Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Cuban baseball

Cuban baseball league was the first official baseball league in the world. And it has 4 teams, which are Almendares, Cienfuegos, Habana, and Marianao. Even though Cuba has its own national league, most Cuban baseball players dream to go to Major League. And many Cuban baseball players go to the United States, even though they usually start in Minor League.It is because if you become a star player in Major League teams, you get enormous amount of money. This money cannot even be compared to money earned from Cuban league.
Since Cuba has lots of Major League star players, they are one of the best teams. They call themselves as the best team in the world. Also, Cuba is in the 1st place of IBAF (International Baseball Federation) world ranking. (Jan., 2011) Compared to the United States, there are really no big difference.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

the United States baseball

MLB, major league baseball, is a baseball league in the U.S. MLB is divided into two leagues, National League and American League. Also, both leagues have 3 divisions, AL or NL west, central, and east. AL has 14 teams and NL has 16 teams. The most popular 2 clubs are New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Both teams are in AL East. Also, New York Yankees is rival with New York Mets, a team in NL East. They play against each other while inter-league period. Other rivals with same hometowns are Los Angeles Dodgers and Angles and Chicago White Sox and Cubs. For World Series, both NL and AL play division series, championship series and each winners of championship series from both leagues fight for World Series trophy.
The national team could be called the best team in the world because they are in top position, not only in  ranking, but also their ability, too.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Taiwan baseball

Compared to Korean and Japanese baseball, which prefers making many hits more than making home-run, Taiwan baseball is more like Major League. In other words, Taiwan baseball is based on power, not accuracy. Until few years ago, Taiwan baseball was very weak when played against Korea or Japan. However, Taiwan is getting better and better, so Korea and Japan is being careful when playing with Taiwan, but still there is difference in baseball level.
Professional league consists of only 4 teams, Lanew Bears, Sinon Bulls, Brother Elephants, and Uni Lions. Also, the league was established in 1989, so has only short history. Despite of short history, Taiwan is better than any other Asian countries, such as India and Pakistan, except for Korea and Japan.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Japanese Baseball

The name of the Japanese baseball organization is NPB, which stands for Nippon Professional Baseball. (Nippon means Japan in Japanese.) Unlike Korean baseball league, Japan has 2 leagues. One is Central League and another one is Pacific League. Central League contains Hanshin Tigers, Yomiuri Giants, Chunichi Dragons, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Yokohama Bay Stars, and Yakult Swallows. Pacific League contains Softbank Hawks, Seibu Lions, Rakuten Golden Eagles, Nipponham Fighters, Chiba Lotte Marines, and Orix Buffaloes. Compared to Central League, Pacific League has really low interest. Also, 8 out of 12 clubs have their hometown near Tokyo and Osaka, which are two main cities in Japan. For Japan Series, first, 3rd place team and 2nd place team on each league fights. Then, the winner competes with the top team. Winner of these matches from both leagues play a match to win Japan Series.
There are few differences when compared with Korea. First, Japan baseball clubs can have 4 foreign players, whereas Korea only allows 2 per club. Also, Japan has many players running in Major League in the U.S. However, Korea has only one player for now. On the other hand, regardless of number of player in Major League, both Korean and Japanese national team have similar skill.