Japanese baseball playoffs- worst thing ever

HajiShirazu · #1 09-24-2005, 04:29 AM

In Japanese baseball there are two six-team leagues, the Central and Pacific. Last year there was a strike because the owners wanted to contract two teams, the Orix Blue Wave and Kintetsu Buffaloes, wanted to contract the two clubs. As it turns out, they ended up doing it, and the Soft Bank team was formed, which would have ended up causing the problem of having one 5 team league and one 6 team league, except then the owner of the Japanese amazon.com, Rakuten, stepped in and started the Rakuten Eagles. Of course, they didn't just send all guys from one of the contracted teams to Rakuten, because who cares about competitive balance, they combined the two teams anyway and held an expansion draft.
Anyway, each year the two leagues send their pennant winner and they play the standard 7 game format Japan Series. In the Pacific league, they decide the pennant with the most convoluted 3-team playoff ever to exist. In "stage 1" the #2 and #3 ranked teams by winning percentage have a 3 game playoff, with the #2 team getting home field advantage for ALL THREE games even though no two cities in the league are more than a 2 hour train ride away. The winner then plays the "stage 2" 5 game playoff against the #1 team. However, if the difference between the #1 team and their opponent was 5 games or more in the regular season, the #1 starts out with a 1-0 lead. And of course, the #1 team gets all five at home.
This is further complicated by the fact that games can end in a tie in Japanese baseball. Personally I don't think it's baseball if you can end in a tie, but it stems from the fact that trains don't run past 12pm in most areas and 80-90% of fans go to the game by train. In the event of a 1-1-1 or 2-2-1 tie, they don't have an extra game, instead the team with the higher regular season record wins. However, there can't be a 3-3 result in the stage 2 series because first to three wins.
If there were two #1 teams, they don't have a stage 1. Instead the two teams play out stage 2, and in this case, there CAN be an extra game. If there are two #2 teams, the teams play a 3 game series with HFA going to last years better record. If there is a tie for #3, there's a one game playoff to earn the right to stage 1.
In the central league, there are no playoffs. The team with the highest winning percentage wins the pennant, unless there is a team with more wins than the team with the highest winning percentage. Then there is a 3 game playoff. This rule was decided in the middle of this season.
In any case, it could be worse. They could have a manager's poll and combine that with a computer ranking to decide the top two teams to play in the series. Then they could also have series between the #3 and #4 teams and #5 and #6 teams and hold them before the real series, televising them, without each team actually being able to advance to play for the title.

lastsamurai · #2 09-24-2005, 05:37 AM

Do they still use metal bats? I like that song they sing during the games....

lu_hawk · #3 09-24-2005, 08:34 AM

I recommend everyone go to a Japanese baseball game before they die.

pryor15 · #4 09-24-2005, 01:54 PM

youtalkfunny · #5 09-25-2005, 04:13 AM

I guess they don't have an "Enter" button in Japan. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

PTjvs · #6 09-26-2005, 08:55 AM

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Then there is a 3 game playoff. This rule was decided in the middle of this season.

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This is, without a doubt, the best line in this post.

Clarkmeister · #7 09-26-2005, 11:33 AM

Some of those rules aren't too bad.

youtalkfunny · #8 09-26-2005, 09:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Then there is a 3 game playoff. This rule was decided in the middle of this season.

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This is, without a doubt, the best line in this post.

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Good thing we don't do that sort of thing here.

Good thing I don't watch the NBA, especially in seasons where Shaq and Kobe are on the 8-seeded team to start the playoffs.