The 2011 baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 season in Japan

Baseball in Japan

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan. It was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, who taught at the Kaisei School in Tokyo. The first baseball team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club and was established in 1878. Baseball has been a popular sport ever since...

 was delayed by the Tohoku earthquake. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...

, based in northern Japan, and coached by Senichi Hoshino

Senichi Hoshino

, 22 January 1947, is a former Japanese professional baseball player and current manager.In 2003, he led the Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. Since 2007, He had managed the Japanese national team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.In October,...

, were particularly affected by the quake, as the Miyagi Baseball Stadium was badly damaged. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/T110629003580.htm

Because of energy concerns following the earthquake, NPB also imposed restrictions on games during the regular season. A three hour, thirty minute rule was imposed. If a game went past the 3:30 mark, regardless of inning, the inning in question would be the last inning. A game would be called should any blackout occur during the game. The 3:30 clock starts at the first pitch of the game and continues in case of any delay.

http://yakyubaka.com/2011/04/11/npb-extra-innings-rule-for-2011-season-released/

Central League

Central League Central League The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...	G	W Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...	L Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...	T Tie (draw) To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...	Win% Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...	GB Games behind In sports, the phrase games behind or games back , is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division...
Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...	144	75	59	10	.560	—
Tokyo Yakult Swallows Tokyo Yakult Swallows is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...	144	70	59	15	.543	2.5
Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...	144	71	62	11	.534	3.5
Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...	144	68	70	6	.493	9.0
Hiroshima Carp Hiroshima Toyo Carp The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. 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 , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...	144	60	76	8	.441	16.0
Yokohama BayStars Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....	144	47	86	11	.353	27.5

Last updated 25/10/2011

Pacific League

Bold indicates league title has been clinched

Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series...	G	W Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...	L Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...	T Tie (draw) To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...	Win% Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...	GB Games behind In sports, the phrase games behind or games back , is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division...
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...	144	88	46	10	.662	—
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	144	72	65	7	.526	18
Saitama Seibu Lions	144	68	67	9	.504	21
Orix Buffaloes Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo....	144	69	68	7	.504	21
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...	144	66	71	7	.482	24
Chiba Lotte Marines 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 the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...	144	54	79	11	.409	34

Last updated 22/10/2011

Climax Series

NOTE: Unlike most professional baseball playoff systems, in NPB, all games are played in the first two rounds of playoff baseball are held at the higher seed's home stadium.

First Round

The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), receive byes to the championship round..

Pacific League

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 2 - 5 Saitama Seibu Lions	October 29	Sapporo Dome Sapporo Dome The is a stadium located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the football club Consadole Sapporo.-History:...	42063
2	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 1 - 8 Saitama Seibu Lions	October 30	Sapporo Dome Sapporo Dome The is a stadium located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and football. It is the home field of the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the football club Consadole Sapporo.-History:...	41926

Saitama Seibu Lions win series 2-0

Central League

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3 - 2 Yomiuri Giants	October 29	Meiji Jingu Stadium Meiji Jingu Stadium is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team...	32339
2	Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 - 6 Yomiuri Giants	October 30	Meiji Jingu Stadium Meiji Jingu Stadium is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team...	32148
3	Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3 - 1 Yomiuri Giants	October 31	Meiji Jingu Stadium Meiji Jingu Stadium is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team...	31687

Tokyo Yakult Swallows win series 2-1

League Championship Round

The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), receive a one-game advantage, needing only to win three of the six games. The winners of the first round must win four of the six games.

Pacific League

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4 - 2 Saitama Seibu Lions	November 3	Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome Fukuoka Dome The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium can accommodate 35,695 spectators and was Japan's first stadium with a retractable roof....	37025
2	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 7 - 2 Saitama Seibu Lions	November 4	Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome Fukuoka Dome The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium can accommodate 35,695 spectators and was Japan's first stadium with a retractable roof....	35021
3	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2 - 1 Saitama Seibu Lions	November 5	Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome Fukuoka Dome The is a baseball field, located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Built in 1993, the stadium can accommodate 35,695 spectators and was Japan's first stadium with a retractable roof....	37025

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks win series 4-0

Central League

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Chunichi Dragons 2 - 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows	November 2	Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome , constructed in 1997, is a baseball field, located in the city of Nagoya, Japan. The dome has the capacity to seat up to 38,414 people . It is an example of a geodesic dome....	34689
2	Chunichi Dragons 1 - 3 Tokyo Yakult Swallows	November 3	Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome , constructed in 1997, is a baseball field, located in the city of Nagoya, Japan. The dome has the capacity to seat up to 38,414 people . It is an example of a geodesic dome....	38414
3	Chunichi Dragons 1 - 2 Tokyo Yakult Swallows	November 4	Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome , constructed in 1997, is a baseball field, located in the city of Nagoya, Japan. The dome has the capacity to seat up to 38,414 people . It is an example of a geodesic dome....	37599
4	Chunichi Dragons 5 - 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows	November 5	Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome , constructed in 1997, is a baseball field, located in the city of Nagoya, Japan. The dome has the capacity to seat up to 38,414 people . It is an example of a geodesic dome....	38342
5	Chunichi Dragons 2 - 1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows	November 6	Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome Nagoya Dome , constructed in 1997, is a baseball field, located in the city of Nagoya, Japan. The dome has the capacity to seat up to 38,414 people . It is an example of a geodesic dome....	38252

Chunichi Dragons win series 4-2

Japan Series

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...

 win the Japan Series

Japan Series

, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....

4-3

External links

• Official Site
• Japan Times
• Japan Ball
• JapaneseBaseball.com