Category:Japanese Baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball (日本野球機構) or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球?), meaning Professional Baseball. Outside of Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation of the "Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club"(大日本東京野球倶楽部 Dai-Nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu?) in 1934 and the original Japanese Baseball League. NPB was formed when that league reorganized in 1950.

The league currently consists of two six-team circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League. Each season the winning clubs from the two leagues compete in the Japan Series, the championship series of NPB.