Climax Series
Encyclopedia
The is the current annual playoff
system employed by Japan
's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which two teams from the Central League
(CL) and the Pacific League
(PL) will compete in the Japan Series
for the national championship. Since the creation of the NPB's two-league system in 1950, the leagues have used several different methods to determine entry to the Japan Series. The current system has been used since the 2007 season
.
Both leagues play a 144-game regular season, after which the top three teams in each league compete against one another in a two-stage playoff. In Stage 1, the teams that finish the regular season with the second- and third-best records play one another in a best-of-three series. The winners of these three-game series advance to Stage 2 to face each league's regular-season champion in a six-game series, which the regular-season champion starts with a one-game advantage. The winners of each league's Stage 2 series compete against one another in that year's Japan Series.
, where it competed against the PL champion. The PL used the same system until 1973, when the league created NPB's only postseason play prior to 2004 (other than the Japan Series). This system matched the team with the best first-half record against the team with the best second-half record. The winner of this best-of-five series advanced to the Japan Series, where they played against the CL champion. This system proved problematic when the Hankyu Braves won both the first and second halves of the 1976 and 1978 seasons, making a playoff series unnecessary. The system was eliminated after the 1982 season. Instead, the PL announced the following season that the first- and second-place teams would compete in a best-of-five playoff series after the 130-game regular season if five or fewer games separated the two teams. Unpopular with most baseball media and fans, the idea was scrapped after three seasons with a series never needing to be played. The two leagues returned to sending the team with the best regular season record in their respective league to compete against each other in the championship series.
. If a first-place team had a substantial lead in the standings nearing the end of the regular season, there was no pennant race and little excitement until the Japan Series began. The decision to add a PL playoff was an attempt to rectify this problem and increase the league's popularity. The new postseason plan initiated a two-stage playoff in which the top three PL teams competed. In Stage 1, the teams that finished the newly-shortened, 135-game regular season with the second and third-best records played each other in a best-of-three series. The winner of this series faced the league's top finisher in the second and final stage. The Stage 2 winner advanced to the Japan Series, where they competed against the CL's first-place team.
Originally, the top finisher in the league at the end of the season was supposed to receive home-field advantage throughout Stage 2, but in August 2003, PL officials announced that if the first-place team led the second-place team by more than five games at the end of the regular season, that team would also receive a one-game winning advantage in Stage 2's best-of-five series. For the 2006 season
, PL officials removed the five-game lead requirement in favor of automatically awarding the first-place team the one-win advantage. In conjunction with this change, the first-place team no longer had home field advantage for the entirety of Stage 2; instead, the remaining four games were to be split evenly between both team's stadiums. This rule change became a non-factor after the eventual first-place Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters clinched a Japan Series berth in two straight games.
During the three years of the PL's playoff system, the winner of the PL's postseason tournament competed against the CL team who finished the regular season with the best record. The disparity between the two leagues' postseasons provoked some criticism from baseball analysts. During the 2005 Japan Series
, The Japan Times
Stephen Ellsesser called NPB's unbalanced postseason a "bad system" and believed that the CL's decision to not implement a playoff system of their own was "foolish." Citing the Hanshin Tigers
' poor Japan Series performance, he speculated that the CL's lack of postseason play was a disadvantage. Ellsesser believed that the 17 days between their last regular season game and the first Japan Series game did nothing to prepare the Tigers for the eventual championship series against the Chiba Lotte Marines
, who had played continuously.
s that required either a tie in the standings or a team with more wins finishing with a worse winning percentage than the top team, but a permanent playoff plan had never been created. In March 2006, encouraged by the success of the PL's playoff series, CL officials announced their intention to introduce postseason playoffs for the 2007 season
to help boost declining attendance. During meetings held later that year, PL and CL officials disagreed over proposed plans detailing the new playoff system. Since the creation of the PL playoffs in 2004, the league awarded its pennant titles to the playoff winners rather than the team who finished the regular season with the best record. The PL disapproved of the CL's intentions to continue awarding their league title to the first-place finisher in the regular season while using the playoffs to determine which team would compete against in the Japan Series, as the PL had been awarding its pennant to its playoff champion.
In September 2006, both leagues agreed on a unified postseason system. The CL implemented a playoff system identical to the PL's, and the entire playoff series was dubbed the "Climax Series". The PL agreed to name the regular season first-place finishers league champions rather than the team that won the leagues' respective playoffs—a reversal from the previous three seasons. It was decided that both leagues would play 144 regular-season games, the first time both leagues would play the same number of games since the PL introduced its playoff system in 2004. The two leagues agreed that neither regular-season champion should receive a one-game advantage in Stage 2 of the Climax Series, claiming that it was unnecessary from a business point of view. This decision was overturned when each league awarded its champion a one-win advantage in Stage 2 starting with the 2008 Climax Series. At the same time, the series became a best-of-six series, where the first team to win four games advances to the Japan Series. This format has drawn some criticism, with some players describing the rule as "unfair", "bull" and "messed up", but it is still in use.
(MLB), which employs a one-game playoff
, or other professional leagues that may use head-to-head season ercords (and further tiebreakers such as non-interleague play records, second half records, et al). The first series, Stage 1, is a best-of-three series involving the regular season's second- and third-place finishers, with all games played at the second-place team's home field. The winner of this series goes on to face the league's pennant-winner in Stage 2. This series is best-of-six. The league champion is awarded a one-win advantage as well as home field advantage for the entire series, unlike most professional leagues where a 5-game playoff series runs 2-2-1 or 2-3 or a 7-game playoff series that runs 2-3-2 with the higher seed receiving the extra game. The winning teams advance to the Japan Series, where they compete against one another. Unlike MLB, NPB games may end in a tie
if there is no winner after 12 innings of play. If a Climax Series game results in a tie, the win is credited to neither team. If this causes the series to end in a tie, the team who finished higher in the regular-season standings advances.
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
system employed by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which two teams from the Central League
Central League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
(CL) and the Pacific League
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series...
(PL) will compete in the Japan Series
Japan Series
, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
for the national championship. Since the creation of the NPB's two-league system in 1950, the leagues have used several different methods to determine entry to the Japan Series. The current system has been used since the 2007 season
2007 Nippon Professional Baseball season
The 2007 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 58th season since the NPB was reorganized in .- Climax Series :Climax Series was firstly introduced in this season. It was inspired by the playoff system introduced by Pacific League between 2004 and 2006, in which the top three teams of the...
.
Both leagues play a 144-game regular season, after which the top three teams in each league compete against one another in a two-stage playoff. In Stage 1, the teams that finish the regular season with the second- and third-best records play one another in a best-of-three series. The winners of these three-game series advance to Stage 2 to face each league's regular-season champion in a six-game series, which the regular-season champion starts with a one-game advantage. The winners of each league's Stage 2 series compete against one another in that year's Japan Series.
History
Since the creation of the NPB's two-league system, the regular-season winner of the CL had always advanced to the Japan SeriesJapan Series
, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
, where it competed against the PL champion. The PL used the same system until 1973, when the league created NPB's only postseason play prior to 2004 (other than the Japan Series). This system matched the team with the best first-half record against the team with the best second-half record. The winner of this best-of-five series advanced to the Japan Series, where they played against the CL champion. This system proved problematic when the Hankyu Braves won both the first and second halves of the 1976 and 1978 seasons, making a playoff series unnecessary. The system was eliminated after the 1982 season. Instead, the PL announced the following season that the first- and second-place teams would compete in a best-of-five playoff series after the 130-game regular season if five or fewer games separated the two teams. Unpopular with most baseball media and fans, the idea was scrapped after three seasons with a series never needing to be played. The two leagues returned to sending the team with the best regular season record in their respective league to compete against each other in the championship series.
Pacific League playoffs
In February 2003, the PL board of directors agreed to reintroduce a playoff system to be used for the 2004 NPB season2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season
The Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Seibu Lions defeating the Chunichi Dragons in the 2004 Japan Series.-Pacific League:* Season Format** Regular Season...
. If a first-place team had a substantial lead in the standings nearing the end of the regular season, there was no pennant race and little excitement until the Japan Series began. The decision to add a PL playoff was an attempt to rectify this problem and increase the league's popularity. The new postseason plan initiated a two-stage playoff in which the top three PL teams competed. In Stage 1, the teams that finished the newly-shortened, 135-game regular season with the second and third-best records played each other in a best-of-three series. The winner of this series faced the league's top finisher in the second and final stage. The Stage 2 winner advanced to the Japan Series, where they competed against the CL's first-place team.
Originally, the top finisher in the league at the end of the season was supposed to receive home-field advantage throughout Stage 2, but in August 2003, PL officials announced that if the first-place team led the second-place team by more than five games at the end of the regular season, that team would also receive a one-game winning advantage in Stage 2's best-of-five series. For the 2006 season
2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season
In the Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Pacific League defeat the Chunichi Dragons of the Central League in the Japan Series.-Pacific League:* Season Format** Regular Season...
, PL officials removed the five-game lead requirement in favor of automatically awarding the first-place team the one-win advantage. In conjunction with this change, the first-place team no longer had home field advantage for the entirety of Stage 2; instead, the remaining four games were to be split evenly between both team's stadiums. This rule change became a non-factor after the eventual first-place Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters clinched a Japan Series berth in two straight games.
During the three years of the PL's playoff system, the winner of the PL's postseason tournament competed against the CL team who finished the regular season with the best record. The disparity between the two leagues' postseasons provoked some criticism from baseball analysts. During the 2005 Japan Series
2005 Japan Series
The Japan Series, the 56th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series, began on October 22 and ended on October 26, and matched the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers against the Pacific League Champion, Chiba Lotte Marines...
, The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
Stephen Ellsesser called NPB's unbalanced postseason a "bad system" and believed that the CL's decision to not implement a playoff system of their own was "foolish." Citing the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
' poor Japan Series performance, he speculated that the CL's lack of postseason play was a disadvantage. Ellsesser believed that the 17 days between their last regular season game and the first Japan Series game did nothing to prepare the Tigers for the eventual championship series against the Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
, who had played continuously.
Climax Series creation
The CL had situational playoff scenarios written into its bylawBylaw
By-law can refer to a law of local or limited application passed under the authority of a higher law specifying what things may be regulated by the by-law...
s that required either a tie in the standings or a team with more wins finishing with a worse winning percentage than the top team, but a permanent playoff plan had never been created. In March 2006, encouraged by the success of the PL's playoff series, CL officials announced their intention to introduce postseason playoffs for the 2007 season
2007 Nippon Professional Baseball season
The 2007 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 58th season since the NPB was reorganized in .- Climax Series :Climax Series was firstly introduced in this season. It was inspired by the playoff system introduced by Pacific League between 2004 and 2006, in which the top three teams of the...
to help boost declining attendance. During meetings held later that year, PL and CL officials disagreed over proposed plans detailing the new playoff system. Since the creation of the PL playoffs in 2004, the league awarded its pennant titles to the playoff winners rather than the team who finished the regular season with the best record. The PL disapproved of the CL's intentions to continue awarding their league title to the first-place finisher in the regular season while using the playoffs to determine which team would compete against in the Japan Series, as the PL had been awarding its pennant to its playoff champion.
In September 2006, both leagues agreed on a unified postseason system. The CL implemented a playoff system identical to the PL's, and the entire playoff series was dubbed the "Climax Series". The PL agreed to name the regular season first-place finishers league champions rather than the team that won the leagues' respective playoffs—a reversal from the previous three seasons. It was decided that both leagues would play 144 regular-season games, the first time both leagues would play the same number of games since the PL introduced its playoff system in 2004. The two leagues agreed that neither regular-season champion should receive a one-game advantage in Stage 2 of the Climax Series, claiming that it was unnecessary from a business point of view. This decision was overturned when each league awarded its champion a one-win advantage in Stage 2 starting with the 2008 Climax Series. At the same time, the series became a best-of-six series, where the first team to win four games advances to the Japan Series. This format has drawn some criticism, with some players describing the rule as "unfair", "bull" and "messed up", but it is still in use.
Current format
Both leagues employ the same two-series playoff format, with the top three teams from each league participating in their own two-stage playoff. If two teams vying for a third Climax Series spot finish the regular season with identical records, the team that finished the previous season with a better record is allowed to advance to the playoffs. This contrasts with Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
(MLB), which employs a one-game playoff
One-game playoff
A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff or play-in game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament...
, or other professional leagues that may use head-to-head season ercords (and further tiebreakers such as non-interleague play records, second half records, et al). The first series, Stage 1, is a best-of-three series involving the regular season's second- and third-place finishers, with all games played at the second-place team's home field. The winner of this series goes on to face the league's pennant-winner in Stage 2. This series is best-of-six. The league champion is awarded a one-win advantage as well as home field advantage for the entire series, unlike most professional leagues where a 5-game playoff series runs 2-2-1 or 2-3 or a 7-game playoff series that runs 2-3-2 with the higher seed receiving the extra game. The winning teams advance to the Japan Series, where they compete against one another. Unlike MLB, NPB games may end in a tie
Tie (draw)
To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
if there is no winner after 12 innings of play. If a Climax Series game results in a tie, the win is credited to neither team. If this causes the series to end in a tie, the team who finished higher in the regular-season standings advances.
Results
| Year | League | Winning team | Games | Losing team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
2–0 | Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Chiba Lotte Marines Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:... |
2–1 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were... |
||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
2–1 | Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 2–0 | Orix Buffaloes Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo.... |
||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
2–1 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,... |
2–0 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were... |
||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
2–0 | Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Chiba Lotte Marines Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:... |
2–0 | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Tokyo Yakult Swallows Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei... |
2–1 | Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Saitama Seibu Lions | 2–0 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Year | League | Winning team | Games | Losing team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
3–0 | Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 3–2 | Chiba Lotte Marines Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:... |
||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
3–1 | Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Saitama Seibu Lions | 4–2 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | ||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
4–1 | Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 4–1 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,... |
||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
4–1 | Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Chiba Lotte Marines Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:... |
4–3 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were... |
||
| Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League... |
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:... |
4–2 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei... |
||
| Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series... |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were... |
4–0 | Saitama Seibu Lions |