The Saitama Seibu Lions are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. They were established in 1950. 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. [1]
In 76 seasons, they have won the Japan Series thirteen times (1956, 1957, 1958, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2008) and have finished first place in the Pacific League 23 times, most recently in 2019. In the playoff era of the Pacific League (1973–1982, 2004-present), the Lions have reached the postseason thirteen times, most recently doing so in 2022.
| W | Number of regular season wins |
|---|---|
| L | Number of regular season losses |
| T | Number of regular season ties |
| GB | Games behind from league's first-place team [a] |
| ROY | Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award |
| MVP | Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award |
| ESA | Eiji Sawamura Award [b] |
| MSA | Matsutaro Shoriki Award |
| Series MVP | Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award |
| FSA | Fighting Spirit Award |
| Japan Series Champions (1950–present) † | Pacific League Pennant (1950–present) | Pacific League Regular Season Champions (1950–present) ^ | Climax Series Berth (2004–present) ¤ |
| Season | League | Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win% | GB | Playoffs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nishitetsu Clippers / Lions | |||||||||
| 1950 | Pacific | 5th | 51 | 67 | 2 | .432 | 31.5 | ||
| 1951 | Pacific | 2nd | 53 | 42 | 10 | .558 | 18.5 | ||
| 1952 | Pacific | 3rd | 67 | 52 | 1 | .563 | 8.5 | ||
| 1953 | Pacific | 4th | 57 | 61 | 2 | .483 | 13.5 | ||
| 1954 | Pacific | 1st | 90 | 47 | 3 | .657 | – | Lost Japan Series (Dragons) 4–3 | Hiroshi Oshita (MVP) |
| 1955 | Pacific | 2nd | 90 | 50 | 4 | .643 | 9 | ||
| 1956 | Pacific | 1st | 96 | 51 | 7 | .646 | – | Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–2 | Futoshi Nakanishi (MVP) Yasumitsu Toyoda (Series MVP) Kazuhisa Inao (FSA) |
| 1957 | Pacific | 1st | 83 | 44 | 5 | .648 | – | Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–0–1 | Kazuhisa Inao (MVP) Hiroshi Ohshita (Series MVP) |
| 1958 | Pacific | 1st | 78 | 47 | 5 | .619 | – | Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–3 | Kazuhisa Inao (MVP) Kazuhisa Inao (Series MVP) |
| 1959 | Pacific | 4th | 66 | 64 | 14 | .508 | 22 | ||
| 1960 | Pacific | 3rd | 70 | 60 | 6 | .538 | 12 | ||
| 1961 | Pacific | 3rd | 81 | 56 | 3 | .589 | 5.5 | ||
| 1962 | Pacific | 3rd | 62 | 68 | 6 | .477 | 16 | ||
| 1963 | Pacific | 1st | 86 | 60 | 4 | .589 | – | Lost Japan Series (Giants) 4–3 | |
| 1964 | Pacific | 5th | 63 | 81 | 6 | .438 | 19.5 | ||
| 1965 | Pacific | 3rd | 72 | 64 | 4 | .529 | 15.5 | ||
| 1966 | Pacific | 2nd | 75 | 55 | 8 | .577 | 4 | ||
| 1967 | Pacific | 2nd | 66 | 64 | 10 | .508 | 9 | ||
| 1968 | Pacific | 5th | 56 | 74 | 3 | .431 | 24 | ||
| 1969 | Pacific | 5th | 51 | 75 | 4 | .405 | 25 | ||
| 1970 | Pacific | 6th | 43 | 78 | 9 | .355 | 34 | ||
| 1971 | Pacific | 6th | 38 | 84 | 8 | .311 | 43.5 | ||
| 1972 | Pacific | 6th | 47 | 80 | 3 | .370 | 32.5 | ||
| Taiheiyo Club Lions | |||||||||
| 1973 | Pacific | 4th/5th | 59 | 64 | 7 | .480 | |||
| 1974 | Pacific | 3rd/4th | 59 | 64 | 7 | .480 | |||
| 1975 | Pacific | 2nd/4th | 58 | 62 | 10 | .483 | |||
| 1976 | Pacific | 6th/6th | 44 | 76 | 10 | .367 | |||
| Crown Lighter Lions | |||||||||
| 1977 | Pacific | 6th/5th | 49 | 73 | 8 | .402 | |||
| 1978 | Pacific | 4th/5th | 51 | 67 | 12 | .432 | |||
| Seibu Lions | |||||||||
| 1979 | Pacific | 6th/5th | 45 | 73 | 12 | .381 | |||
| 1980 | Pacific | 6th/4th | 62 | 64 | 4 | .492 | |||
| 1981 | Pacific | 2nd/5th | 61 | 61 | 8 | .500 | |||
| 1982 | Pacific | 1st/3rd | 68 | 58 | 4 | .540 | – | Won Pacific League playoffs (Fighters) 3–1 Won Japan Series (Dragons) 4–2 | Osamu Higashio (Series MVP) |
| 1983 | Pacific | 1st | 86 | 40 | 4 | .683 | – | Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–3 | Osamu Higashio (MVP) Takuji Ota (Series MVP) |
| 1984 | Pacific | 3rd | 62 | 61 | 7 | .504 | 14.5 | ||
| 1985 | Pacific | 1st | 79 | 45 | 6 | .637 | – | Lost Japan Series (Tigers) 4–2 | |
| 1986 | Pacific | 1st | 68 | 49 | 13 | .581 | – | Won Japan Series (Carp) 4–3–1 | Hiromichi Ishige (MVP) Kimiyasu Kudoh (Series MVP) |
| 1987 | Pacific | 1st | 71 | 45 | 14 | .612 | – | Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–2 | Osamu Higashio (MVP) Kimiyasu Kudoh (Series MVP) |
| 1989 | Pacific | 1st | 73 | 51 | 6 | .589 | – | Won Japan Series (Dragons) 4–1 | Hiromichi Ishige (Series MVP) |
| 1989 | Pacific | 3rd | 69 | 53 | 8 | .566 | 0.5 | ||
| 1990 | Pacific | 1st | 81 | 45 | 4 | .643 | – | Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–0 | Orestes Destrade (Series MVP) |
| 1991 | Pacific | 1st | 81 | 43 | 6 | .653 | – | Won Japan Series (Carp) 4–3 | Taigen Kaku (MVP) Koji Akiyama (Series MVP) |
| 1992 | Pacific | 1st | 80 | 47 | 3 | .630 | – | Won Japan Series (Swallows) 4–3 | Takehiro Ishii (MVP) Takehiro Ishii (Series MVP) |
| 1993 | Pacific | 1st | 74 | 53 | 3 | .583 | – | Lost Japan Series (Swallows) 4–3 | Kimiyasu Kudo (MVP) |
| 1994 | Pacific | 1st | 76 | 52 | 2 | .594 | – | Lost Japan Series (Giants) 4–2 | |
| 1995 | Pacific | 3rd | 67 | 57 | 6 | .540 | 12.5 | ||
| 1996 | Pacific | 3rd | 62 | 64 | 4 | .492 | 13 | ||
| 1997 | Pacific | 1st | 76 | 56 | 3 | .576 | – | Lost Japan Series (Giants) 4–1 | Fumiya Nishiguchi (MVP) |
| 1998 | Pacific | 1st | 70 | 61 | 4 | .534 | – | Lost Japan Series (BayStars) 4–2 | Kazuo Matsui (MVP) |
| 1999 | Pacific | 2nd | 75 | 59 | 1 | .560 | 4 | ||
| 2000 | Pacific | 2nd | 69 | 61 | 5 | .531 | 2.5 | ||
| 2001 | Pacific | 3rd | 73 | 67 | 0 | .521 | 6 | ||
| 2002 | Pacific | 1st | 90 | 49 | 1 | .647 | – | Lost Japan Series (Giants) 4–0 [2] | Alex Cabrera (MVP) |
| 2003 | Pacific | 2nd | 77 | 61 | 2 | .558 | 5.5 | ||
| 2004 | Pacific | 1st | 74 | 58 | 1 | .561 | – | Won Pacific League playoffs First Stage (Fighters) 2–1 Won Pacific League Playoffs Second Stage (Hawks) 3–2 Won Japan Series (Dragons) 4–3 [3] | Takashi Ishii (Series MVP) |
| 2005 | Pacific | 3rd | 67 | 69 | 0 | .493 | 23 | ||
| 2006 | Pacific | 2nd | 80 | 54 | 2 | .597 | 1 | ||
| 2007 | Pacific | 5th | 66 | 76 | 2 | .465 | 14.5 | ||
| Saitama Seibu Lions | |||||||||
| 2008 | Pacific | 1st | 76 | 64 | 4 | .543 | – | Won Climax Series Second Stage (Fighters) 4–2 Won Japan Series (Giants) 4–3 [4] | Takayuki Kishi (Series MVP) |
| 2009 | Pacific | 4th | 70 | 70 | 4 | .500 | 11 | ||
| 2010 | Pacific | 2nd | 78 | 65 | 1 | .545 | 0 [A] | Lost Climax Series First Stage (Marines) 2–0 | |
| 2011 | Pacific | 3rd | 68 | 67 | 9 | .504 | 20.5 | Won Climax Series First Stage (Marines) 2–0 Lost Climax Series Final Stage (Hawks) 4–0 | |
| 2012 | Pacific | 2nd | 72 | 63 | 9 | .533 | 3 | Lost Climax Series First Stage (Hawks) 2–1 | |
| 2013 | Pacific | 2nd | 74 | 66 | 4 | .529 | 7.5 | Lost Climax Series First Stage (Marines) 2–1 | |
| 2014 | Pacific | 5th | 63 | 77 | 4 | .450 | 16 | ||
| 2015 | Pacific | 4th | 69 | 69 | 5 | .500 | 20.5 | ||
| 2016 | Pacific | 4th | 64 | 76 | 3 | .457 | 23 | ||
| 2017 | Pacific | 2nd | 79 | 61 | 3 | .564 | 13.5 | Lost Climax Series First Stage (Golden Eagles) 2–1 | |
| 2018 | Pacific | 1st | 88 | 53 | 2 | .624 | – | Lost Climax Series Final Stage (Hawks) 4–2 | Hotaka Yamakawa (MVP) |
| 2019 | Pacific | 1st | 80 | 62 | 1 | .563 | – | Lost Climax Series Final Stage (Hawks) 4–1 | Tomoya Mori (MVP) |
| 2020 | Pacific | 3rd | 58 | 58 | 4 | .500 | 15.5 | [B] | |
| 2021 | Pacific | 6th | 55 | 70 | 18 | .440 | 15 | ||
| 2022 | Pacific | 3rd | 72 | 68 | 3 | .514 | 3.5 | Lost Climax Series First Stage (Hawks) 2–0 | |
| 2023 | Pacific | 5th | 65 | 77 | 1 | .458 | 22.5 | ||
| 2024 | Pacific | 6th | 49 | 91 | 3 | .350 | 42 | ||
| 2025 | Pacific | 5th | 63 | 77 | 3 | .450 | 24.5 | ||
[A] Excluding ties, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had a record of 76–63 (.5467) while the Lions had a record of 78–65 (.5454)
[B] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, NPB saw both of their leagues modify their playoff format. The Pacific League decided to modify the traditional Climax Series format and eliminate the First Stage series to instead play only one modified Final Stage series (between the top-2 teams) while the Central League sent the first-place team directly to the Japan Series, which in this case was Yomiuri.