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Pa-League Playoffs in 2004

Discussion in the NPB News forum
Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
The Commissioner has approved (if I'm reading Nikkan Sports correctly) a proposal for a playoff system in the Pacific League for next year that will see the top three teams competing for a spot against the Central League's top team. The second and third place teams will have a best two out of three (if necessary) game series with the winner going against the first place team in a best of five (first to win three) game series. To fit this playoff in before the Nippon Series starting October 16, 2004, the Pacific League will start their season a week earlier than the Central and play 135 games, as opposed to the current 140 games. The Central League will still play 140 games.

Critics of the proposal bring up the possibility that a team with a loosing record during the regular season may be able to rise to Nippon Ichi (#1 in Japan). There is the additional problem of a discrepency in the number of days on a roster between the leagues when counting toward free agency - a good reason to promote counting years by years instead of days on the roster.

Kawashima-commissioner brushes such problems aside and says that something has to be done to help the Pacific League appeal more to fans. I still think that a Pacific Rim League is a better idea (better than a baseball World Cup even), but with SARS cancelling a lot of international sports tournaments lately, including Daiei's scheduled games in Taiwan, now isn't the time.

So, will having the top three teams in contension to the end help make the Pacific League more exciting? Or will it degrade the value of the Nippon Series as some critics seem to think?
Comments
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Guest: Jim Albright | Posted: May 20, 2003 11:26 PM ]

I will say this: while more teams would be involved this way, if this system lasts long enough, you'll start to get some rather mediocre champions. Short series give lesser teams a better chance of pulling off a fluke win, and taking three of six teams in your league means you're generally going to get at least one mediocre team. I frankly think it is a bad idea.

Jim Albright
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Kiyoshi | Posted: May 21, 2003 1:08 AM | HAN Fan ]

This idea doesn't help, but makes the Pacific League champion less credible.

Michael Westbay's proposal of a Pacific Rim Champion is great. Have the CPBL champion play the KBO champion. The winner would face the winner of the Nippon Series.

(Here's my spin.) Then have the Asia Champion play the MLB winner in Honolulu's Aloha Stadium.
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Guest: Suraj | Posted: May 21, 2003 12:03 PM ]

I can't believe I'm proposing an idea from MLB, but...

It's absolutely ridiculous to have one league have a 3-team playoff, and the other league not. NPB should abolish league management and have a single management structure overlooking both leagues. If they want playoffs, that's a good idea, but it should be in both leagues, and with only 6 teams in each league, there should only be two from each league.

With so few teams and no interleague play, each team plays other teams 26 times during the season. So by the end of the season, you really know who the best team is, including head-to-head matchups. So what's the point of another series between teams to determine what they've done 26 times previously?

Hope that logic made sense..
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: PLNara | Posted: May 21, 2003 10:55 PM | HT Fan ]

I'm with Suraj (and everyone else). I think another thing is that we're going to see some lousy Nippon Series' as well. Last year the Giants dominated Seibu, a team with Matsui, Cabrerea, and (an injured) Matsuzaka. What if it had been Kintetsu in there instead? With that pitching staff?

They should be looking for ways to make the post season more competitive, not less so.

I think Westbay-san has a fantastic idea for a pan-Asia league. That would be great on a number of levels, especially if it led to more player movement. It would probably be better than a baseball World Cup, because you'd have each team playing it's best players.
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: btimmer | Posted: Jun 6, 2003 1:17 AM ]

Actually don't the teams play each other 28 times instead of 26 (28 X 5 = 140).

The playoff setup seems quite strange, but there needs to be something done to ensure that there are some pennant races I guess.
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Guest: Jim Albright | Posted: Jun 6, 2003 11:14 AM ]

I agree that NPB would benefit from more tight pennant races, but this isn't the way to solve it, IMO. The Central League teams don't want to lose dates against the Giants, and thus a single 12 team league isn't likely to happen. If you went with a 12 team setup, you could take the top 3 and still have quite good teams, and have 2 play 3 for the right to face 1. There would be real incentives to be in the first or second spots, and it could add some spice to the races.

Given that such an idea is unlikely to be adopted, Michael's idea or some variation of it would be better than any other idea. Michael's idea could be combined with what I suggested above and would probably be the best in the ideal world we all know doesn't exist.

Jim Albright
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Guest: Brian | Posted: Nov 28, 2003 4:04 PM ]

For the sake of the fans that would like to see a meaninful game played sometime past August, they have to do something to make the playoffs more intersting in Japan. I cannot believe how uptight everyone seems to be about expanding the playoffs. North American baseball is so much more interesting these days with the expanded playoff format.

Perhaps just two teams making the playoffs would be sufficent, but the way it is now is really awful. The way the regualar season just sort of fizzels out is so anti-climatic that one cannot help but lose all interest. How much more intersting would it have been this year if Osaka and Seibu had a shot at post season play?

I cannot believe the people who write into this site, big baseball fans it seems, could think otherwise. The current system stinks for the Central league as well.
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Guest: acerimusdux | Posted: Dec 2, 2003 11:15 PM ]

A better idea would be to introduce some interleague play.

Each team should play the 5 teams in their own league 20 times, and the 6 teams in the other league 6 times, for a total of 136 games. Then you could have a 3 team playoff in which the team with the best overall record gets a bye in the first round, and one wildcard team (the best record of the 2 second place teams) plays the other division winner.

Yes, Central teams would lose a few dates vs. the Giants, but they'd be able to keep fan interest longer as they'd still be in a playoff race, even if the Giants were running away with the division.

Another idea I think would be interesting (and maybe a longshot to happen anytime soon), which would add 5 games to each Japanese team's schedule, would be to have each MLB team to play 2 dates in Japan during the season. 30 mlb teams x 2 games = 60/12 = 5 games each team against different MLB opponents. And having the games count in both MLB and Japan, not exhibitions.
Re: Pa-League Playoffs in 2004
[ Author: Guest: Jim Albright | Posted: Dec 3, 2003 11:43 AM ]

- Another idea I think would be interesting (and maybe a longshot to happen anytime soon), which would add 5 games to each Japanese team's schedule, would be to have each MLB team to play 2 dates in Japan during the season. 30 mlb teams x 2 games = 60/12 = 5 games each team against different MLB opponents. And having the games count in both MLB and Japan, not exhibitions.

It would be interesting, but given the time of travel, neither MLB nor its players' association is going to go for 2 dates in Japan. I mean, you take off 5 pm in New York on Tuesday, and land 5 pm Wednesday in Tokyo. Coming back, its 6 pm takeoff in Tokyo on Wednesday, and you land 6 pm in New York on Wednesday. The jet lag can be atrocious. Nobody's going to agree to that for a measly 2 dates. Also, who's going to make the financial pot sweet enough for the majors to even think about such a plan?

Jim Albright
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