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2008 Nippon Professional Baseball Season
The 2008 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 59th season since the NPB was reorganized in . The regular season started on March 20 with the Pacific League opener, and on March 28 with the Central League opener. On March 25 and 26, the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics played 2 regular season Major League Baseball games at Tokyo Dome. During their visit, they also played exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants. Format Both League * Season format ** Regular season ** Climax Series 1st stage: Regular season 2nd place vs. regular season 3rd place – Best of 3 ** Climax Series 2nd stage: Regular season 1st place vs. Climax Series 1st stage winner – Best of 7 (regular-season 1st place take a one-win advantage) * Regular season 1st place is the champion Japan Series * Central League Climax Series 2nd stage winner vs. Pacific League Climax Series 2nd stage winner – Best of 7 Changes The Seibu Lions added the prefecture name "Saitama" in front ...
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Nippon Professional Baseball
is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation of the in 1934. The first professional circuit for the sport in Japan, the Japanese Baseball League (JBL), was founded two years later and continued to play even through the final years of World War II. The organization that is today's NPB was formed when the JBL reorganized in 1950, dividing its 15 teams into two leagues, which would meet in the annual season-ending Japan Series championship play-off series of games starting that year. NPB comprises twelve teams divided equally in two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League, a format which it has largely kept since . It has seen several waves of Expansion team, expansion and contraction, sometimes at the same time, to keep it at those number ...
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Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional baseball league in the world. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round Major League Baseball postseason, postseason tournament in October, culminating in the World Series, a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions first played in 1903. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively, the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained le ...
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Ōmiya Park
is a public park located 1 km northeast of Ōmiya Station and the most visited park in Saitama. The park encompasses a huge area of 67.9ha (as of 2004) and is famous for Japanese Red Pine forest and cherry blossoms. In particular, the park ranks in the Top 100 Locations in Japan for Cherry Blossoms. The Ōmiya Baseball Stadium was the first stadium to hold NPB's postseason game other than original homegrounds. History Ōmiya Park In 1885, the park opened its door to the public as a prefectural public park. In 1921, a large-scale expansion project was undertaken including the planting of cherry trees and the construction of Ōmiya Park Baseball Stadium. In 1962, the park is designated to be a part of urban planning. In 1980, Ōmiya Second Park opened to the east of Ōmiya Park. In 2001, Ōmiya Third Park was established beyond the southern perimeter of Ōmiya Second Park. Ōmiya Second Park Ōmiya Second Park refers to a section that occupies the western side of Prefect ...
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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. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai team to play in Osaka proper, the team went through a few name changes before settling on Nankai Hawks in 1947, eventually changing ownership in and moving to Fukuoka in . The team subsequently became known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks until 2005, when they were purchased by SoftBank Group, becoming the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Since 1993, the Hawks have played at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, which has gone under several name changes and seats 40,142 people. The Hawks are often regarded as one of the most successful franchises in Pacific League and the richest in all of baseball under the ownership of SoftBank Group, with the second most wins in all of Japanese sports, only trailing the Yomiuri Giants. The Hawks have played in the Japan Series ...
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2008 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Season
The 2008 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles season was the fourth season of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles franchise. The Eagles played their home games at Miyagi Baseball Stadium in the city of Sendai as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Katsuya Nomura on his third season as team manager. Rakuten did not qualify for the Climax Series, finishing the season in fifth place with a record of . Regular season Standings Interleague Record vs. opponents Opening Day roster Thursday, March 20, 2008, at Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Game log , -align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb" , 1 , , March 20 , , @ Hawks , , 3–4 , , Kume (1–0) , , Guzmán (0–1) , , — , , Yahoo Dome , , 35,722 , , 0–1–0 , L1, -align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb" , 2 , , March 22 , , @ Hawks , , 4–5 (11) , , Nitkowski (1–0) , , Watanabe (0–1) , , — , , Yahoo Dome , , 31,014 , , 0–2–0 , L2, -align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb" , ...
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Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific League in as the Mainichi Orions when the Japanese Baseball League reorganized into Nippon Professional Baseball, where they won the inaugural 1950 Japan Series. Since 1992, the Marines' home ballpark has been ZOZO Marine Stadium, located in the Mihama-ku, Mihama Ward of Chiba, seating 30,118 people. The "Marines" name originates from the name of the team's home stadium, which is officially named ''Chiba Marine Stadium'', because the stadium is located right on the water. Through 2024, the franchise's all-time record is 4874-4844-405 (.502). History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural member of the Pacific League, and were owned by the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. The Orions were named after Orion (cons ...
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2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Season
The 2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season was the 63rd season of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters franchise. The Fighters played the majority of their home games at Sapporo Dome in the city of Sapporo, as well as at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Masataka Nashida on his first season as team manager. Nippon-Ham finished the season in third place with a record of , qualifying them for the Climax Series. In the 2008 Pacific League Climax Series, the Fighters defeated the Orix Buffaloes in the First Stage, but were eliminated by the Saitama Seibu Lions in the Second Stage. Regular season Standings Interleague Record vs. opponents Opening Day roster Thursday, March 20, 2008, vs. Chiba Lotte Marines Game log , -align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 1 , , March 20 , , Marines , , 1–0 , , Darvish (1–0) , , Kobayashi (0–1) , , — , , Sapporo Dome , , 42,126 , , 1–0–0 , W1, -align ...
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2008 Saitama Seibu Lions Season
The 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions season was the 59th season of the Saitama Seibu Lions franchise. The Lions played their home games at Seibu Dome in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Hisanobu Watanabe on his first season as team manager. Seibu finished the season in first place with a record of , winning the team its 21st PL pennant and qualifying them for the Climax Series. In the 2008 Pacific League Climax Series, the Lions defeated the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Second Stage and went on to win the 2008 Japan Series, its thirteenth, as well as the 2008 Asia Series. Regular season Standings Interleague Record vs. opponents Opening Day roster Thursday, March 20, 2008 vs. Orix Buffaloes Game log , -align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb" , 1 , , March 20 , , Buffaloes , , 1–2 , , Kaneko (1–0) , , Wakui (0–1) , , Kato (1) , , Seibu Dome , , 27,137 , , 0–1–0 , L1, - ...
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Osaka Dome
The (official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Osaka, Japan. Opened in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes, a result of the merger between the Orix BlueWave and Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. Prior to the Osaka Dome opening, the Buffaloes played their home games at Fujiidera Stadium. The Hanshin Tigers also use the stadium as their "home field" for their season openers and their home games in August because their stadium, Koshien Stadium, is used for high school baseball tournaments during those periods. The Dome hosted the Pride Total Elimination 2005 and Pride Total Elimination Absolute mixed martial arts fights. Naming rights by Kyocera Kyocera Corporation subsidiary Kyocera Document Solutions Incorporated has been advertising at Osaka Dome since April 2003. Osaka City Dome Company Limited offered Kyocera naming rights of the domed stadium in January 2006. On Mar ...
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Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current name in 2011, when the club was purchased by software company DeNA. History Origin (1930s–1949) The team began as the Taiyo Fishing Company, an amateur team currently affiliated with the Maruha Corporation (presently Maruha Nichiro). The team began to appear in national tournaments in the 1950s, and won the National Sports Festival in 1948, giving it national recognition. In the 1949 off-season, the Japanese professional baseball league removed many players from the Taiyo amateur team recruited to join the professional leagues. The owner of the Taiyo company decided to join the newly expanded Central League, which was established in 1950. The team's first professional incarnation was as the Maruha Team. The franchise was based in S ...
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Tokyo Yakult Swallows
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri Giants. They have won nine Central League championships and six Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they have played their home games at Meiji Jingu Stadium. The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, Yakult Honsha. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways (known as Kokutetsu (国鉄) in Japanese) and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper ''Sankei Shimbun'' from 1965 to 1968 and called the Sankei Atoms. Yakult purchased the team in 1970 and renamed it the Yakult Atoms, before renaming it again as the Yakult Swallows in 1974, and then the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2006. Kokutetsu and Sankei era (1950–1969) The franchise was established for the first time ...
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Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder (34.2%), which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family (about 60%). Because of that, Mazda is not considered the owner firm. However, the company connection is highlighted in the club name; until 1984, Mazda's official name was . The Carp are the only one of the 28 History_of_baseball_outside_the_United_States#Asia, Asian professional baseball teams to be majority privately owned. As the Carp was founded only four years after the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, atomic bombing of Hiroshima and had risen to the Central League champion along with the reconstruction of Hiroshima, the team is often referred to as "the symbol of the post-war reconstruction of Hiroshima". Currently ...
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