The Asia Winter Baseball League (AWB) opened on November 23, marking the ninth edition of the three-week-long tournament. NPB White was declared this year’s champion after defeating the Japan Amateur Baseball Association in the championship game.
The AWB doesn’t receive much fanfare in the West, as most people focus on the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, or other Latin American nations during winter. However, it’s important to note that the AWB is an essential component of the Asian baseball ecosystem. Five participating teams represent the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and Japan Amateur Baseball Association (JABA).
Founded in 2012 by the CPBL, the league initially featured two teams from the CPBL, one from NPB and one from the Dominican Republic. In 2013, a KBO team replaced one of the CPBL representatives. After being canceled in 2014, the league resumed in 2015 with a new team from the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB). It expanded to six teams in 2016, with NPB’s representation now divided between two teams. The league continued to operate until 2019 but was canceled from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It restarted in 2023, featuring only Japanese and Taiwanese squads. The CPBL expansion team TSG Hawks won the title in its first winter ball campaign.
TSG withdrew from the AWB in 2024, and Chinese Taipei again reorganized with two new representatives: the Taiwan Mountains and Taiwan Seas. NPB Red, NPB White, and JABA rounded out the five teams for the 2024 edition of the tournament. NPB Red consisted of players and coaches from the SoftBank Hawks, Chunichi Dragons, DeNA BayStars, and Hanshin Tigers, while NPB White was made up of the Yomiuri Giants, Yakult Swallows, Seibu Lions, and Orix Buffaloes. The Hiroshima Carp, Nippon-Ham Fighters, Lotte Marines, and Rakuten Eagles do not send players currently.
At its core, the AWB is for prospect development, and most players are under 24 years old. Many NPB stars have participated in the league in the past, including Tetsuto Yamada, Munetaka Murakami, and Kazuma Okamoto. Last year, outfielder Tomoya Masaki led all Japanese players with a .991 OPS and went on to have a breakout season with the SoftBank Hawks in 2024.
This season, 25-year-old SoftBank Hawks outfielder Shuya Ohizumi led all NPB-affiliated prospects with an impressive .903 OPS. On the mound, Yomiuri Giants right-hander Hayate Matsui stood out as a top pitcher, posting a stellar 0.79 ERA over 22 ⅔ innings while recording 31 strikeouts. Meanwhile, JABA shined by finishing first place with a 12-4-2 record, showcasing the high caliber of Japanese amateur talent even against professional competition. Takanori Takahashi, who represented Japan at the U-23 World Cup last year, posted a 1.004 OPS and will likely draw more attention from NPB clubs in the future. NPB White came in second with an 8-5-5 record, while NPB Red finished last with a 3-12-1 record. The average attendance per game for the tournament was about 2,000 people.
First-place JABA and second-place NPB White met for the championship game on Saturday night, with the latter coming out on top 3-1. 20-year-old southpaw Eiji Kamouchi threw five and a third scoreless innings of one-hit ball and was named MVP. He had a 0.84 ERA in 4 games overall.
日本 #プロ野球 選抜チーム（巨人、西武、オリックス、ヤクルト）が #アジアウインターリーグ 優勝おめでとう🎊
決勝戦MVP: #鴨打瑛二 選手
Congratulations to the Champions of #AsiaWinterBaseballLeague 2024🏆
Team #NPB White 🇯🇵🤍#CPBL #台湾ウインターリーグ pic.twitter.com/8N8krjW2jV— CPBL 中華職棒 (@CPBL) December 15, 2024
