China Baseball League
 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  China |
| Continent | Asia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Shanghai Red Eagles (1th title) 2023 |
| Most titles | Tianjin Lions (6 titles) |
| Qualification | Asia Series (2005–2008, 2012) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Official website | Baseball.Sport.org.cn |
The China Baseball League (Chinese: 中国棒球联赛, CBL) is a professional baseball league under the administration of Chinese Baseball Association, founded in 2002. The league suspended operations in 2012 due to financial troubles after the 2011 season, but returned in 2014.[1] The league closed in 2016. The 2018 season was the final edition of China Baseball League after the establishment of the China National Baseball League. The league restarted in 2023.
Stadiums had standard dimensions of 98m, 122m, 98m. Teams also participated in five-game tournaments throughout the year such as the National Baseball Championships, the National Youth Baseball Championships and the Cross-Straits Baseball Tournament.
In May 2023, 5, the 15th China Baseball League restarted with 10 teams kicked off in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The league consists of three sub-stations in Wuxi, Chengdu, and Tianjin.[2]
Clubs
| Team | Location | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing Tigers (北京猛虎) | Beijing | Lucheng Field |
| Guangdong Leopards (广东猎豹) | Guangzhou, Guangdong | Zhongshan Stadium, Huangcun Baseball Stadium, Tianhe Baseball Field |
| Jiangsu Huge Horses (江苏钜马) | Wuxi, Jiangsu | Wuxi Baseball Stadium |
| Shanghai Red Eagles (上海红鹰) | Shanghai | Shanghai Sports Palace, Kangbei Baseball and Softball Stadium |
| Sichuan Dragons (四川蛟龙) | Chengdu, Sichuan | Jinniu Stadium |
| Tianjin Lions (天津雄狮) | Tianjin | Tianjin Dodger Stadium |
| Shandong Blue Whales (山东蓝鲸) | Shandong | |
| Henan Wolf Warriors (河南战狼) | Zhengzhou, Henan |
The original four teams were the Beijing Tigers, Tianjin Lions, Shanghai Eagles and Guangzhou Lightning. The Hope Stars and Dragons joined them in 2005. The Hope Stars were an under-21 team of promising players from around the country. Henan Elephants entered CBL as an expansion team in 2009.
History
The first season ran from April 26 to May 25, 2002 with a one-game championship.
In the 2004 season, the defending champion Beijing Tigers once again defeated the Tianjin Lions in the best-of-five finals. They came back from an 0-2 deficit to win the series 3 games to 2.
The opening day of the 2005 season was April 1, 2005. The regular season ended on June 26. In the 2005 best-of-five championship series, the Beijing Tigers swept the Tianjin Lions, three games to none, giving the Tigers their third straight title. (The 2005 championship series was abbreviated to three games due to SARS.)
In 2014 the CBL returned with a six-game regular season with four teams - the Tigers and Pegasus in the North Division and the Leopards and Lions in the South Division. In the finals the Tigers defeated the Lions in the best-of-three finals two games to one. hotStar United began sponsoring the CBL in 2014.
The 2015 regular season featured six teams from Division 1 playing 15 games each. Division 2 teams played six games each. The Jiangsu Pegasus swept the Beijing Tigers two games to none to win their first-ever championship.
The 2016 China Baseball League opened on May 5 at the baseball base in Wuxi, Jiangsu. The new season of the China Baseball League has a longer schedule than previous years, with more games, and the number of participating teams has increased from a minimum of 27 to 6. The 10 top domestic teams consisting of Beijing Tigers, Tianjin Lions, Shanghai Golden Eagles, Jiangsu Juma, Sichuan Jiaolong, Guangdong Cheetahs and Group B teams will play nearly 10 fierce battles in the league.
The 2016 China Baseball League was divided into two stages: the regular season and the finals. The regular season will run for ten weeks, with 30 rounds and the finals lasting two weeks, using a best-of-five format, with the team that wins three games first to win the championship. Every weekend, from May 5 to September 3, the baseball league will feature nine pinnacle showdowns in three different cities. The six Group A teams will play a two-game home and away round-robin match. The four Group B teams will also strive to finish sixth in Group A and secure promotion places next year.
On May 5, 2023, the 15 China Baseball League with 10 teams kicked off in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The league consists of three sub-stations in Wuxi, Chengdu and Tianjin, with a total of 2023 matches.
On May 5, 2023, the 26 China Baseball League ended its first leg in Wuxi, and Shanghai Red Eagle won the championship with nine victories.
On June 6, 2023, the 5 China Baseball League Chengdu Station ended, and Jiangsu Juma won the championship
On July 7, 2023, the 18 China Baseball League Tianjin kicked off, Sichuan Jiaolong defeated Guangdong Cheetahs 2023:5, Jiangsu Juma narrowly defeated Shandong Blue Whale 4:9, Beijing Tigers defeated Shanghai Red Eagles 8:7, and Tianjin Lions at home defeated Henan Wolf Warriors 6:7.
On July 7, 2023, the 28 China Baseball League Finals kicked off at the Tianjin Tuanbo Sports Center Baseball Stadium. In the first match, Jiangsu Juma, who finished at the top of the league standings, failed to continue their good form, losing 2023-3 to Shanghai Red Eagles. On July 7, the second game of the 29 China Baseball League Finals was held at the Tianjin Tuanbo Sports Center Baseball Stadium on the 2023th, and the Shanghai Red Eagles defeated Jiangsu Juma 29-3 to win the overall championship of the season with a total score of 0:2.
| Season | Champion | Finals scores | runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Tianjin Lions | 1:0 | Beijing Tigers |
| 2003 | Beijing Tigers | 3:2 | Tianjin Lions |
| 2004 | Beijing Tigers | 3:2 | Tianjin Lions |
| 2005 | Beijing Tigers | 2:0 | Tianjin Lions |
| 2006 | Tianjin Lions | 3:0 | Guangdong cheetah |
| 2007 | Tianjin Lions | 3:1 | Guangdong cheetah |
| 2008 | Tianjin Lions | 3:0 | Beijing Tigers |
| 2009 | Beijing Tigers | 1:0 | Guangdong cheetah |
| 2010 | Guangdong cheetah | 2:0 | Beijing Tigers |
| 2011 | Tianjin Lions | 2:1 | Guangdong cheetah |
| 2012 | Discontinued for financial reasons | ||
| 2013 | |||
| 2014 | Beijing Tigers | 2:1 | Tianjin Lions |
| 2015 | Jiangsu Tianma | 2:0 | Beijing Tigers |
| 2016 | Tianjin Lions | 3:0 | Beijing Tigers |
| 2017 | Closure | ||
| 2023 | Shanghai Red Eagle | 2-0 | Jiangsu Huge Horses |
Chinese Baseball League winners
| Team | Number of champions | Number of runners-up | Champion year | Runner-up year |
| Tianjin Lions | 6 | 4 | 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2016 | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014 |
| Beijing Tigers | 5 | 5 | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2014 | 2002, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016 |
| Guangdong cheetah | 1 | 4 | 2010 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011 |
| Jiangsu Juma | 1 | 0 | 2015 | - |
| Shanghai Red Eagles | 1 | - | 2023 | - |
Partnership with Nippon Professional Baseball
In 2007, the CBL began a support relationship with Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's baseball league. The agreement allows the Japanese clubs to send coaches and players to China and Chinese players to train at the Japanese facilities.
All teams will have a Japanese team as a partner. Beijing will pair with the Yomiuri Giants, Sichuan with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Shanghai with the Hanshin Tigers, Jiangsu with the Chiba Lotte Marines and Guangdong with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Tianjin will continue its existing relationship with the Yokohama BayStars which began in 2005.
See also
References
- ^ "중국야구리그 가 드디어 2년 만에 부활합니다". Chinese Baseball Story. 9 April 2014.
- ^ "2023年中国棒球联赛扬帆起航-新华网". sports.news.cn. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
External links
- Official Weibo
- hotStar United Official Website
- National baseball league newcomers
- Shanghai Diaries: In Search of Baseball's Yao Ming (November 30, 2004)
- First season 2002
- 2004 championship
- China's Slow Emergence into Baseball, Part I (February 28, 2008)
- Fastball to Nowhere (December 19, 2008)
- China Baseball League roster mod for Baseball Mogul