Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League
Data
Established	1925
Teams	6
National Championships	20
Meiji Jingu Tournament Championships	10
Region	Kanto, Japan
Prefectures	1 - Tokyo
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Locations

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League (東京六大学野球連盟,Tōkyō roku daigaku yakyū renmei) is an intercollegiate baseball league that features six prominent universities in the Tokyo area. Before the establishment and subsequent growth of Nippon Professional Baseball, the Big6 League was widely considered the highest level of baseball in Japan.

Contents 1 Members 1.1 Hosei University 1.2 Keio University 1.3 Meiji University 1.4 Rikkio University 1.5 University of Tokyo 1.6 Waseda University 2 History 3 Games 4 Schedule and Rules 5 Records 6 Rivalry 6.1 Keio vs. Waseda: Sōkeisen 7 Notable Alumni 7.1 Hosei Alumni 7.2 Keio Alumni 7.3 Meiji Alumni 7.4 Rikkio Alumni 7.5 Tokyo Alumni 7.6 Waseda Alumni 8 Notes 9 External links

[edit] Members

[edit] Hosei University

• All-Time Record: 1029-730-97
• Established: 1915
• League Championships: 42
• Last Championship: Spring 2006

[edit] Keio University

• Established: 1892
• All-Time Record: 1019-734-78
• League Championships: 31
• Last Championship: Autumn 2004

[edit] Meiji University

• Established: 1910
• All-Time Record: 1042-724-77
• League Championships: 31
• Last Championship: Spring 2004

[edit] Rikkio University

• Established: 1909
• All-Time Record: 784-972-86
• League Championships: 12
• Last Championship: Autumn 1999

[edit] University of Tokyo

• Established: 1917
• All-Time Record: 240-1390-51
• League Championships: None
• Last Championship: N/A

[edit] Waseda University

• Established: 1901
• All-Time Record: 1091-655-76
• League Championships: 38
• Last Championship: Autumn 2006

[edit] History

The Tokyo Big6 Baseball League was established in 1925. It is also the origin of the Tokyo 6 Universities (東京六大学, Tōkyō roku daigaku) nickname that is given to the same six universities in the league.

[edit] Games

All games are played at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Kasumigaseki District, Shinjuku City in Downtown Tokyo. Games are known to be rowdy and celebratory, with male cheerleaders (応援団, Ōendan), cheerleaders and bands working themselves and the crowd into a frenzy.

[edit] Schedule and Rules

The six teams play short eight weekend seasons in the spring and autumn of a given year. A team plays a short series against each of the five other teams in the league. The series format is similar to a three game playoff, where the first to two wins is given a series victory. Home field is alternated, as all games are played at Jingu Stadium. Should a team sweep the first two games, no further games are played.

The champion of the league is determined by the team with the most series victories. The spring champion is allowed to participate in the All Japan University Baseball Championship Series while the fall champion is allowed to compete in the Meiji Jingu Stadium Tournament.

The league uses rules that are similar to the National and Central Leagues. The designated hitter rule is not used and the pitcher is required to bat. Also, unlike American university leagues, non-wood bats are banned.

[edit] Records

Hosei University has won the league the most times with 42 league championships. Waseda University follows with 38 championships, despite sporting the best record in the league's 81 years. Keio University and Meiji University follow with 31 league championships each. Rikkio trails with 12, while Tokyo University has never won a Big6 Championship.

[edit] Rivalry

[edit] Keio vs. Waseda: Sōkeisen

The series between Waseda and Keio, Sōkeisen (早慶戦^[1], Sōkeisen^?), attracts the most attention and is greatly enjoyed by the students, not least because it causes classes at both universities to be canceled^[2]. The game is still broadcasted on NHK and it is the only series played during the last week of the season.

The Sōkeisen actually predates the establishment of the Tokyo Big6 League by over 20 years, beginning in 1903. The games often caused much tension between the two student bodies, often spilling out of the stadium and leading to the cancellation of games.

The addition of Meiji (1914), Hosei (1917) and Rikkio^[3] (1921) would do little to remedy the rivalry. This state would continue until the addition of Tokyo Imperial University and the official establishment of the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Hosei Alumni

• Koichi Tabuchi (Hanshin Tigers → Seibu Lions)
• Koji Yamamoto (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)

[edit] Keio Alumni

• Yoshinobu Takahashi (Yomiuri Giants)

[edit] Meiji Alumni

• Senichi Hoshino (Chunichi Dragons)

[edit] Rikkio Alumni

• Shigeo Nagashima (Yomiuri Giants)
• Kazuhito Tadano (Cleveland Indians → Oakland Athletics)

[edit] Tokyo Alumni

[edit] Waseda Alumni

• Norichika Aoki (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
• Shugo Fujii (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
• Shinichi Takeuchi (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
• Hiroyasu Tanaka (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
• Takashi Toritani (Hanshin Tigers)
• Tsuyoshi Wada (Fukuoka Daiei Hawks → Fukuoka Softbank Hawks)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ It is often reversed, 慶早戦, Keisōsen, by the student body at Keio University.
2. ^ A victory no longer guarantees the cancellation of classes at Waseda University.
3. ^ Though the university officially uses the name Rikkyo University, Rikkio remains on the team's jerseys. This article uses Rikkio accordingly.

[edit] External links

• Official Site of the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League (Japanese)