Shikoku Independent League

I also thought I'd seen something about that recently, and recall reading all of the names. But I can't find it in my stack of newspapers. So, when in doubt, ask Google. And there's the official Independent Baseball League of Japan home page at the top of the list. (All links are in Japanese.) Sasuga Google.

Their January 28, 2005 press release [PDF format] gives the names of the teams:

Ehime Mandarin Pirates (Orange)
Mandarin is a type of tangerine (from which the team's color comes from). And while my history is poor, does anyone know of a pirate by the name of Murakami, who's troops appear to be the origin of this team's name?

Kagawa Olive Gainers (Olive Green)
Olives are the official tree for this prefecture (and again, the source for the team's color). "Gaina" is the local dialect for "strong." They Englishized the word into a noun by making it "Gainers."

Kochi Fighting Dogs (Black and Red)
This is a combination of a fighting dog's hot "blood tide" and the grand "black tide."

Tokushima Indogo Socks (Indigo Blue)
Indogo represents the sea (and is the team's color). I remember from the article I read in Nikkan Sports that they spelled Tokushima's name "Socks" to be distinctive from the Major League "Sox" teams. But other sites I've seen spell it "Sox." The above press release only mentions the famous Major League "Sox," but does not spell it out for the Tokushima team.

I hope this helps you out. And I'm sure we'd appriciate a Shikoku "correspondent" letting us know what's going on there.

The season starts April 29, and they will play 180 games. The season starts with a matchup of the Ehime Mandarine Pirates versus the Kochi Fighting Dogs.

The other teams are the Kagawa Olive Guyners and the Tokushima Indigo Socks. The rosters will feature players age 24 or younger. The league has selected 100 players who passed tryouts. Also, it has secured Shikoku Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and seven other companies as official sponsors. [Link - Japan Ball]

Wow, 4 teams and 180 games? 100 players makes 25 man rosters. Players 24 and under.

My arm hurts just thinking about it.

It looks to me like there are 180 games in total, not 180 games per team. This would mean that each team plays 90 games, facing each opponent 30 times. There's a schedule (in Japanese, in PDF) here.

--Heian-794