The 2023 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) was a set of two consecutive
playoff series in
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 ...
(NPB). The first stage began on October 14 and the final stage concluded on October 21. The first stage was a best-of-three series between the second-place
Chiba Lotte Marines and the third-place
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The final stage was a best-of-six with the
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...
, 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 ...
champion, being awarded a one-win advantage against the Marines, the winner of the first stage. The Buffaloes advanced to the
2023 Japan Series
The 2023 Japan Series (known as the '' SMBC Nippon Series 2023'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) season. The 74th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between ...
to compete against 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 ...
, the
2023 Central League Climax Series winner. This is the third straight year that the Orix Buffaloes have won the Climax Series.
Background
For the sixth year in a row,
Persol Holdings
Persol Holdings (rebranded from Temp Holdings) is a Japanese human resource management company, that provides labour hire
Labour hire is a form of employment in which an employer directs their de jure employees ('labour hire employees', or 'agen ...
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 Pacific League Climax Series, and it was officially known as the "2023 Persol Climax Series PA".
The race for the second and third Climax Series spots came down to the end of the season. The
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched a playoff berth on October 7th, however the seeding and the final team wasn't decided until the last game of the season between the
Chiba Lotte Marines and 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 ...
. With the final rescheduled regular-season game rained out on October 9th, the third- and fourth-placed Marines and Eagles, respectively, finally played their final game on October 10th. A win for either team would allow that team to qualify for the Climax Series while eliminating the other. Lotte won the game which allowed them to clinch second place in the Pacific League, bump SoftBank to third place and eliminate Rakuten entirely.
The
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...
clinched their third-straight and 15th overall Pacific League pennant on September 20th. Despite slugging outfielder
Masataka Yoshida leaving the team in the offseason to play in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, Orix was still able to lead in the standings throughout the majority of the season and clinched the title relatively early compared to the previous two seasons. It was the Buffaloes third three-peat in its history, its first since 1975–1978 when they won four straight as the Braves. It was the first three consecutive Pacific League championships since the
Seibu Lions won five straight between 1990 and 1994.
First stage
Intra-league teams play 25 games against each other during the regular season. The Marines and the Hawks split the season series .
The two teams had met in the postseason five times prior to this year, with the Marines only winning two of the five series.
Summary
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Final stage
The championship advanced the Buffaloes directly to the final stage of the Climax Series to host the Marines, the eventual winner of the first stage.
In the season series, Orix came out on top and finished 15.5
games ahead of Lotte.
The series is the second time the two teams have met in the Climax Series, the other time being the final stage of the
2021 PLCS that Orix won.
Summary
:
* The Pacific League regular season champion is given a one-game advantage in the final stage.
:
If necessary
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
References
{{Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Climax Series
Pacific League Climax Series
Pacific League Climax Series
Orix Buffaloes postseason
Chiba Lotte Marines postseason
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks postseason