1.
baseball team; ball club; baseball franchise
A professional baseball team or organization. In Japan, this refers specifically to the twelve professional baseball teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which are divided into the Central League and Pacific League.
好きな球団はどこですか。
Which baseball team do you support?
その選手は他の球団にトレードされた。
That player was traded to another team.
日本のプロ野球には十二球団があり、セ・リーグとパ・リーグに分かれている。
Japanese professional baseball has twelve teams, divided into the Central League and Pacific League.
USAGE:
球団 is the standard term for a professional baseball organization in Japanese. It refers to the franchise as a whole, including the front office, not just the playing roster. Japan has twelve NPB 球団, each owned by a major corporation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 球団{オーナー} (team owner)
- 球団職員 (team staff)
- 親会社 (parent company — of a baseball franchise)
- 十二球団 (the twelve NPB teams)