The 2013 Asia Series was the seventh and final edition of the Asia Series, the premier Asian club baseball tournament, and the ninth time national champions from Asian leagues have competed against each other. The tournament was held in Taichung and Taoyuan, Taiwan, starting on 15 November with the final held on 20 November.
In addition to teams from Nippon Professional Baseball, the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the Korea Baseball Organization, and the Australian Baseball League, this tournament was the first to include a team from Europe. Fortitudo Baseball Bologna was invited to participate as the winners of the 2013 European Cup, a similar tournament in Europe.
The Canberra Cavalry from Australia defeated the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of Taiwan 14–4 in the tournament final for their first Asia Series title. It was the first time that an Australian team had won the tournament, as well as the first time the tournament had been won by a team from outside of either Japan or South Korea.
Participating teams
| League | Team | Qualification | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Baseball League |  Canberra Cavalry
|
2012–13 ABL champions | Canberra, Australia |
| Chinese Professional Baseball League |  Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
|
2013 CPBL champions – hosts | Tainan, Taiwan |
| Chinese Professional Baseball League | EDA Rhinos
|
2013 CPBL runner-up | Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
| Italian Baseball League |  Fortitudo Baseball Bologna
|
2013 European Cup champions | Bologna, Italy |
| Korea Baseball Organization |  Samsung Lions
|
2013 KBO champions | Daegu, South Korea |
| Nippon Professional Baseball |  Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
|
2013 NPB champions | Sendai, Japan |
Venues
Round-robin stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pct. | R | RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Lions
|
2 | 0 | 1.000 | 10 | 6 |
| 2 | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
|
1 | 1 | .500 | 14 | 5 |
| 3 | Fortitudo Baseball Bologna
|
0 | 2 | .000 | 2 | 15 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | W | L | Pct. | R | RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
|
2 | 0 | 1.000 | 12 | 4 |
| 2 | Canberra Cavalry
|
1 | 1 | .500 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | EDA Rhinos
|
0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | 8 |
Knock-out stage
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| A1 | Samsung Lions
| 5 | |||||||
| B2 | Canberra Cavalry
| 9 | |||||||
| SF1W | Canberra Cavalry
| 14 | |||||||
| SF2W | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
| 4 | |||||||
| B1 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
| 1 | |||||||
| A2 | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
| 4 | |||||||
Final standings
| Rk | Team | W | L | R | RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canberra Cavalry
|
3 | 1 | 28 | 15 |
| 2 | Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
|
2 | 2 | 22 | 20 |
| 3 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
|
2 | 1 | 13 | 8 |
| 3 | Samsung Lions
|
2 | 1 | 15 | 15 |
| 5 | EDA Rhinos
|
0 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 5 | Fortitudo Baseball Bologna
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
Game-fixing allegation
After the conclusion of the series, a Canberra Cavalry player,(who did not play in the series despite being part of the team), claimed that he was offered $30,000 to fix the final game with Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions.[1] The player claimed that he was approached by an individual with an unspecified amount of cash at a night club, and was promised $30,000 in return for fixing the game on the next day. The claim was investigated by both the police of Taiwan and the CPBL.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Canberra Cavalry's Matt Blazynski offered $30k to fix baseball match
- ^ Polkinghorne, David. "Taiwan league questions match-fixing claim". The Sydney Morning Harold. The Sydney Morning Harold. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
External links
- 2013 Asia Series Official website[usurped] (in Chinese)