Japanese Baseball Update

Glenn Davies, Tokyo Japan

 

Central League

Turning the corner to the last month of the regular season we continue to see a tight battle for first between the Tigers and Giants, while Chunichi have been doing just enough to fend off a late Swallows charge for third, and a place in the playoffs.  The Giants took 5 out of six in August from the Tigers, but their stay at the top of the CL was short lived once they found themselves being swept by the Dragons and Swallows. The Giants have suffered a few key injuries to their starting pitching and seem to be holding things together with string and mirrors at the moment. The Tigers are currently on a 5 game win streak after pounding the Bay Stars and Swallows this past week. The press is focusing strongly on the likely scenario if a Tigers vs. Giants CL Championship playoff series (the two biggest rivals in baseball here in Japan), akin to a Red Sox vs. Yankees NLCS. The other mainstay in the news has been the battle for the HR title as Yomiuri Giants’ Alex Ramirez leads the Hanshin Tigers’ Greg Brazzell 42 to 40 going into this final month.

 

			Games back	Winning Pct.
1	Tigers	65-49-2	-	.570
2	Giants	65-53-1	2.0	.551
3	Dragons	66-55-2	2.5	.545
4	Swallows	57-57-3	10	.500
5	Carp	46-70-2	22	.397
6	Bay Stars	40-77	28.5	.342

 

 

Pacific League

The battle for PL title continued to sway back and forth between the Lions and Hawks through August, and now finds the Marines right up there within touching distance. With all teams having around 20 games remaining the final matchups look tasty. The Lions look comfortable with 14 of their last 20 games against the clubs in 4^th, 5^th and 6^th, while the Lions find themselves up against the Hawks four times in the final week. Overall the sides have been evenly matched throughout the year and for the first time in quite some years; the team to emerge from the PL championship will likely not be the favorites in the Japan series. T.Okada leads the PL HR race with 31, 7 clear of his closest rival at 24, Jose Ortiz.

 

 

			Games back	Winning Pct.
1	Lions	68-56-1	-	.548
2	Hawks	66-55-5	0.5	.545
3	Marines	66-55-2	0.5	.545
4	Fighters	61-59-3	5	.508
5	Buffaloes	60-60-4	6	.500
6	Eagles	52-66-3	13	.441