The 2011 Asia Series was the fifth time the Asia Series has been held, and the first after a two-year break. The tournament was held in Taiwan, the first time it has been held outside Japan. Though originally scheduled to commence on 11 November, the tournament was postponed by two weeks to allow for the delayed finish to the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The new schedule has the opening games to be played on 25 November, and the championship game concluded the tournament on 29 November.[1]
As had been the case in previous tournaments, the winners of NPB's 2011 Japan Series, Korea Baseball Organization's (KBO) 2011 Korean Series and Chinese Professional Baseball League's (CPBL) 2011 Taiwan Series competed. Though originally included, no team represented the China Baseball League (CBL) due to ″concerns about the team's makeup″. An Australian team participated in the tournament for the first time: the Perth Heat were invited as winners of the Australian Baseball League's (ABL) 2011 Championship series.[2]
The Samsung Lions defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the title game to become the first non-Japanese champion. Starting pitcher Jang Won-Sam was named the MVP of the series.
- ^ "Asia Series 2011 opens November 25" (Press release). International Baseball Federation. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ Stephan, Gene (19 May 2011). "Heat to take on Asia's best teams". The West Australian. Seven West Media Limited. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2011.