki finally broke through for a 5-4 win.

Game four was the first to not go extras, a 6-3 Sapporo win that forced game five back in Kawasaki. In the bottom of the eighth, U-Jun Song’s two-run homer put the Killer Whales ahead 3-1. The Swordfish led off the ninth with a solo homer, but that was their final baserunner of the game. The 3-2 victory pushed Kawasaki to the JLCS for the fourth time in five years. They were the last team to win the pennant before Hamamatsu’s run, taking the crown in 2033.

The divisional rivals had been dead even over their 18 regular season meetings, so fans expected a long series. They didn’t get it, as Saitama stunned Kawasaki with the first JLCS sweep since 2029. The Sting got 3-2 road wins in the first two games, followed by repeat 5-3 home wins. The defining moment came in game three with a four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Two-way player Toshiyasu Tamada was the series MVP, throwing eight innings in game four with only two hits and two unearned runs allowed. Offensively, Tamada went 4-12 with a solo homer. He had been a primary outfielder in the regular season and had only thrown 35.1 innings all year. This was only the third time atop the Japan League for Saitama (1930, 2025, 2037).

11-13-2025, 07:12 AM	#2561
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,412	2037 EAB Japan League All eyes were on Hamamatsu following their historic 126-win season in 2037 en route to a third straight East Asia Baseball title and Baseball Grand Champion honors. The Chickenhawks couldn’t match that absurd pace, but were still excellent at 112-50 for their fifth straight Central Division title. It is the fourth time in that run that Hamamatsu won 110+ games. They had the most runs in EAB (821) and the best run differential (+329). Last year’s Japan League runner-up Kawasaki gave them a challenge for the top seed at 107-55 for their fifth straight Capital Division crown and 100+ win season. The Killer Whales’ playoff streak grew to seven as they allowed the fewest runs in EAB at 490, two fewer than Hamamatsu. The division was loaded with Saitama (100-62) and Yokohama (96-66) easily taking the two wild card spots. It was the second playoff berth in three years for the Sting, while the Yellow Jackets ended a 19-year drought. Sapporo repeated in the North Division at 99-63 and got their third straight playoff trip. Sendai was six back at 93-69 and three behind Yokohama for the final wild card. Niigata notably plummeted to 73-89 for their first losing season since 2024. Fukuoka meanwhile repeated as West Division champs, the only team above .500 at 99-63. Hamamatsu 1B Mitsuru Ishida repeated as Japan League MVP and posted only the tenth hitting Triple Crown in EAB history. Masanori Fukuoka was the last to do it back in 2028. The 25-year old Ishida led in runs (128), hits (228), homers (55), RBI (149), total bases (443), average (.368), OBP (.418), OPS (1.129), wRC+ (219), and WAR (12.0). He also had 35 doubles and a .711 slugging. In February, the Chickenhawks extended their 6’8’’ slugger at $331 million over eight years. Fukuoka’s Young-Su Wie won Pitcher of the Year, getting 24 first place votes and 222 points. Sendai’s Atsuo Sugaya was a competitive second with 11 first place votes and 171 points. Hamamatsu’s Masamichi Kasai and Kyoto’s Terutoshi Fujisawa also got first place nods. Sugaya notably had a 1.88 ERA, missing the title by less than a full point. Kasai was the WARlord (9.9) with Sugaya at 9.2. Wie was the wins leader at 22-3 and had a 1.95 ERA over 235.1 innings, 271 strikeouts, 184 ERA+, 74 FIP-, and 5.9 WAR. The 24-year old South Korean righty was in his third season starting with the Frogs. He had been drafted in the second round by Seongnam in 2030, but was traded to Fukuoka in summer 2032. The Frogs gave Wie a five-year, $71,500,000 extension in September 2036. Fukuoka had the one-game bonus as a division champ in the wild card round, but Saitama dispatched them with 4-2, 4-1, and 5-3 road wins. Yokohama hoped to upset Sapporo and started with 3-2 and 5-1 road wins. The Swordfish had the one-game handicap and survived with 5-2 and 7-6 wins later in the series. Despite a 12-win advantage for Hamamatsu, Saitama had won the season series 4-2. The Sting shocked the three-time defending champs in the divisional round with an emphatic sweep with 8-4, 10-2, and 3-1 wins. Saitama earned their first Japan League Championship Series trip since winning it all for the only time in 2025. Observers wondered if this would be a true end for the Chickenhawks dynasty, or if they’d bounce back from the shocking upset. On the other side of the bracket, Kawasaki outlasted Sapporo 2-1 in 14 inning game one. Game two went 11 innings with the Swordfish getting the 7-5 road victory. Sapporo scored four in the eighth inning to even the contest after trailing all game. Then in game three, it was the Killer Whales’ turn at the road win in another marathon. This one went 15 innings before Kawasaki finally broke through for a 5-4 win. Game four was the first to not go extras, a 6-3 Sapporo win that forced game five back in Kawasaki. In the bottom of the eighth, U-Jun Song’s two-run homer put the Killer Whales ahead 3-1. The Swordfish led off the ninth with a solo homer, but that was their final baserunner of the game. The 3-2 victory pushed Kawasaki to the JLCS for the fourth time in five years. They were the last team to win the pennant before Hamamatsu’s run, taking the crown in 2033. The divisional rivals had been dead even over their 18 regular season meetings, so fans expected a long series. They didn’t get it, as Saitama stunned Kawasaki with the first JLCS sweep since 2029. The Sting got 3-2 road wins in the first two games, followed by repeat 5-3 home wins. The defining moment came in game three with a four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two-way player Toshiyasu Tamada was the series MVP, throwing eight innings in game four with only two hits and two unearned runs allowed. Offensively, Tamada went 4-12 with a solo homer. He had been a primary outfielder in the regular season and had only thrown 35.1 innings all year. This was only the third time atop the Japan League for Saitama (1930, 2025, 2037). __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)