| 2002 Japan Series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 26–30 | |||||||||
| MVP | Tomohiro Nioka | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | NTV (Game 1, 2), TV Asahi (Game 3), TBS (Game 4) | |||||||||
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The 2002 Japan Series was the 53rd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. The Giants swept the Lions in four games to win their 20th Japan Series championship.
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giants – 4, Lions – 1 | October 26 | Tokyo Dome | 45,107 |
| 2 | Giants – 9, Lions – 4 | October 27 | Tokyo Dome | 45,223 |
| 3 | Lions – 2, Giants – 10 | October 29 | Seibu Dome | 30,933 |
| 4 | Lions – 2, Giants – 6 | October 30 | Seibu Dome | 31,072 |
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Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球), meaning Professional Baseball. Outside of Japan, it is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
The Yomiuri Giants 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 have played their home games in the Tokyo Dome since its opening in 1988. The team's owner is Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerate which also owns two newspapers and the Nippon Television Network.
The Japan Series, also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, and is played in October or November. The first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion each year. The Japan Series uses a 2–3–2 format.
The Chunichi Dragons are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times and the Japan Series twice. They were also champions in the 2007 Asia Series.
The Saitama Seibu Lions 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, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Holdings. The team experienced a recent period of financial difficulty, but the situation brightened when the team received a record ¥6 billion posting fee from the Boston Red Sox for the right to negotiate a contract with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Between 1978 and 2008, the team logo and mascot were based on the adult version of Kimba the White Lion, a classic Japanese anime and manga series by Osamu Tezuka. In 2004, former Seibu Lions player Kazuo Matsui became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball.
The China Baseball League is a professional baseball league under the administration of Chinese Baseball Association, founded in 2002. The league suspended operations in 2012 due to financial troubles after the 2011 season, but returned in 2014. The league closed in 2016. The 2018 season was the final edition of China Baseball League after the establishment of the China National Baseball League. The league restarted in 2023.
Tokyo Big6 Baseball League is an intercollegiate baseball league that features six prominent universities in the Tokyo area. Before the 1936 establishment of the Japanese Baseball League and subsequent growth of Nippon Professional Baseball, the Big6 League was widely considered the highest level of baseball in Japan.
The 2008 Japan Series was the 59th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff between the respective champions of the Central League's and the Pacific League's Climax Series (postseason) began on Saturday, November 1, 2008, and went the full seven games. The deciding Game 7 took place on Sunday, November 9.
The 1994 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1994 season. It was the 45th Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions against the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. The series was the eighth time the two franchises played each other for the championship.
The 1990 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1990 season. It was the 41st Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions against the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. Seibu won the PL pennant for the seventh time in nine years to reach the series, and Yomiuri dominated the CL to return to the series after winning it the year before. Played at Tokyo Dome and Seibu Lions Stadium, the Lions swept the heavily favored Giants in four games to win the franchise's 10th Japan Series title. Seibu slugger and former MLB player Orestes Destrade was named Most Valuable Player of the series. The series was played between October 20 and October 24 with home field advantage going to the Central League.
The 1956 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1956 season. It was the seventh Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 1957 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1957 season. It was the eighth Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 1958 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1958 season. It was the ninth Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
The 1963 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1963 season. It was the 14th Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nishitetsu Lions, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.
Kimiyasu Kudo is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher and the former manager of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball. Known for his longevity as a player, he holds the NPB records for longest career with 29 seasons played, most consecutive seasons with at least one win with 23 and is the oldest pitcher to strike out 10 batters in a game, doing so at the age of 41 years and 11 months. In his career, he recorded 224 wins, a 3.45 ERA and 2,852 strikeouts. However, despite all his accolades, he is infamously known for having never won the Eiji Sawamura Award, given to Japan's top pitcher.
The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1982. The Austrian Football League (AFL) has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based on those of the NCAA.
The 1987 Japan Series was the 38th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. The Lions came into the series as the defending champions, having won the 1986 Japan Series. This was the Giants' 24th appearance in the Japan Series and first since 1983. The Lions defeated the Giants, 4 games to 2, and won their second championship in a row and seventh overall.
The 1983 Japan Series was the 34th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants against the Pacific League champion Seibu Lions. The Lions won the series in seven games and captured their second consecutive Japan Series title.
The 2019 Japan Series was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. The series was a best-of-seven playoff between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the Pacific League's (PL) Climax Series champion and defending Japan Series champions, and the Yomiuri Giants, the Central League'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 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) playoffs have taken several different forms throughout the organization's history. Japanese baseball is divided into two leagues; the Pacific League (PL) is less popular and less profitable than the Central League (CL). As a result, the PL has employed various playoff formats throughout its history in an effort to increase fan interest. The PL's first true playoff system was introduced in the 1973 season. It involved a split season plan that divided the season into two halves and the two teams that won each half went on to play each other in a five-game playoff series, with the winner advancing to the Japan Series. While popular with fans, the format was scrapped after ten seasons because of major issues and criticisms. In the year following their last split season, the PL returned to a single season, however if five or fewer games separated the first- and second-place teams at the end of the season, the two teams would play each other in a five-game playoff series. This playoff system was unpopular and ridiculed by media and fans. It only lasted three seasons with a playoff series never needing to be played.