The Japan Diamond Softball League (JD.League) is a Japanese women's softball league that consists of 16 teams (8 in the East Division and 8 in the West Division). The league is the premier women's softball league in the country. The league was formed in 2022 and is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023 JD.League season | |
 | |
| Formerly | Japan Softball League (1968–2021) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Softball |
| First season | 2022 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country |  Japan |
| Official website | jdleague |
The JD.League is a member of the Japan Top League Alliance, which comprises the top-tier sports leagues in Japan.[1] Nitori entered into the title partnership with the JD.League, and thus the league is officially called Nitori JD.League.[2]
History
editThe first national women's softball league was founded in 1968, as the Japan Softball League. In 1994, the league's First Division expanded from 8 to 12 teams and adopted a postseason with the page playoff system. Since then, this season's format was lasted until 2021, although there were minor changes.
In 2021, the league announced a new top-tier women's softball league is planned for 2022, the Japan Diamond Softball League (JD.League).[3] All 12 teams from the First Division and four teams from the Second Division, i.e., 16 teams in total joined in the new league.[4] The other remaining teams in the Second/Third Division and several fresh teams formed the reborn Japan Softball League.
The opening game of the JD.League was held between Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen and Toyota Red Terriers on March 28, 2022.[5] Meanwhile, the Japan Softball League still exists as a de facto lower-tier league.
Until now, the league is an industrial league, where most of the teams are owned by major companies and many players are their companies' employees. A player who is signing a professional contract is only a small portion.[6][7]
Teams
editThe JD.League consists of 16 teams divided into two divisions with 8 teams each.
| Division | Team | City | Founded | Joined | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Honda Reverta | Mooka, Tochigi | 2001[a] | 2022 | [8] |
| Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen | Takasaki, Gunma | 2015[b] | 2022 | [9] | |
| Taiyo Yuden Solfille | Takasaki, Gunma | 1984 | 2022 | [10] | |
| Toda Medics | Toda, Saitama | 1976 | 2022 | [11] | |
| Hitachi Sundiva | Yokohama, Kanagawa | 1985 | 2022 | [12] | |
| Ogaki Minamo | Ogaki, Gifu | 2010 | 2022 | [13] | |
| NEC Platforms Red Falcons | Kakegawa, Shizuoka | 1983 | 2022 | [14] | |
| Denso Bright Pegasus | Anjo, Aichi | 1960 | 2022 | [15] | |
| West | Toyota Red Terriers | Toyota, Aichi | 1948 | 2022 | [16] |
| Toyota Industries Shining Vega | Kariya, Aichi | 1952 | 2022 | [17] | |
| Tokai Rika Cherry Blossoms | Oguchi, Aichi | 1979 | 2022 | [18] | |
| NSK Brave Bearies | Konan, Shiga | 1972 | 2022 | [19] | |
| SGH Galaxy Stars | Kyoto, Kyoto | 2005[c] | 2022 | [20] | |
| Shionogi Rainbow Stokes Hyogo | Amagasaki, Hyogo | 1949 | 2022 | [21] | |
| Iyo Bank Vertz | Matsuyama, Ehime | 1985 | 2022 | [22] | |
| Takagi Kitakyushu Water Wave | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | 2017[d] | 2022 | [23] |
Format
editThe JD.League's regular season runs from late March to late October, with each team playing 29 games. The league's postseason tournament extends into mid-November. The league has a fixed membership like NPB and most sports leagues in the United States, which makes it that does not use a promotion and relegation process.[24][25][26]
Regular season
editThe JD.League consists of two divisions, the East Division and the West Division, which each has 8 teams. Each team plays 21-game Division Series against the seven other teams in its division, i.e., one home series, one away series and one neutral-site series. Furthermore, each team plays 8-game Inter-division Series against each team in the other division. Following the conclusion of the 29-game regular season, seven teams (the top three teams in each division and one wild card team) advance to a postseason tournament that determine the Grand Champion.[24]
Postseason
editFollowing the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams compete in the four-round postseason tournament (the two-round Playoffs and the two-round Diamond Series) with a single-elimination stepladder format.[24]
Each division winner directly advances to the Diamond Series. The second-place and third-place teams in each division, and the wild card team (either fourth-place team in each division with better winning percentages) advance to the Playoffs, that culminates in the Diamond Series.[24]
The Diamond Series is contested among the four teams (two division winners and two Playoffs winners) to determine the Grand Champion. The winner of the Diamond Series is referred to as the Grand Champion of JD.League.[24]
| Playoffs Wild card game | Playoffs Second round | Diamond Series Semi-finals | Diamond Series Final | |||||||||||
| Game 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Game 2 | East Division 1st | |||||||||||||
| Game 1 | East Division 2nd | Game 2 winner | Game 6 | |||||||||||
| East Division 3rd | Game 1 winner | Game 4 winner | ||||||||||||
| West Division 4th[e] | Game 5 | Game 5 winner | ||||||||||||
| Game 3 | West Division 1st | |||||||||||||
| West Division 2nd | Game 3 winner | |||||||||||||
| West Division 3rd | ||||||||||||||
Champions
editJapan Softball League (1968–2021)
editUntil being formed the JD.League, the Japan Softball League was the top-tier league in the country from 1968 to 2021. The Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen won the most championships with 14 titles.
From 2022 onwards, although the Japan Softball League is still acting, no longer it is the top-tier league.[27][28]
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen | 14 | 7 | 1990, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 | 1998, 2000, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018 |
| Toyota Red Terriers | 10 | 4 | 1969-A, 1970, 1974, 1984, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 | 2009, 2013, 2015, 2021 |
| Toyota Industries Shining Vega | 8 | 3 | 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007 | 1997, 2005, 2008 |
| Kurabo | 8 | 0 | 1968-S, 1969-S, 1971-A, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 | – |
| Taiyo Yuden Solfille | 6 | 4 | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 | 1995, 1996, 2016, 2017 |
| Takashimaya | 3 | 0 | 1971-S, 1972, 1983 | – |
| Unitika | 2 | 0 | 1977, 1978 | – |
| Hitachi Sundiva | 1 | 5 | 2000 | 1994, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2010 |
| Denso Bright Pegasus | 1 | 0 | 1986 | – |
| NSK Brave Bearies | 1 | 0 | 1985 | – |
| Shionogi Rainbow Stokes Hyogo | 1 | 0 | 1975 | – |
| Daiwabo | 1 | 0 | 1973 | – |
| Hirobo | 1 | 0 | 1968-A | – |
| Honda Reverta | 0 | 2 | – | 2019, 2020 |
| Citrine Ichinomiya | 0 | 2 | – | 2004, 2007 |
| SGH Galaxy Stars | 0 | 1 | – | 2002 |
- JD.League teams
- Defunct teams
- Runners-up are recorded only after 1994, when the postseason playoff introduction.
- In 1968, 1969 and 1971 seasons, the spring (S) and autumn (A) tournament were held.
JD.League (2022–present)
edit- As of November 19, 2023
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen | 1 | 1 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Toyota Red Terriers | 1 | 0 | 2023 | – |
| Toyota Industries Shining Vega | 0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Founded in 1983 as Honda Engineering softball team.
- ^ Founded in 1981 as Hitachi Takasaki softball team.
- ^ Founded in 1986 as Miki House softball team.
- ^ Founded in 1969 as Toshiba Kitakyushu softball team.
- ^ This is the wild card team. In case a qualified wild card team comes from the East Division, then the team will compete with the West Division 3rd-place team.
References
edit- ^ The participating top leagues Japan Top League Alliance
- ^ "JD.LEAGUE タイトルパートナー契約に関するお知らせ" (PDF). Nitori. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "代表理事新体制および新リーグ計画 発表記者会見". Japan Softball League. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "日本女子ソフトボールリーグ機構 新リーグ名称および参加チーム決定のお知らせ". PR Times. 28 June 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- ^ "Softball: Rebranded 16-team Japan Diamond League to open season on 28 March". WBSC. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ "クラブ化を強制せず 時流に合ったソフトボール新リーグ". The Nikkei. 23 January 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ "ソフトボール選手の年収を調査！". Sposuru Magazine. 16 March 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Honda Reverta JD.League
- ^ Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen JD.League
- ^ Taiyo Yuden Solfille JD.League
- ^ Toda Medics JD.League
- ^ Hitachi Sundiva JD.League
- ^ Ogaki Minamo JD.League
- ^ NEC Platforms Red Falcons JD.League
- ^ Denso Bright Pegasus JD.League
- ^ Toyota Red Terriers JD.League
- ^ Toyota Industries Shining Vega JD.League
- ^ Tokai Rika Cherry Blossoms JD.League
- ^ NSK Brave Bearies JD.League
- ^ SGH Galaxy Stars JD.League
- ^ Shionogi Rainbow Stokes Hyogo JD.League
- ^ Iyo Bank Vertz JD.League
- ^ Takagi Kitakyushu Water Wave JD.League
- ^ a b c d e Regulations JD.League
- ^ Result JD.League
- ^ Schedule JD.League
- ^ "「第55回日本女子ソフトボールリーグ」試合方式について". Japan Softball League. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Teams Japan Softball League