2000 Japan Series

2000 Japan Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season Yomiuri Giants (4) Shigeo Nagashima 78–57 (.578), 8 GA Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (2) Sadaharu Oh 73–60–2 (.549), 2½ GA
Dates	October 21–28
MVP	Hideki Matsui (Yomiuri)
FSA	Kenji Jojima (Fukuoka)
Broadcast
Television	NTV (Games 1, 2, 4, 6), TNC and Fuji TV (Game 3), RKB (Game 5)
←  1999 Japan Series 2001  →

The 2000 Japan Series was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the 2000 season. The 51st edition of the Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. With the Hawks trying to win their second consecutive championship, the press dubbed it the "O N Series" because of the managers on both sides: Sadaharu Oh for the Hawks and Shigeo Nagashima for the Giants; the two were teammates in the 1960s and 1970s, and their combined hitting prowess gave them the nickname, "O-N Cannon." The Giants won the Series in six games for their first championship in six years.

Background

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

The defending Japan Series Champions were largely the same team that had taken the field in 1999, with one major exception: left-handed starter Kimiyasu Kudoh had departed as a free agent over the winter and signed with the Giants. The core of the team was still intact, with Kenji Johjima anchoring a strong lineup that also featured stars Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Hiroki Kokubo. Pitching-wise, the Hawks saw the big-stage debut of future right-handed ace Kazumi Saitoh, who would make three appearances in relief without giving up a run.

Yomiuri Giants

For the first time in four years, the Giants had reached the Japan Series. They had not won the series since 1994, when they faced the Seibu Lions. A lot had changed in the six years since they had won, but the plethora of stars that they had been building since the mid-1990s was finally enough to get back to the Japan Series. Yomiuri had a powerful middle of the order between aging slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Hideki Matsui. The pitching staff featured established stars such as Kudoh and Hiromi Makihara.

Summary

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Giants – 3, Hawks – 5	October 21	Tokyo Dome	43,848 [1]
2	Giants – 3, Hawks – 8	October 22	Tokyo Dome	43,850 [1]
3	Hawks – 3, Giants – 9	October 23	Fukuoka Dome	36,625 [1]
4	Hawks – 1, Giants – 2	October 26	Fukuoka Dome	36,701 [1]
5	Hawks – 0, Giants – 6	October 27	Fukuoka Dome	36,787 [1]
6	Giants – 9, Hawks – 3	October 28	Tokyo Dome	44,033 [1]

See also

• 2000 World Series

References

1. 2000年度日本シリーズ　試合結果 (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved May 12, 2010.