1998 Japan Series Contents Background Seibu Lions Yokohama BayStars Summary See also References Navigation menu1998年度日本シリーズ 試合結果eee

Japan Series1998 in baseball1998 Nippon Professional Baseball seasonYokohama BayStarsSeibu Lions


Nippon Professional BaseballSeibu LionsPacific LeagueYokohama BayStarsCentral LeagueFumiya NishiguchiDenney TomoriShinji MoriKiyoshi ToyodaKazuo MatsuiRudy PembertonKen SuzukiTakanori SuzukiBobby RoseTakuro IshiiTakashi SaitoDaisuke MiuraKazuhiro Sasaki










1998 Japan Series












Team (Wins)

Manager(s)

Season

Yokohama BayStars (4)


Hiroshi Gondoh

79-56-1

Seibu Lions (2)


Osamu Higashio

70-61-4
DatesOctober 18–26, 1998
MVP
Takanori Suzuki (Yokohama)
Broadcast
Television
Fuji TV (Games 1, 6), TBS (Games 2, 4), TV Asahi (Games 3, 5)



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Japan Series
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The 1998 Japan Series was the 49th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. The Seibu Lions represented the Pacific League, while the Yokohama BayStars represented the Central League. The BayStars won the series in six games, giving them their first Japan Series championship since 1960.




Contents





  • 1 Background


  • 2 Seibu Lions


  • 3 Yokohama BayStars


  • 4 Summary


  • 5 See also


  • 6 References




Background


This was a matchup of one of the most successful teams in the last two decades against one of the least successful. The Lions were the team of the 1980s, winning eight championships from 1982 to 1992, and making five straight appearances in the championship series from 1990 until 1994. On the other hand, the BayStars had not won the Japan Series since 1960, when the team was known as the Taiyō Whales, and had not made any appearances since.



Seibu Lions


This Seibu team was far different from the dominating teams that they enjoyed in the 1980s. Fumiya Nishiguchi (13-12, 3.38) led the Lions pitching staff, which was also anchored in the bullpen by Denney Tomori, Shinji Mori, and Kiyoshi Toyoda. Offensively, the Lions had Kazuo Matsui at the top of the lineup, as he batted .311 and stole 43 bases. Rudy Pemberton and Ken Suzuki supplied the power numbers for the Lions.



Yokohama BayStars


The team's offense was known as the "Machine Gun Offense", since the BayStars led the league in batting average and were capable of rapping out hits in quick succession at practically any time. Takanori Suzuki (.337), Bobby Rose (.325), and team captain Takuro Ishii (.314) led the team with their hitting prowess, and their teammates in the batting order all followed suit. Pitching-wise, Yokohama was led by Takashi Saito and Daisuke Miura for starters, and Kazuhiro Sasaki was practically automatic at closer, recording 45 saves and posting a microscopic 0.64 ERA.



Summary





































GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1
BayStars – 9, Lions – 4
October 18Yokohama Stadium29,025[1]
2
BayStars – 4, Lions – 0
October 19Yokohama Stadium29,076[1]
3
Lions – 7, BayStars – 2
October 22Seibu Dome31,599[1]
4
Lions – 4, BayStars – 2
October 23Seibu Dome31,685[1]
5Lions – 5, BayStars – 17October 24Seibu Dome31,756[1]
6
BayStars – 2, Lions – 1
October 26Yokohama Stadium29,289[1]


See also


  • 1998 World Series


References




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