The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka,

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, which in turn is owned by the

Seibu Holdings is a Japanese holding company that primarily owns Seibu Railway, Prince Hotels, and Seibu Bus and its subsidiaries, which are collectively known as the . In total, fifty-three companies across the world are affiliated with the Seibu Group. The c ...

. The team experienced a recent period of financial difficulty, but the situation brightened when the team received a record ¥6 billion (about $51.11 million) posting fee from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

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 ''Kimba the White Lion'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese '' shōnen'' manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in the '' Manga Shōnen'' magazine from November 1950 to April 1954. An anime based on ...

, a classic Japanese

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

and manga series by Osamu Tezuka. In 2004, former Seibu Lions player

Kazuo Matsui is a Japanese retired professional baseball player who played as a shortstop and is the current manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions. He is a switch-hitter. Matsui signed with the New York Mets on December 17, 2003, becoming the first Japanese i ...

became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball.

Franchise history

Nishitetsu Clippers (1950)

In 1950, the team became a founding member of the Pacific League. It was then owned by

Nishi-Nippon Railroad The , also called or NNR, is one of Japan's "Big 16" private railroad companies. With headquarters in Fukuoka, it operates local and highway buses, supermarkets, real estate and travel agencies, as well as railways in Fukuoka Prefecture ...

, which was based in Fukuoka.The Clippers name was chosen as Nishitetsu was in charge of

Pan American Airlines Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

' Japanese operations (back then, Pan Am's jets were known as "Clippers" due to them being aeronautical). The team finished sixth that year, and at the end of the season was merged with the Nishi-Nippon Pirates to form the Nishitetsu Lions. Thus the Lions name was adopted and has been retained up to today as the name of the franchise.

Nishitetsu Lions (1951–1972)

The Nishitetsu Lions called

Heiwadai Stadium was a Baseball park, ballpark located in the Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. From 1950 to 1978, it served as the home ballpark of the Nishitetsu Lions, a team in Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League. It also briefly served as ...

home for their entire existence. They were one of a dominant team in the Pacific League during the 1950s, winning four pennants, including three straight Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants behind famed manager Osamu Mihara; their last championship in Fukuoka came in 1958. The team struggled through the following decade and did not witness much success on the field. In 1969–1970 the team was caught up in the infamous Black Mist game-fixing scandal, which resulted in four Lions pitchers being banned from NPB for life, as well as other players receiving lesser punishments. These losses decimated the team, which finished the 1970 season in last place. After a third straight last-place finish, in November 1972 the franchise was sold to the

Fukuoka Baseball Corporation is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center ...

, also a part of

. Following the sale, the team was renamed the Taiheiyo Club Lions.

Taiheiyo Club Lions (1973–1976)

Nishi-Nippon Railroad, founded by Nagayoshi Nakamura, then owner of Lotte Corporation and the Orions, sold the team's sponsorship rights to Taiheiyo Club, a golf course and resort developer in 1973. The Lions, still smarting from the after-effects of the Black Mist Scandal, finished no higher than third throughout the 1970s.

Crown Lighter Lions (1977–1978)

At the end of the 1976 season, the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation announced that the team's new sponsor was Crown Gas Lighter. With this, the team's name for the upcoming season was changed to the Crown Lighter Lions. On October 25, 1978, the team was sold to Kokudo Keikaku (later Kokudo), and then merged into Prince Hotels.

Seibu Lions (1979–2007)

Following the sale of the Crown Lighter Lions and their merging into Prince Hotels, the team was renamed the Seibu Lions and relocated to a new ballpark in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Fukuoka would be left without an NPB team until , when the erstwhile

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

were bought by

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Maruben ...

and moved to the Lions' previous stadium,

Golden Age (1982–1994)

The Lions finished in last place in (something the team would not do again until ), and finished in fourth place in and . However, the following seasons would mark the beginning of a period of sustained success for the team under new manager

Tatsuro Hirooka Tatsuro Hirooka (広岡達朗, ''Hirooka Tatsurō'' born February 9, 1932) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player and manager. Hirooka played his entire career, from 1954 to 1966, for the Yomiuri Giants. He was awarded the Central L ...

and with star players such as

Osamu Higashio is a former Japanese baseball player who played in the Japanese professional leagues from 1969–1988, being remembered as one of the leading Japanese pitchers in the 1980s. He also was manager of the Seibu Lions from 1995 to 2001. Professiona ...

and Kōichi Tabuchi. Tatsuro Hirooka told the players that meat and other animal foods increase athletes' susceptibility to injury, and decrease their ability to perform. He required all players to take up a strictly

vegetarian diet Vegetarian diet may refer to: *Vegetarianism *Vegetarian cuisine *Plant-based diet (i.e., not necessarily stemming from vegetarian beliefs) *Veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet ...

. The club won consecutive Japan Series in and , and went to the Japan Series again in , but lost to the Hanshin Tigers, who won their first and so far only Japan Series title in team history. Following the 1986 season, the club replaced Hirooka with Masaaki Mori, who was able to sustain the team's prolonged success. Mori won eight league championships, between 1986 and 1988 and 1990–1994, and six Japan Series championships in his nine-year managing career, winning the Japan Series in 1986,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, 1990,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, and 1992. The team gained the moniker "Invincible Seibu" during the 1980s and 1990s due to their sustained domination of the league. The Lions had a powerful lineup in this period, loaded with sluggers such as Koji Akiyama, Kazuhiro Kiyohara and

Orestes Destrade Orestes Destrade Cucuas (born May 8, 1962) is a Cuban former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Florida Marlins. Destrade also played in Nippon Professional ...

. Their defense also benefited from the services of skilled players such as

Hiromichi Ishige Hiromichi Ishige (石毛宏典, born September 22, 1956) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player and manager in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played most of his career for the Seibu Lions. The 1986 Pacific League Most Va ...

, Romeo Calhoun, Hatsuhiko Tsuji and catcher

Tsutomu Ito Tsutomu is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings ''Tsutomu can be written using different kanji characters. Here are some examples: *勉, "make effort" *務, "affairs" *務武, "affairs, warrior" *勤, "diligence" *努, "strive" The ...

. Among the pitchers employed by the Lions in this period was "The Oriental Express" Taigen Kaku, Kimiyasu Kudoh,

Hisanobu Watanabe Hisanobu Watanabe (渡辺久信 born August 2, 1965) nicknamed "Nabe-Q", is the former baseball player who played in the Japanese professional leagues from 1984 to 1998. He also was manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional ...

, and relievers

Yoshitaka Katori is a former 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 t ...

and

Tetsuya Shiozaki is a former 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 t ...

= Prominent Golden Age Players

Saitama Seibu Lions (2008–)

In order to reinforce the affiliation between the team and their home region, the Lions added the prefecture name "Saitama" to their team name in 2008. They were Pacific League Champions that year and went on to win the Japan Series. The team logo and uniforms were further modified for the 2009 season, with the team trading in their traditional light-blue colour scheme for a dark blue design similar to that employed during the Nishitetsu Lions era in the 1950s and 1960s. Between 2010 to 2019, the Lions made the Pacific League Climax Series 1st stage 5 times, (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017) but lost to the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

in 2010 and 2013, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2017, and to the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

in 2011 and 2012. They made the Final Stage twice in back to back years in 2018 and 2019, but lost to the Hawks on both occasions. In 2020, the team finished in 3rd place, but was unable to make the playoffs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pacific League removed the First Stage of the playoffs; only the top 2 teams in Pacific League made the playoffs, while Central League removed it entirely, instead opting to send the regular season champion ( Yomiuri Giants) straight to the Japan Series. In 2021, the Lions finished in 6th and last place for the first time since 1979 with a 55-70-18 record.

Season-by-season records

Current roster

Managers

* Statistics current through the end of the season.

Former players of note

* () 1952–1959 * 1953 * Mateo Alou 1974–1976 * () 1981–1983 * () 1979–1984 * () 1980–1985 * () 1986–1987 * () 1969–1988 * () 1987–1990 * () 1977–1991 * () 1981–1993 * () 1981–1994 * () 1989–1995 * 1993-1998 * ()1986–1996 * ()1995–1996 * () 1985–1997 *()1998–2000 * () 2000 * () 1999–2001 * () 1994–2003, 2018 * () 1990–2004 * () 1997–2005 * () 1999–2006, 2020–present * () 2002–2006 * () 2001–2007 * () 2001–2012 * 2006-2011 * () 2008–2013 * () 2010–2018

Retired number

Team announced Kazuhisa Inao's No.24 was the first retired number of the Lions on May 1, 2012.

MLB players

Yusei Kikuchi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Seattle Mariners in MLB and for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Amateur career As ...

(2019-) Retired From MLB: * Frank Howard (1974) * Kazuhisa Ishii (2002–2006) *

(2004–2010) *

Shinji Mori Shinji Mori ( ja, 森慎二, September 12, 1974 – June 28, 2017) was a right-handed pitcher in professional baseball. Career From -, he played for the Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball. After the 2005 season, he was acquired by the ...

(2006–2007) * Daisuke Matsuzaka (2007–2014) Kikuchiyusei.jpg,

Daisuke Matsuzaka on March 25, 2008.jpg, Daisuke Matsuzaka Kazuo_Matsui_on_April_11,_2010.jpg,

Lions_Hotaka_Yamakawa.JPG, Hotaka Yamakawa

Notes

References

External links

Saitama Seibu Lions official web site

High resolution photos and discussion of the Lions in English
{{Authority control Nippon Professional Baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1950 Jungle Emperor Leo Sports teams in Saitama Prefecture Tokorozawa, Saitama 1950 establishments in Japan Railway sports teams