Wikipedia

2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 55th season of operation for Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). For the first time since 1982, the Pacific League instituted a playoff system to determine its representative to the Japan Series, in which the second-place and third-place teams would compete against each other for the right to play the regular season champion; previously, the league had a split-season playoff that would match the first-place team of the first and second half of the season from 1973 to 1982. The Pacific League regular season champion Fukuoka Daiei Hawks became part of dubious history when they subsequently lost to the Seibu Lions in five games to become the first regular season champion of the league to not reach the championship series. The Japan Series ended with the Seibu Lions defeating the Chunichi Dragons in the 2004 Japan Series. This season also saw the first and only players strike in Japanese professional baseball history. Players went on strike for two days in September because of the potential mergers and realignment.[1][2] The result was that the Pacific League saw the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles be created as an expansion team for 2005 while the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave would merge to form the Orix Buffaloes.

2004 NPB season
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationMarch 27, 2004 – October 25, 2004
Regular season
Season MVPCL: Kenshin Kawakami (CHU)
PL: Nobuhiko Matsunaka (DAI)
League postseason
CL championsChunichi Dragons
  CL runners-upYakult Swallows
PL championsSeibu Lions
  PL runners-upFukuoka Daiei Hawks
Japan Series
ChampionsSeibu Lions
  Runners-upChunichi Dragons
Finals MVPTakashi Ishii (SEI)
NPB seasons

Format

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Central League

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  • Season format
    • Regular season
  • Regular season 1st place is the champion

Pacific League

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  • Season format
    • Regular season
    • Playoff 1st stage: Regular season 2nd place vs. regular season 3rd place – Best of 3
    • Playoff 2nd stage: Regular season 1st place vs. playoff 1st stage winner – Best of 5
  • Playoff 2nd stage winner is the champion

Japan Series

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  • Central League champion vs. Pacific League champion – Best of 7

Standings

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Note:Two games for each team are cancelled due to players' strike

Central League

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Regular season

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Central League G W L T Pct. GB
Chunichi Dragons13879563.583—
Yakult Swallows13872642.5297.5
Yomiuri Giants13871643.5258.0
Hanshin Tigers13866702.48513.0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp13860771.43820.0
Yokohama BayStars13859763.43820.0

Pacific League

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Regular season

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Pacific League G W L T Pct. GB
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks13377524.594—
Seibu Lions13374581.5604.5
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters13366652.50412.0
Chiba Lotte Marines13365653.50012.5
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes13361702.46617.0
Orix BlueWave13349722.37629.0

Playoff 1st stage

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Seibu Lions (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (1)

GameScoreDateLocation
1Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 7, Seibu Lions – 10October 1Seibu Dome
2Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 4October 2Seibu Dome
3Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 6October 3Seibu Dome

Playoff 2nd stage

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Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (2) vs. Seibu Lions (3)

GameScoreDateLocation
1Seibu Lions – 3, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 9October 6Fukuoka Dome
2Seibu Lions – 11, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 1October 7Fukuoka Dome
3Seibu Lions – 6, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 5October 9Fukuoka Dome
4Seibu Lions – 1, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 4October 10Fukuoka Dome
5Seibu Lions – 4, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 3 (10 innings)October 11Fukuoka Dome

Japan Series

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Chunichi Dragons (3) vs. Seibu Lions (4)

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Dragons – 0, Lions – 2October 16Nagoya Dome37,909
2Dragons – 11, Lions – 6October 17Nagoya Dome37,969
3Lions – 10, Dragons – 8October 19Seibu Dome23,910
4Lions – 2, Dragons – 8October 21Seibu Dome29,073
5Lions – 1, Dragons – 6October 22Seibu Dome31,526
6Dragons – 2, Lions – 4October 24Nagoya Dome38,120
7Dragons – 2, Lions – 7October 25Nagoya Dome38,050

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Swallows, BayStars state opposition to contraction". The Japan Times. July 15, 2004. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ Graczyk, Wayne (September 29, 2004). "Fan power prevails as crisis in Japanese baseball subsides". The Japan Times. Retrieved April 10, 2019.


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