The 1998 Japan Series was the 49th edition of

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

's postseason championship series. The

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

represented the

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. It currently consis ...

, while the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

represented the

Central League The or is one of 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 consist ...

. The BayStars won the series in six games, giving them their first Japan Series championship since 1960.

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 , (born September 26, 1972) is a Japanese baseball player. He is a right-handed pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo i ...

(13-12, 3.38) led the Lions pitching staff, which was also anchored in the bullpen by

Denney Tomori Denney may refer to: * Denney, Territoire de Belfort, a commune in Belfort department, France * Denney (surname) Denney is a surname, and may refer to: * Alex Denney, Australian rules footballer with the Collingwood Football Club. * Dan Denney ...

Shinji Mori Shinji Mori ( ja, 森慎二, September 12, 1974 – June 28, 2017) was a right-handed pitcher in professional baseball. Career From -, he played for the Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball. After the 2005 season, he was acquired by the ...

, and

Kiyoshi Toyoda Kiyoshi Toyoda (豊田清, born February 2, 1971) is a Japanese professional baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the co ...

. Offensively, the Lions had

Kazuo Matsui is a Japanese retired professional baseball player who played as a shortstop and is the current manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions. He is a switch-hitter. Matsui signed with the New York Mets on December 17, 2003, becoming the first Japanese i ...

at the top of the lineup, as he batted .311 and stole 43 bases.

Rudy Pemberton Rudy Héctor Pemberton Pérez (born December 17, 1969) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball, from through , for the Detroit Tigers (1995) and Boston Red Sox (1996–1997), playi ...

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 is a retired Japanese professional baseball player. He currently is a coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Ishii was regarded as one of the best Japanese shortstops of the late 1990s and early 200 ...

(.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 is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher who is currently the chief pitching coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Saito's professional career spanned 23 years. He spent his first 13 seasons pit ...

and Daisuke Miura for starters, and

Kazuhiro Sasaki Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo W ...

was practically automatic at closer, recording 45 saves and posting a microscopic 0.64 ERA.

Summary

References

{{Saitama Seibu Lions Japan Series

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

1998 Nippon Professional Baseball season Yokohama BayStars Seibu Lions

Background

Seibu Lions

Yokohama BayStars

Summary

See also

References