Nippon Baseball League
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Poster
Established
1950 (76 years old)
First Recorded Event
2008-03-20
Current Season
2026
Current Round
Sport
BaseballLocation
Japan
Gender
Male
TV Rights
US - Next Level Sports [2021]
02 Sep 
Description
Nippon Professional Baseball (日本野球機構, Nippon Yakyū Kikō) or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球), 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 of the "Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club" (大日本東京野球倶楽部, Dai-Nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu) in Tokyo, founded in 1934, and the original circuit for the sport in the Empire two years later – Japanese Baseball League (1936–1949), and continued to play even through the final years of World War II.
The league that is today's NPB for Japan was formed when that sports organization reorganized in 1950, creating two leagues with six teams each in the Central League and the Pacific League with an annual season-ending Japan Series championship play-off series of games starting that year for the JPB along the lines of the American World Series tournament (held since 1903).
Seasons
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
Teams
  Chiba Lotte Marin |  Chunichi Dragons |  Fukuoka SoftBank | |||
 Hanshin Tigers |  Hiroshima Toyo Ca |  Hokkaido Nippon-H | |||
 Orix Buffaloes |  Saitama Seibu Lio |  Tohoku Rakuten Go | |||
 Tokyo Yakult Swal |  Yokohama DeNA Bay |  Yomiuri Giants | |||
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