Route Inn BC League
SportBaseball
Founded2006
Inaugural season2007
PresidentMurayama Tetsuji
No. of teams11
CountryJapan
Most recent
champion(s)		Tochigi Golden Braves (2019)
Most titlesGunma Diamond Pegasus, Ishikawa Million Stars (4)
Official websitehttp://www.bc-l.jp/

The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the Baseball Challenge League (ベースボール・チャレンジ・リーグ, Bēsubōru Charenji Rīgu), is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "BC League (BCリーグ)."

League structure

The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams in each division. From 2008 to 2019, this League had two divisions, East and West.

Not every team has a home stadium; instead, the team travels around its home prefecture, playing in different stadiums, each one called "home” for that game.[1]

The 72-game season runs from April–October, split into two half-terms, with the division champion from each half-term meeting in a playoff at the end of the year to determine which two teams compete for the league championship. Each team carries 27 players.[2]

Typically, players earn 150,000 yen (c. U.S. $2,000) per month, with another 50,000 yen in potential bonuses.[3] The league imposes a 7.2 million yen (c. U.S. $60,600) salary limit for team managers.[4]

In September 2021, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui and Shiga(the West division) announced that they would leave the league in 2022 and form a new league, the Nihonkai OCEAN League.[5]

History

The BC League began play in 2007 as the Hokushinestu Baseball Challenge League. It originally consisted of four teams based in the Hokuriku region: the Ishikawa Million Stars, the Niigata Albirex Baseball Club, the Shinano Grandserows, and the Toyama Thunderbirds. In 2008 the league added two teams, Gunma Diamond Pegasus and the Fukui Miracle Elephants, and split into two divisions, Jōshin'etsu (Gunma, Shinano, and Niigata) and Hokuriku (Fukui, Ishikawa, and Toyama).

Ishikawa Million Stars Infielder Kensuke Uchimura led the league in steals in 2007, which led to him being drafted by Nippon Professional Baseball's Rakuten Golden Eagles. In 2008, he became the first player to reach NPB after playing in the BC League.

In February 2014, the league agreed to a naming rights deal with Route Inn Group, becoming the Route Inn BC League.[6]

That same month, it was announced that a new team, the Musashi Heat Bears, based out of Saitama Prefecture, would join the league in time for the 2015 season.[6] In July 2014, it was announced that a second new team, the Fukushima Hopes, would also join the league for the 2015 season.[7]

Late in the summer of 2014, along with the Shikoku Island League Plus, the Route Inn BCL formed the Japan Independent Baseball League Organization.[8]

With the addition of two new teams, in 2015 the league realigned and renamed its divisions, replacing the previous divisions Jōshin'etsu and Hokuriku with Future—East and Advance—West.[9][10]

Teams

Division Team Name Founded Location League

Championships

Division Titles Half Term

Titles

Team Colour Home Park
East Kanagawa Future Dreams 2019 Kanagawa Prefecture 1 1 0 Hiratsuka Studium
Ibaraki Astro Planets 2017 Ibaraki Prefecture 0 0 0 Kanakubo Athletic Park Baseball Stadium
Tochigi Golden Braves 2016 Tochigi Prefecture 1 1 1 Oyama Athlete Park Baseball Stadium
Saitama Musashi Heat Bears 2014 Saitama Prefecture 0 0 0 Kumagaya Park Stadium
Middle Fukushima RedHopes 2014 Fukushima Prefecture 0 1 1 Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium
Gunma Diamond Pegasus 2008 Gunma Prefecture 4 7 14 Takasaka City Jonan Baseball Stadium
Niigata Albirex 2007 Niigata Prefecture 2 4 8 Niigata Prefectural Baseball Stadium
Shinano Grandserows 2007 Nagano Prefecture 1 3 3 Nagano Olympic Stadium
West Toyama GRN Thunderbirds 2007 Toyama Prefecture 1 1 6 Takaoka Western General Park Stadium
Ishikawa Million Stars 2007 Ishikawa Prefecture 4 6 9 Kanazawa Municipal Baseball Stadium
Fukui Wild Raptors 2008 Fukui Prefecture 0 4 6 Fukui Phoenix Stadium
Ocean Shiga Blacks 2016 Shiga Prefecture 0 0 0 Moriyama Municipal Stadium

As a result of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the twelve teams of the league were organised into three different Divisions, as a control measure for the spread of the virus. Each division has two groups of two teams.[10]

East

Central

West

Franchise locations

Map of Japan noting prefectures that host teams from the Baseball Challenge League (now known as Route Inn BCL)

Yearly standings

  League champion
  Division champion
Year First Second Third Fourth
2007 Ishikawa Toyama Shinano Niigata
Joshin'etsu Division Hokuriku Division
Year First Second Third Year First Second Third
2008 First half Niigata Gunma Shinano 2008 First half Toyama Ishikawa Fukui
Second half Gunma Niigata Shinano Second half Toyama Ishikawa Fukui
2009 First half Gunma Niigata Shinano 2009 First half Ishikawa Toyama Fukui
Second half Gunma Niigata Shinano Second half Ishikawa Toyama Fukui
2010 First half Gunma Shinano Niigata 2010 First half Ishikawa Fukui Toyama
Second half Gunma Niigata Shinano Second half Fukui Ishikawa Toyama
2011 First half Gunma Shinano Niigata 2011 First half Ishikawa Toyama Fukui
Second half Niigata Shinano Gunma Second half Fukui Ishikawa Toyama
2012 First half Niigata Shinano Gunma 2012 First half Ishikawa Fukui Toyama
Second half Niigata Shinano Gunma Second half Fukui Toyama Ishikawa
2013 First half Niigata Gunma Shinano 2013 First half Ishikawa Toyama Fukui
Second half Niigata Shinano Gunma Second half Fukui Toyama Ishikawa
2014 First half Gunma Niigata Shinano 2014 First half Toyama Fukui Ishikawa
Second half Niigata Gunma Shinano Second half Ishikawa Toyama Fukui
Future-East Advance-West
Year First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Year First Second Third Fourth Fifth
2015 First half Niigata Musashi Gunma Fukushima - - 2015 First half Fukui Shinano Ishikawa Toyama -
Second half Fukushima Niigata Gunma Musashi - - Second half Toyama Fukui Ishikawa Shinano -
2016 First half Gunma Fukushima Niigata Musashi - - 2016 First half Ishikawa Fukui Shinano Toyama -
Second half Gunma Fukushima Niigata Musashi - - Second half Ishikawa Shinano Toyama Fukui -
2017 First half Gunma Niigata Fukushima Musashi Tochigi - 2017 First half Toyama Shinano Fukui Shiga Ishikawa
Second half Gunma Fukushima Niigata Tochigi Musashi - Second half Shinano Toyama Fukui Ishikawa Shiga
2018 First half Gunma Fukushima Niigata Musashi Tochigi - 2018 First half Fukui Shinano Ishikawa Toyama Shiga
Second half Gunma Fukushima Tochigi Niigata Musashi - Second half Toyama Fukui Shinano Ishikawa Shiga
2019 First half Gunma Niigata Tochigi Fukushima Musashi Ibaraki 2019 First half Shinano Toyama Ishikawa Shiga Fukui
Second half Tochigi Niigata Gunma Musashi Fukushima Ibaraki Second half Shinano Ishikawa Toyama Fukui Shiga

References

  1. ^ Ryo. "Independent Leagues in Japan," NPB Tracker: Baseball in Japan & Around the World (May 26, 2009).
  2. ^ "Professional Baseball Tryout," Archived 2015-04-13 at the Wayback Machine San Diego Sports Authority (2012). Archived on the Western Baseball Association website. Accessed April 7, 2015.
  3. ^ Patrick. "Japan’s Independent Leagues 2014," NPB Tracker (09 February 2014).
  4. ^ Jun Hongo, "Julio Franco, 56 Years Old, Joins a Japan Team as Player-Manager," The Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "野球独立リーグから独立？「日本海オセアンリーグ」設立　BCリーグ西地区4球団、その狙いは("Foundation of "the Nihonkai OCEAN League")". Fukui Shimbun(ja:福井新聞) (in Japanese). 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  6. ^ a b Gen. "BC League agrees to naming rights deal with Route Inn Group," Yakyubaka.com (Feb. 25, 2014).
  7. ^ Gen. "New BC League team from Fukushima will be named the Fukushima Hopes," Yakyubaka.com (July 18, 2014).
  8. ^ Gen. "Island League, BC League to establish Japan Independent Baseball League Organization," Yakyubaka.com (Aug.30, 2014 ).
  9. ^ "順位表".
  10. ^ a b "チーム情報".

External links

Baseball Challenge League
Professional baseball leagues
Categories