Pacific League Major
six japanese baseball teams and its new CMS
July 22, 2024 - Tommy Dräger
In 2022, I joined Systemi Ltd. and was immediately assigned to the PLM (Pacific League Major) Project. A collaboration with Softbank and six premier Japanese baseball teams, aimed to refactor the teams' online presence from scratch. The primary goal was to replace the outdated CMS system with a modern, consistent design across all six PLM teams, reducing costs, accelerating maintenance, and simplifying tasks for content editors.
My Role and Responsibilities
As an engineer on this project, my responsibilities were diverse and challenging. I was tasked with developing plugins for various features, including scoreboards, player lists, game statistics, and news sections. One of the most daunting tasks was migrating up to 200,000 images from the old database system, a process fraught with broken data, missing images, and countless broken links. It felt like piecing together a 5000-piece puzzle with half of the pieces missing.
The Teams and Their Significance
The six teams involved in the PLM Project were the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Chiba Lotte Marines, Saitama Seibu Lions, Orix Buffaloes, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Each of these teams holds a significant place in Japanese baseball, known for their passionate fan bases and competitive spirit. Baseball is immensely popular in Japan, it's the number one sport, with a rich history and a deep cultural impact.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks:
https://www.softbankhawks.co.jp/
Chiba Lotte Marines:
Saitama Seibu Lions:
Orix Buffaloes:
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles:
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters:
Team
The Systemi team on the PLM Project started with a core group of about 20-30 people. We were supported by external partners like クロと, BIS, Shift, and Softbank, especially during critical phases. In the QA phase, our team grew to approximately 50 active members. The team structure shifted frequently with each milestone, and over the two-year span, we saw several management changes and a complete turnover in the division. I think over the lifespan of 2 Years, this project saw around 100~150 different People working on it.
The Challenges
The transition from the old openCMS to WordPress PHP was not without its struggles. The data we had to migrate was riddled with faults—holes, broken links, and missing images. Each piece of content required meticulous attention to detail to ensure the new system functioned seamlessly. Since working on daytime would interfer with the live operation of the baseball editing teams, most of the maintanence had to be done at night. In the end we had daily Midnights meetings where we had a small time window where we could deploy our newest patches to the system.
Technological Stack
Our customers documentation was pretty clear about the technology that would like to use: We used PHP and MySQL, PostgreSQL as the backbone of the new WordPress-based system. JavaScript was employed for specific plugin elements, such as the asynchronous refresh of player lists etc. Additionally, Bash scripts were crucial in repairing broken links and files, ensuring data integrity and smooth operation.
Enhancing Fan Engagement
The new platform offered several improvements over the previous system. With a consistent and visually appealing design, it provided better navigation and user experience. The interactive content and faster loading times significantly enhanced fan engagement, making it easier for fans to connect with their favorite teams and stay updated with the latest news and game statistics. Additionally, the platform dramatically reduced editing and approval times, allowing editors to work more efficiently. They benefited from numerous features that were absent in the previous system, allowing them to edit and create better content in a fraction of time that were previously needed.
Conclusion
The PLM Project was one of my biggest projects so far for a prominent Japanese client. The scale of the project, the extensive team involvement, and the exploding costs all underscored its importance and impact. I'm super proud to have played a crucial role in this project, with my contributions and commits visible in almost every part of the revamped websites.