Western

Chiba Lotte Marines

Founded in 1950 by the Mainichi newspaper company and known as the Orions for four decades, the team was purchased by Lotte, a Korean confectionery company, in 1969. 

Along with the new ballpark in 1992, the team got a new name. “Marines” refer to the team’s new seaside home.

Playing in QVC Stadium, thirty minutes south-east of Tokyo along the waterfront, Lotte games seldom draw a crowd. Because of the cold wind blowing in from the bay, it can be an uncomfortable place in April and May.  Because of its deep outfield walls and a large foul territory, Marine Stadium is one of the toughest places in Japan to hit a home run. But the stadium attendants are friendly and helpful.

Through the years, the Orions and Marines have featured several all-time greats, including three-time triple crown winner Hiromitsu Ochiai (who played for Lotte from 1979-86), 215 game-winner Choji Murata (1968-90), career .320 hitter Leron Lee (1977-87) and Hideki Irabu (1988-96).

Their initial black, white and neon lavender uniforms were retired after the 1994 season and since then they have worn black pinstripes at home while donning black on gray road uniforms.  The team employs a six-foot seagull mascot.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Founded in 1938, the Hawks played poorly during the early years, but when Kazuto Tsuruoka took over as skipper, he led the team to either a first or second-place finish every year from 1950-66.  During the last half of Tsuruoka’s tenure, catcher Katsuya Nomura became the team leader, eventually belting 657 home runs.  

Nomura later managed the Hawks during the 1970s, but after he was fired, the team posted 16 straight losing seasons even while slugger Hiromitsu Kadota compiled 567 career home runs.

In 1988, the Daiei supermarket chain bought the Hawks and moved them to Fukuoka in Kyushu , Japan ‘s southern island.  When the Fukuoka Dome opened in 1993, the Hawks moved into their new home.

With a relatively new ballpark modeled after Toronto ‘s SkyDome, the Hawks have a loyal following and have occasionally rivaled the Giants for the attendance lead.  

While the Fukuoka Dome offers Japan ‘s only removable lid, the playing field and high walls around the field move fans far away from the action.

Even if the sight-lines are miserable, the ballpark offers several bars and restaurants with a birds-eye view of the field.  The team’s mascot, Harry the Hawk, loiters around foul territory at home games.

Managed by Japan s all-time home run king Sadaharu Oh since 1995, the Daiei Hawks won the Pacific League pennant in 1999, 2000 and 2003 with a potent batting attack led by first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka (Triple Crown batting winner in 2004) and catcher Kenji Jojima.

Financial woes suffered by the parent company caused Daiei to sell the team to SoftBank, an Internet company, and in 2005 the club became known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

Having for years shared the Tokyo Dome with the more popular Yomiuri Giants, Nippon Ham games were seldom crowded and the team has often looked for ways to boost attendance.  Once a year, the Fighters give away free tickets for “Diamondbacks Day” to the foreign community in Tokyo, because of their partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Since the 2004 season, the team has called the Sapporo Dome, on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan , its home field, though the Fighters continue to play a number of games in the Tokyo Dome.

During the 1980’s the Fighters wore bright orange-and-yellow uniforms in an attempt to attract fans.  The team eventually opted for blue pinstripes but kept their fluorescent pink mascot, Fighty, who resembles a fuzzy pterodactyl and rides a bicycle.

While most major league teams offer a seventh inning stretch, the Fighters play the Village People classic “YMCA” over the sound system as cheerleaders and groundskeepers dance on the field during the fifth inning infield sweep.

They opened the 2004 season sporting new uniforms, logo and look in the their new ballpark.

The Fighters had good reason for trying to hard to attract fans.  There were five other teams in the Tokyo-area also competing for fans, and the Fighters have never been as popular as the Yomiuri Giants, with whom they shared Tokyo Dome. 

Although the Fighters, who have earned only one pennant in the last 24 years, usually start the season strong, they tend to stumble as the pennant race heats up.  

In 2004, the transplanted Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters finished in third place and made the Pacific League playoffs but lost in the first round to the eventual champion Seibu Lions. Owned by Nippon Ham, a meat packing company, the Fighters were originally known as the Senators (1946) and Flyers (1947-73).

A bottom-feeding team for most of the last five decades, the Fighters have produced few high quality domestic stars.  One exception, seven-time batting champion Isao Harimoto, played the first 17 years of his career (1959-75) with the team and collected a record 3,085 hits while compiling a lifetime .319 batting average with 504 home runs.  For the last two decades, however, the Fighters have had to heavily rely on imported sluggers.

Orix Buffaloes

Founded in 1950 by Kintetsu Railways and known as the Pearls until 1958, the Buffaloes have won fewer games than any other PL franchise. Until the mid-1960s, the team nearly always placed last and in 1961 they lost a record 103 games. Kintetsu has won three PL pennants but they are the only team that hasn’t won a Japan Series championship.

After years of low attendance, the Kintetsu Buffaloes got a big boost moving into Osaka Dome in 1997. But the fans hoping to see the Buffaloes win often go home disappointed because the team has finished near the bottom of the league the past two seasons. 

Having long ago earned a reputation for stinginess and abusing valuable players, the Buffaloes overworked Hideo Nomo then tried to cut his salary after arm trouble sidelined him. Before indignantly retiring and declaring himself a free agent, Tornado Boy had a short but impressive career with Kintetsu before bolting for the United States.

Tight with their yen, the Buffaloes refused to pay the extra Osaka Dome rent that would have allowed them to practice in their home park.

Typical of all Japan’s indoor ballparks, the facility is a donut-shaped mall surrounding a few acres of green carpet. But the visibility is good and the seats behind home plate feature personal air conditioning vents and miniature television monitors. 

In 2005 financial woes saw the Kintetsu Buffaloes merge with the Orix Blue Wave.

Probably no Japanese team relied on one player as much as the Orix BlueWave depended on outfielder Ichiro Suzuki before he went to the Seattle Mariners.  When he was 21 years old, Ichiro set a new Japanrecord by collecting 210 hits in his first full season.  Since his 1994 breakthrough, Ichiro earned seven batting titles while twice leading Orix to the Japan Series.

Long before Ichiro joined Orix, the BlueWave (originally the Hankyu Braves) had their share of stars.  Playing all but the last two seasons of his career (1956-77) with the Braves, Tetsuya Yoneda compiled a lifetime 350-285 record with 3,388 strikeouts and a 22-year 2.91 ERA. From 1969-88, Yutaka Fukumoto stole a record 1,065 bases. Greg “Boomer” Wells (1983-91; played in 1992 with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks) earned a triple-crown in 1984 and compiled a ten-year .317 batting average with 277 home runs.

Founded in 1936 by the Hankyu railway company and named the Braves a decade later, the Osaka-area franchise joined the Pacific League in 1950. One of the strongest teams in the league, the Braves were purchased by the Oriental Leasing company (Orix) in 1988 and renamed the BlueWave two years later.

After years of playing at Nishinomiya Stadium, between Kobe andOsaka, Orix moved to the 35,000 seat Green Stadium Kobe in 1991. It was later called Yahoo! BB, the first stadium with a naming rights sponsor, and is now Hotto Moto Stadium. It is located on the edge of Sogoundo Park, and green trees surround the natural grass field with Major League dimensions, and it offers a relaxing baseball atmosphere.

Upon the merger of the Blue Wave with the Buffaloes in 2005, the new team is called the Orix Buffaloes.  The Kyocera Osaka Dome is its home park, with many games played at Hotto Motto Stadium.

Seibu Lions

The most powerful team of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Seibu Lions captured their eighteenth pennant in 1998. One reason that the Lions are always competitive is because they are the richest team in the Pacific League.

The Lions are one of the wealthiest teams in Japan.  Owned by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, at one time listed as the world’s richest man, the team has managed to get some of the best players in Japan into its deep pockets.

Founded in 1950, the Lions quickly became one of the Pacific League’s most dominant teams, winning four pennants in their first decade. 

In addition to building a business dynasty, Tsutsumi also created the team’s ballpark, Seibu Dome, which lies 30 minutes west of Tokyo. 

The stadium was originally an amphitheater dug into the side of a hill, but an umbrella was installed after the 1998 season.  The umbrella is open at the sides giving a feel of the outdoors but, when needed, keeping the hot summer sun or the rain off.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles team was founded at the conclusion of the 2004 season to begin play in the Pacific League.  The team was created to fill the void created by the merger of the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes.  Those teams merged after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties to become the Orix Buffaloes.  

 

Internet shopping mall operator Rakuten, the new team’s owner, named the ballclub the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. It is the first expansion team in the Japanese leagues in more than 50 years.

The team is based in the city of Sendai in the Tohoku region in north-eastern Japan and is named after the golden eagles living in a mountain range in the area. The baseball Eagles will play their home games at Kleenex Miyagi Stadium in Sendai which may be reached in less than two hours from Tokyo on the Shinkansen Bullet Train.

 

Rakuten hired former Birmingham Barons team president Marty Kuehnert as its first general manager, the first American to hold such a post in Japan.

Source: www.japanball.com/