The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series 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 (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the

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 ...

, it was played from 19-23 October. The series was a

best-of-seven playoff There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

between the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

, 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 ...

's (PL)

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...

champion and defending Japan Series champions, and the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, 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 ...

's (CL) Climax Series champion. The Hawks defeated the Giants in a four game sweep to win their third consecutive Japan Series championship, their fifth title in six years; they are also the first team to win three straight Japan Series titles since the Seibu Lions did it from 1990 to 1992. The Hawks finished the 2019 regular season in second place in the Pacific League. They advanced to the Japan Series after defeating the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

and the

Saitama 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 ...

in the PL Climax Series. The Giants finished in first place in the Central League, earning a bye in the first stage of the CL Climax Series, followed by a victory over the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

to reach the Japan Series. Mirroring the

1959 Japan Series The 1959 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1959 season. It was the tenth Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nankai Hawks, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri ...

in which the Nankai Hawks beat Yomiuri in four games to capture their first Japan Series championship, SoftBank beat Yomiuri in four games to capture the franchise's tenth Japan Series championship. This marked the sixth time the Japan Series ended in a sweep, with the most recent being in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. The first two games were played at the

Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium was originally named and has the capacity of 38,585 seats. With a diameter of 216 meters, the Fukuoka PayPay Dome is the world's largest geodesic dome. ...

and the other two at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

. Yurisbel Gracial was given the

Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award The is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the Japan Series, which is the final round of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) postseason. The award was first presented in 1950. The series follows a b ...

and

Yoshiyuki Kamei was a Japanese politician and member of the House of Representatives of Japan representing Kanagawa Prefecture. Biography Yoshiyuki Kamei was born on 30 April 1936. He graduated from Keio University in 1962. He was Ministry of Agricultu ...

was awarded with the Fighting Spirit Award.

Climax Series

For the second year in a row, the

finished the 2019 regular season in second place in the

(PL) behind the

, securing them a place as host team for the First Stage of the

, a

best-of-three There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

series against the

. After defeating the Eagles 2–1, SoftBank advanced to the Final Stage, where they competed against the pennant winning Lions. The series was best-of-six and the Lions were awarded a one-win advantage as well as home field advantage for the entire series. For the second time in as many years, the Hawks went into the

MetLife Dome (official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. It is home to the Saitama Seibu Lions, a professional baseball team. The stadium has a roof over the field and the stands, like other indoor ballparks. However, it la ...

and overcame the Lions' one-win advantage, defeating the Lions in four games to advance to their third consecutive Japan Series, as well as their fifth in the past six seasons. For the first time since , the

finished with the best record in the

, giving them a First Stage bye and advancing them directly to the Final Stage. They defeated the third place

4–1, securing them a place in the Japan Series for the first time since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Series notes

A Japanese baseball

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

of the 2010s, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had won the previous two Japan Series and four in the last five years. The Yomiuri Giants had won 22 Japan Series championships, more than any other team in the

(NPB). The last time the Giants won the championship was in the

2012 Japan Series The 2012 Japan Series (known as the ''Konami Nippon Series 2012'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 63rd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won ...

, which was also the last time a Central League team had won the Japan Series. The Giants and the Hawks last played against each other in the Japan Series in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, when the Giants defeated the Hawks in six games. Kimiyasu Kudo, the Hawks manager in 2019, had pitched for the Giants in the 2000 series and

Tatsunori Hara is a Japanese former professional baseball player, and the current manager of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team in Nippon Professional Baseball. Career Hara played for the Giants during his professional baseball career from to . He won the Cen ...

was Giants manager both times. A week before the post-season began, Yomiuri catcher

Shinnosuke Abe is a Japanese former professional baseball player who spent his entire 19-year career with Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants, serving as the team's captain from 2007 to 2014. He has twice been named the MVP of the Nippon Professional ...

announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season after 19 years with the Giants. Abe has been described as one of the greatest catchers to have played in the NPB. Home field advantage for the Japan Series alternates between the Pacific and Central leagues every year. For this series, it was the PL's turn to receive the advantage so it was awarded to the Hawks. SoftBank beat Yomiuri in their only

interleague Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...

series during the 2019 regular season. For the sixth year in a row,

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is a Japanese multinational banking and financial services institution headquartered in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The group operates in retail, corporate, and investment banking segment worldwide. It provides financial products and ser ...

(SMBC) sponsored the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

for the Japan Series, so it was officially known as the "2019 SMBC Japan Series".

Series overview

Game summaries

Game 1

In Game 1, the

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

s for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Yomiuri Giants were

Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until . He is a three-time NPB All-S ...

and

Shun Yamaguchi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and for the Toronto Blue J ...

, respectively. It was Senga's third straight year starting Game 1 of the Japan Series and it was Yamaguchi's first Japan Series start. Both starting pitchers were

Eiji Sawamura Award The , commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year. The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawa ...

candidates during the regular season. Senga allowed a home run to

in the top of the second inning, but Yurisbel Gracial hit a two-run home run n the bottom of the second inning. Senga allowed only the one run in seven innings. Meanwhile, SoftBank scored a third run in the sixth inning with a

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI)

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

by Akira Nakamura, and scored four runs in the seventh inning with a two-RBI

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Taisei Makihara , nicknamed "King JOKER", is a professional Japanese people, Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. King JOKER's nickname comes from his utility player playing style, which allows him to play every defensive ...

, an RBI single by

Yuki Yanagita , nicknamed "Gita (ギータ)", is a professional Japanese baseball outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He is an eight-time All-Star and a two-time Pacific League MVP, earning those honors in and . Yanagita has won six Japan Series cha ...

, and an RBI ground out by

Shuhei Fukuda Shuhei Fukuda (Japanese:福田秀平, born February 10, 1989) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He played for t ...

Takumi Ohshiro is a Japanese people, Japanese professional baseball catcher for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Career On November 16, 2018, he was selected for the Yomiuri Giants roster at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series exhibi ...

hit a solo home run for the Giants in the ninth inning to complete the game's scoring.

Game 2

Rei Takahashi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Professional career On October 26, 2017, Takahashi was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2017 Nippon Professional B ...

started Game 2 for SoftBank, and did not allow a hit into the seventh inning. C.C. Mercedes, the starting pitcher for Yomiuri, also allowed one hit to SoftBank in six innings. With

Kan Otake is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for 19 seasons for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Yomiuri Giants. Career In , Hiroshima Toyo Carp selected him in the first round. Otake represent ...

pitching for the Giants in the seventh inning, an error then a single allowed two players to reach base. SoftBank then scored the game's first runs on a three-run home run by

Nobuhiro Matsuda is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks On November 18, 2005, Matsuda was draf ...

. SoftBank added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a solo home run by

and a two-run home run by Shuhei Fukuda. In the ninth inning, SoftBank's

Jumpei Takahashi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Early career Takahashi participated in the 3rd grade spring 87th Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament and the ...

recorded one out but walked the bases loaded.

Yuito Mori is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Professional career Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks On October 24, 2013, Mori was drafted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball ...

, their closer, entered the game and Kazuma Okamoto drove in two runs, but was tagged out running the bases. Abe singled for the Giants to close the score to 6–3, but Mori retired the next batter, ending the game. With the win, SoftBank extended their championship finals series home winning streak to fourteen.

Game 3

Yuki Takahashi is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently races in the All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship aboard a Honda CBR1000RR. For 2009 he made his debut in the MotoGP class, with the Scot Racing Honda team but was subsequentl ...

started Game 3 for Yomiuri and

Rick van den Hurk Henricus "Rick" Nicolas van den Hurk (Eindhoven, May 22, 1985) is a Dutch professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has also pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh ...

started for SoftBank. Yomiuri's

scored the game's first run with a solo home run in the first inning. Gracial hit a solo home run for SoftBank in the top of the second inning.

Alfredo Despaigne Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (born June 17, 1986) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career In 2009, Despai ...

hit an RBI single in the top of the third inning, but Yomiuri tied the game at 2–2 in the bottom of the third inning with another home run by Kamei. Shosei Togo relieved for the Giants in the fourth inning, but allowed four runs, including an RBI sacrifice fly by

Yuya Hasegawa is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder, and current first squad hitting coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks since 2007, wearing number 24 ...

, a bases loaded

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, and a two-RBI single by Despaigne. Both teams prevented each other from scoring again, as SoftBank won 6–2, to move to within a victory of a three-peat.

Game 4

Tomoyuki Sugano is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career College career Sugano went to Tokai University, where he had a 37–4 win–loss record and a 0.57 earned run average (ERA). In ...

started Game 4 for Yomiuri and

Tsuyoshi Wada is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB). He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs. Wada pitched in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Be ...

started for SoftBank. Gracial hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning for SoftBank to open the scoring. Wada struck out six Giants in five innings without allowing a run. The Giants scored their first runs when Kazuma Okamoto hit a two-run home run off of

Robert Suárez Robert Alexander Suárez Subero (born March 1, 1991) is a Venezuelan 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 ...

in the sixth inning. The Hawks and Giants both scored another run in the seventh inning. Mori finished the victory for SoftBank by pitching a scoreless ninth inning, earning the save, to cap the sweep. The Hawks clinched their third straight Japan Series title with the victory. Gracial, who batted 6-for-16 (.375) with three home runs and six RBIs in the series, won the

References

{{Yomiuri Giants Japan Series 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Yomiuri Giants