| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| First season | 2007 |
| President | Murayama Tetsuji |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | Japan |
| Most recent champion | Kanagawa Future Dreams (2024) |
| Most titles | Gunma Diamond Pegasus (5) |
| Official website | http://www.bc-l.jp/ |
TheRoute Inn BCL, formerly known as theBaseball Challenge League (ベースボール・チャレンジ・リーグ,Bēsubōru Charenji Rīgu), is an independent minorbaseballleague inJapan. The league's abbreviated designation is "BC League (BCリーグ)."
The 72-game season runs from April–October, split into two half-terms, with the division champion from each half-term meeting in a playoff at the end of the year to determine which two teams compete for the league championship. Each team carries 27 players.[1]
Typically, players earn 150,000yen (c. U.S. $2,000) per month, with another 50,000 yen in potential bonuses.[2] The league imposes a 7.2 millionyen (c. U.S. $60,600) salary limit for team managers.[3]
Not every team has a permanent home stadium. Instead, the team travels around its homeprefecture, playing in different stadiums, each one called "home” for that game.[4]
The BC League began play in 2007 as theHokushinestu Baseball Challenge League. It originally consisted of four teams based in theHokuriku region: theIshikawa Million Stars, theNiigata Albirex Baseball Club, theShinano Grandserows, and theToyama Thunderbirds. In 2008 the league added two teams,Gunma Diamond Pegasus and theFukui Miracle Elephants, and split into two divisions,Jōshin'etsu (Gunma, Shinano, and Niigata) andHokuriku (Fukui, Ishikawa, and Toyama).
Ishikawa Million Stars InfielderKensuke Uchimura led the league in steals in 2007, which led to him being drafted byNippon Professional Baseball'sRakuten Golden Eagles. In 2008, he became the first player to reach NPB after playing in the BC League.
In February 2014, the league agreed to anaming rights deal with Route Inn Group, becoming theRoute Inn BC League.[5]
That same month, it was announced that a new team, the Musashi Heat Bears, based out ofSaitama Prefecture, would join the league in time for the 2015 season.[5] In July 2014, it was announced that a second new team, the Fukushima Hopes, would also join the league for the 2015 season.[6]
Late in the summer of 2014, along with theShikoku Island League Plus, the Route Inn BCL formed the Japan Independent Baseball League Organization.[7]
With the addition of two new teams, in 2015 the league realigned and renamed its divisions, replacing the previous divisions Jōshin'etsu and Hokuriku with Future—East and Advance—West.[8][9] The team adopted a three-division alignment in 2020.
In September 2021, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, and Shiga (the West division) announced that they would leave the league in 2022 and form a new league, theNihonkai Ocean League.[10]
2025 season
| Division | Team Name | Founded | Location | League Championships | Division Titles | Half Term Titles | Team Colour | Home Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Fukushima RedHopes | 2014 | Fukushima Prefecture | 0 | 1 | 1 | Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium | |
| Ibaraki Astro Planets | 2017 | Ibaraki Prefecture | 0 | 1 | 0 | Kanakubo Athletic Park Baseball Stadium | ||
| Tochigi Golden Braves | 2016 | Tochigi Prefecture | 1 | 1 | 1 | Oyama Athlete Park Baseball Stadium | ||
| Gunma Diamond Pegasus | 2008 | Gunma Prefecture | 5 | 8 | 14 | Takasaki City Jonan Baseball Stadium | ||
| West | Saitama Musashi Heat Bears | 2014 | Saitama Prefecture | 1 | 2 | 0 | Kumagaya Park Stadium | |
| Kanagawa Future Dreams | 2019 | Kanagawa Prefecture | 2 | 1 | 0 | Hiratsuka Studium | ||
| Yamanashi Firewinds | 2025 | Yamanashi Prefecture | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Shinano Grandserows | 2007 | Nagano Prefecture | 2 | 5 | 3 | Nagano Olympic Stadium |
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Ishikawa | Toyama | Shinano | Niigata |
| Joshin'etsu Division | Hokuriku Division | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First | Second | Third | Year | First | Second | Third | ||
| 2008 | First half | Niigata | Gunma | Shinano | 2008 | First half | Toyama | Ishikawa | Fukui |
| Second half | Gunma | Niigata | Shinano | Second half | Toyama | Ishikawa | Fukui | ||
| 2009 | First half | Gunma | Niigata | Shinano | 2009 | First half | Ishikawa | Toyama | Fukui |
| Second half | Gunma | Niigata | Shinano | Second half | Ishikawa | Toyama | Fukui | ||
| 2010 | First half | Gunma | Shinano | Niigata | 2010 | First half | Ishikawa | Fukui | Toyama |
| Second half | Gunma | Niigata | Shinano | Second half | Fukui | Ishikawa | Toyama | ||
| 2011 | First half | Gunma | Shinano | Niigata | 2011 | First half | Ishikawa | Toyama | Fukui |
| Second half | Niigata | Shinano | Gunma | Second half | Fukui | Ishikawa | Toyama | ||
| 2012 | First half | Niigata | Shinano | Gunma | 2012 | First half | Ishikawa | Fukui | Toyama |
| Second half | Niigata | Shinano | Gunma | Second half | Fukui | Toyama | Ishikawa | ||
| 2013 | First half | Niigata | Gunma | Shinano | 2013 | First half | Ishikawa | Toyama | Fukui |
| Second half | Niigata | Shinano | Gunma | Second half | Fukui | Toyama | Ishikawa | ||
| 2014 | First half | Gunma | Niigata | Shinano | 2014 | First half | Toyama | Fukui | Ishikawa |
| Second half | Niigata | Gunma | Shinano | Second half | Ishikawa | Toyama | Fukui | ||
| Future-East | Advance-West | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | ||
| 2015 | First half | Niigata | Musashi | Gunma | Fukushima | - | - | 2015 | First half | Fukui | Shinano | Ishikawa | Toyama | - |
| Second half | Fukushima | Niigata | Gunma | Musashi | - | - | Second half | Toyama | Fukui | Ishikawa | Shinano | - | ||
| 2016 | First half | Gunma | Fukushima | Niigata | Musashi | - | - | 2016 | First half | Ishikawa | Fukui | Shinano | Toyama | - |
| Second half | Gunma | Fukushima | Niigata | Musashi | - | - | Second half | Ishikawa | Shinano | Toyama | Fukui | - | ||
| 2017 | First half | Gunma | Niigata | Fukushima | Musashi | Tochigi | - | 2017 | First half | Toyama | Shinano | Fukui | Shiga | Ishikawa |
| Second half | Gunma | Fukushima | Niigata | Tochigi | Musashi | - | Second half | Shinano | Toyama | Fukui | Ishikawa | Shiga | ||
| 2018 | First half | Gunma | Fukushima | Niigata | Musashi | Tochigi | - | 2018 | First half | Fukui | Shinano | Ishikawa | Toyama | Shiga |
| Second half | Gunma | Fukushima | Tochigi | Niigata | Musashi | - | Second half | Toyama | Fukui | Shinano | Ishikawa | Shiga | ||
| 2019 | First half | Gunma | Niigata | Tochigi | Fukushima | Musashi | Ibaraki | 2019 | First half | Shinano | Toyama | Ishikawa | Shiga | Fukui |
| Second half | Tochigi | Niigata | Gunma | Musashi | Fukushima | Ibaraki | Second half | Shinano | Ishikawa | Toyama | Fukui | Shiga | ||
| Eastern Division | Central Division | Western Division | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | |||
| 2020 | Tochigi | Kanagawa | Saitama | Ibaraki | 2020 | Shinano | Fukushima | Niigata | Gunma | 2020 | Fukui | Toyama | Ishikawa | Shiga | |||
| 2021 | Saitama | Tochigi | Kanagawa | Ibaraki | 2021 | Gunma | Shinano | Niigata | Fukushima | 2021 | Shiga | Toyama | Ishikawa | Fukui | |||
| North Division | South Division | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | ||
| 2022 | Shinano | Niigata | Gunma | Fukushima | 2022 | Ibaraki | Tochigi | Saitama | Kanagawa | ||
| 2023 | Shinano | Niigata | Fukushima | Gunma | 2023 | Saitama | Tochigi | Kanagawa | Ibaraki | ||
| No Divisions | |||||||||||
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | ||||
| 2024 | Kanagawa | Shinano | Gunma | Ibaraki | Saitama | Fukushima | Tochigi | ||||
| BC-East | BC-West | ||||||||||
| Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Year | First | Second | Third | Fourth | ||
| 2025 | 2025 | ||||||||||