Asia Series
From BR Bullpen
The Asia Series is an annual international postseason baseball competition between the domestic league champions of Asia. The tournament began with 2005 with teams representing China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
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[edit] History
The first tournament, held in 2005 at the Tokyo Dome, was won by the Chiba Lotte Marines (NPB) with the Marines' Benny Agbayani as the MVP. The next year, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (NPB) won and Yu Darvish won the MVP award. In 2007, the Chunichi Dragons (NPB) won despite a stiff challenge from the SK Wyverns of the KBO. SK beat Chunichi in the first round before a close 6-5 loss in the championship game. Hirokazu Ibata was named MVP after his 9th-inning game-winning single off of former NPB hurler Mike Romano.
In the 2008 Asia Series, the three top teams all went 2-1 in the first round before the Japanese squad, the Seibu Lions, eked out a 1-0 win in the finale. The MVP was Tomoaki Sato.
[edit] Qualifiers
The tournament has four (4) qualifying teams based on the results of their domestic competition. These qualifiers are:
- China - winner of the China Baseball League (from 2005-2007, it was an all star team representing the China Baseball League (CBL) called the China Stars)
- Japan - winner of the Nippon Series (NPB)
- South Korea - winner of the Korean Series (KBO)
- Taiwan - winner of the Taiwan Series (CPBL)
[edit] Format
The format is a 1 game round-robin, followed by a single championship game between the top two teams. All games are played with a designated hitter and a 10-run mercy rule.
[edit] Results
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 5 - 3 | Samsung Lions |
| 2006 | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters | 1 - 0 | La New Bears |
| 2007 | Chunichi Dragons | 6 - 5 | SK Wyverns |
| 2008 | Seibu Lions | 1 - 0 | Uni-President Lions |
