While this sob-board tends to get new threads started each year for Major League Baseball - see this thread for the 2024 season - I thought it might be an option to have a place where other non-MLB leagues and tournaments could be discussed, were anyone so interested.
But before I go any further, I wanted to post a brief overview of what I had in mind, as well as where (if anywhere) one can follow what's going on at the club and/or national team level in each case.
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Nippon Professional Baseball is perhaps the most prominent home to club-level baseball outside of MLB: with 12 teams divided into two leagues, legions of loyal fans who readily travel from one end of Japan to the other to support their teams, a bespoke type of baseball produced by Mizuno (which is not the same as the baseballs sold by that same company in North America) and the last remaining professional league which has so far held out from adopting the Designated Hitter rule.
I posted a thread for last year's NPB season - the year in which the newest NPB ballpark, Es Con Field Hokkaido, first opened - but in retrospect, it might be as well to continue any discussion of this league here for the time being.
The broadcasting and streaming situation for NPB outside of Japan is somewhat complicated, however. Unlike in MLB, there is no consolidated rights package for all 12 NPB teams; even the official NPB YouTube channel tends to only cover special events such as the All-Star Games (they play two of them; one at a PL ballpark, and the other at a CL stadium). Indeed, for teams in the Central League, there is no common broadcaster at all; each team handles its own home game rights separately. The teams of the Pacific League, however, do consolidate their efforts; there is an English-language YouTube channel for the PL, which tends to offer one game a month with English commentary.
So if you find yourself interested in a Pacific League team (Fighters, anyone?), you might be in a better position to actually follow them properly than if you cheer for a Central League team outside of Japan...
Also, there are a few unofficial sources of NPB info in English, to include this YT channel dedicated to the history of baseball in Japan:
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Nearby South Korea hosts the KBO League, where the ten teams are each owned by (and branded after) a different chaebol.
Unlike in NPB, the KBO places all of its teams into a single division, with the top five teams qualifying for the playoffs. Also unlike in NPB, where the All-Star Game pits the Central League against the Pacific League, the KBO All-Stars are sub-divided into "Dream" and "Nanum" teams, based on which franchise they play for. (Also unlike in NPB, where there are no dedicated "All-Star" jerseys akin to those seen in MLB, the KBO does have ASG-specific jerseys for the occasion.)
Recently, the KBO agreed to permit the streaming service SOOP to live stream all KBO games - to include this year's All-Star Game - on their service. (Despite saying these are "English" broadcasts, however, they are in fact in Korean - complete with Korean ad breaks... and in some cases, ads between pitches!). There is an official KBO YT channel (also in Korean) for highlights, as well as separate channels for each team.
Here's a sample highlight reel, from a game played earlier this week:
Hwaiting!
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The island of Taiwan hosts the Chinese Professional Baseball League - which is not the same as the China National Baseball League, to be found on the other side of the Strait.
The CPBL has six teams in a single division - up from five last year - but played over two half-seasons. The winners of each half-season go into the playoffs, along with the team with the next best full-season record. for the All-Star Games, there is a "Team All-Star" (which had a very 80s-looking outfit this time around) and a "Team Taiwan" (which is, perhaps deliberately, styled as an alternative to the "Chinese Taipei" jerseys the Taiwanese players have to wear at events such as the World Baseball Classic). As in NPB, they play two ASGs, in which Team All-Star and Team Taiwan take turns being the "home" and "away" side.
Speaking of the WBC, the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium - perhaps the most on-brand ballpark anywhere on Earth - was used as a host stadium in the 2023 edition of that tournament. Domestically, however, it's the home of the CTBC Brothers. Actually, as of late last year, the largest ballpark in Taiwan is now the Taipei Dome - which does not have a "home" club. Although it was used to host the ASGs, as well as a number of regular season CPBL games.
There is a YT channel in Mandarin which routinely posts highlights, as well as a paid subscription service akin to that for MLB.
Here's a highlight reel for the second ASG:
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Down Under, the Australian Baseball League also has six teams, down from eight in recent years. (one of the teams which folded prior to the 2023-24 season had been in New Zealand; all of the remaining teams are in the Commonwealth of Australia only.) Unlike the other leagues noted above, the ABL is played in the Southern Hemisphere summer - making it a de facto "winter" league from a Northern Hemisphere perspective.
While the ABL is used to develop local players in hopes of preparing them for careers in more prominent leagues, there are players from NPB< KBO, and elsehwere who have found themselves going in the opposite direction, at least during what teams north of the Equator consider to be the winter break.
There is a YT channel for the ABL, as well as a website and streaming app supported by Baseball Australia for international viewers.
Here's a recap of game 3 from last season's Championship Series:
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Meanwhile, the World Baseball Softball Confederation manages a host of men's and women's tournaments at the national team level - to include partnering with MLB for the World Baseball Classic.
Indeed, the finals for the 2024 Women's Baseball World Cup are currently being held in Thunder Bay, Ontario: highlights are being posted to the WBSC YT channel:
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This covers only a fraction of what is going on around the world, baseball-wise.
Even so, I hope it might be enough to encourage MLB fans to consider taking a look at what else is on offer out there - or forthose who might already be interested in these leagues and tournaents to add a few thoughts of their own!
But before I go any further, I wanted to post a brief overview of what I had in mind, as well as where (if anywhere) one can follow what's going on at the club and/or national team level in each case.
-----
Nippon Professional Baseball is perhaps the most prominent home to club-level baseball outside of MLB: with 12 teams divided into two leagues, legions of loyal fans who readily travel from one end of Japan to the other to support their teams, a bespoke type of baseball produced by Mizuno (which is not the same as the baseballs sold by that same company in North America) and the last remaining professional league which has so far held out from adopting the Designated Hitter rule.
I posted a thread for last year's NPB season - the year in which the newest NPB ballpark, Es Con Field Hokkaido, first opened - but in retrospect, it might be as well to continue any discussion of this league here for the time being.
The broadcasting and streaming situation for NPB outside of Japan is somewhat complicated, however. Unlike in MLB, there is no consolidated rights package for all 12 NPB teams; even the official NPB YouTube channel tends to only cover special events such as the All-Star Games (they play two of them; one at a PL ballpark, and the other at a CL stadium). Indeed, for teams in the Central League, there is no common broadcaster at all; each team handles its own home game rights separately. The teams of the Pacific League, however, do consolidate their efforts; there is an English-language YouTube channel for the PL, which tends to offer one game a month with English commentary.
So if you find yourself interested in a Pacific League team (Fighters, anyone?), you might be in a better position to actually follow them properly than if you cheer for a Central League team outside of Japan...
Also, there are a few unofficial sources of NPB info in English, to include this YT channel dedicated to the history of baseball in Japan:
-----
Nearby South Korea hosts the KBO League, where the ten teams are each owned by (and branded after) a different chaebol.
Unlike in NPB, the KBO places all of its teams into a single division, with the top five teams qualifying for the playoffs. Also unlike in NPB, where the All-Star Game pits the Central League against the Pacific League, the KBO All-Stars are sub-divided into "Dream" and "Nanum" teams, based on which franchise they play for. (Also unlike in NPB, where there are no dedicated "All-Star" jerseys akin to those seen in MLB, the KBO does have ASG-specific jerseys for the occasion.)
Recently, the KBO agreed to permit the streaming service SOOP to live stream all KBO games - to include this year's All-Star Game - on their service. (Despite saying these are "English" broadcasts, however, they are in fact in Korean - complete with Korean ad breaks... and in some cases, ads between pitches!). There is an official KBO YT channel (also in Korean) for highlights, as well as separate channels for each team.
Here's a sample highlight reel, from a game played earlier this week:
Hwaiting!
-----
The island of Taiwan hosts the Chinese Professional Baseball League - which is not the same as the China National Baseball League, to be found on the other side of the Strait.
The CPBL has six teams in a single division - up from five last year - but played over two half-seasons. The winners of each half-season go into the playoffs, along with the team with the next best full-season record. for the All-Star Games, there is a "Team All-Star" (which had a very 80s-looking outfit this time around) and a "Team Taiwan" (which is, perhaps deliberately, styled as an alternative to the "Chinese Taipei" jerseys the Taiwanese players have to wear at events such as the World Baseball Classic). As in NPB, they play two ASGs, in which Team All-Star and Team Taiwan take turns being the "home" and "away" side.
Speaking of the WBC, the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium - perhaps the most on-brand ballpark anywhere on Earth - was used as a host stadium in the 2023 edition of that tournament. Domestically, however, it's the home of the CTBC Brothers. Actually, as of late last year, the largest ballpark in Taiwan is now the Taipei Dome - which does not have a "home" club. Although it was used to host the ASGs, as well as a number of regular season CPBL games.
There is a YT channel in Mandarin which routinely posts highlights, as well as a paid subscription service akin to that for MLB.
Here's a highlight reel for the second ASG:
-----
Down Under, the Australian Baseball League also has six teams, down from eight in recent years. (one of the teams which folded prior to the 2023-24 season had been in New Zealand; all of the remaining teams are in the Commonwealth of Australia only.) Unlike the other leagues noted above, the ABL is played in the Southern Hemisphere summer - making it a de facto "winter" league from a Northern Hemisphere perspective.
While the ABL is used to develop local players in hopes of preparing them for careers in more prominent leagues, there are players from NPB< KBO, and elsehwere who have found themselves going in the opposite direction, at least during what teams north of the Equator consider to be the winter break.
There is a YT channel for the ABL, as well as a website and streaming app supported by Baseball Australia for international viewers.
Here's a recap of game 3 from last season's Championship Series:
-----
Meanwhile, the World Baseball Softball Confederation manages a host of men's and women's tournaments at the national team level - to include partnering with MLB for the World Baseball Classic.
Indeed, the finals for the 2024 Women's Baseball World Cup are currently being held in Thunder Bay, Ontario: highlights are being posted to the WBSC YT channel:
-----
This covers only a fraction of what is going on around the world, baseball-wise.
Even so, I hope it might be enough to encourage MLB fans to consider taking a look at what else is on offer out there - or forthose who might already be interested in these leagues and tournaents to add a few thoughts of their own!
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