Eastern League (Japanese baseball) Eastern League (Japanese baseball) The is one of the two minor leagues ("ni-gun") of Japanese professional baseball. The league is owned and managed by the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Teams in the Eastern League generally play an 80-game schedule every year. In 1954 the six teams of NPB's Central League agreed to form their own minor league — the Shin Nippon League (or "New Japan League") — as a complement to the already extant Kansai Farm League, which had begun play in 1952. The minor league affiliates of the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers moved over from
Asami Yoshida (basketball) Asami Yoshida (basketball) Asami Yoshida (吉田 亜沙美 born October 9, 1987) is a Japanese professional basketball player for the JX-Eneos Sunflowers of the Women's Japan Basketball League (WJBL). Yoshida has played for the JX-Eneos Sunflowers, a team based in Kashiwa, since their 2006–07 season where she made her professional debut. In her opening season she led the Sunflowers to a championship as well as taking home Rookie of the Year. She has enjoyed much success in this league and has led the Sunflowers to another eight championship titles. She has won the league Most Valuable Player award on two occasions,