The is one of the two minor leagues ("ni-gun")"Minor League History,"
JapaneseBaseball.com. Accessed April 20, 2015. of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). Teams in the Western League generally play an 80-game schedule every year.

Teams

Most of the Japanese minor league teams carry the same name, and use the same uniforms, as their parent team. The Western League contains the minor league affiliates of five Japanese professional teams (minor league homefield shown in parentheses): *

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

( Nagoya, Aichi) *

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

(

Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anci ...

) * Hanshin Tigers (

Nishinomiya, Hyōgo 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

) — called the Hanshin Jaguars until 1957 * Hiroshima Toyo Carp (

Iwakuni, Yamaguchi is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan rule ...

) — called the Hiroshima Greens, or Hiroshima Carp Greeners, before returning to their parent team's name in 1958 * Orix Buffaloes (

Kobe, Hyōgo Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, which ...

) — as the minor league affiliate of the

Orix BlueWave , styled as ORIX, is a Japanese diversified financial services group headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, and Osaka, Japan. ORIX offers leasing, lending, rentals, life insurance, real estate financing and development, venture capital, investment an ...

called Surpass Kobe in 2000, and then the Surpass in 2005; returned to the parent team's name in 2009

History

Kansai Farm League

The league was created in 1952 as the Kansai Farm League, and was initially completely separate from the workings of the Nippon Professional Baseball. It featured the minor league teams of the six professional teams that had their homefields in the western region of Japan, as well one independent team not affiliated with an NPB franchise. The initial complement of teams: * Hankyu Braves * Hanshin Jaguars * Nagoya Dragons *

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

* Nishitetsu Lions * Sanyo Crowns — independent *

Shochiku Robins The Shochiku Robins were a Japanese baseball team that played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The franchise originated in the Japanese Baseball League (NPB's predecessor) and existed from 1936–1953, when it merged with the Taiyo Whales. ...

The Sanyo Crowns were dissolved after the 1952 season. The

merged with the Taiyo Whales in 1953, but the Kintetsu Pearls'

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

joined the league that year, keeping the number of teams at six. In 1954 the six teams of

's Central League decided to form their own minor league, called the New Japan League. With the

and Hanshin Tigers affiliates dropping out to join the new minor league, only four teams remained in the Kansai Farm League.

Formation of the Western League

Both minor league decided to join forces with NPB in 1955, and the 14 farm teams of the Central League and

were split up to create the Western League and Eastern League, each with seven teams. 1955 Western League lineup (minor league homefield shown in parentheses): *

( Nagoya, Aichi) * Hankyu Braves (

) * Hanshin Jaguars (

) * Hiroshima Greens (

) * Kintetsu Pearls *

(

) * Nishitetsu Lions

Shrinkage

The Lions moved their franchise to Saitama in 1979 to join the Eastern League, leaving six teams, and in 2005 the

and Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes merged to become the Orix Buffaloes, leaving five teams in the Western League.

References

External links

Western League standings from 1955–2011
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Western League (Japanese Baseball) 2 3 Sports leagues established in 1952 1952 establishments in Japan Professional sports leagues in Japan