Japan Series facts for kids

The Japan Series (also called the Nippon Series) is the biggest baseball championship in Japan. It's like the World Series in North America!

Every year, the two best teams from Japan's top baseball league, Nippon Professional Baseball, play against each other. These two teams are the champions of the Central League and the Pacific League. They play a series of games in October or November.

The first team to win four games becomes the overall champion. They are called the "Japan Series Champion" or "number one in Japan" (Nippon Ichi).

How the Games Are Played

The Japan Series is a "best-of-seven" series. This means teams play up to seven games, and the first team to win four games wins the whole series.

The home team for the first two games, and then games six and seven (if needed), changes each year. If the year ends in an odd number (like 2023), the Pacific League team gets the home advantage. If it's an even number (like 2024), the Central League team does.

In games hosted by a Pacific League team, they use a special rule called the designated hitter. This means a player can bat without also playing a defensive position.

Teams have a limit of 40 players they can use during the postseason. Also, if a game is tied after 12 innings, it's called a draw. This rule has been in place since 2018.

Only once in history has a Game 8 been played! This happened in 1986 when the Seibu Lions beat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. If Game 8 also ended in a draw, they would keep playing more games until a winner was decided.

Teams and Their Wins

Every team currently in the Nippon Professional Baseball league has won the Japan Series at least once. The team with the most championships is the Yomiuri Giants, who have won an amazing 22 times!

For a while, the Pacific League had a special playoff system to pick their champion, while the Central League just waited. During that time, the Pacific League won four championships in a row from 2003 to 2006.

Since 2007, both leagues use a playoff system called the Climax Series to decide their champions. The top three teams in each league play in the Climax Series, but the team with the best record gets a big advantage.

Longest Game Ever

On November 6, 2010, the Chunichi Dragons and Chiba Lotte Marines played the longest game in Japan Series history. It lasted 15 innings and ended in a 2-2 draw! The game went on for 5 hours and 43 minutes.

Another very long game happened on October 23, 2022. The Orix Buffaloes and Tokyo Yakult Swallows played for 12 innings, ending in a 3-3 draw after 5 hours and 3 minutes.

League Rivalry

Historically, the Central League has won more Japan Series titles. However, the Pacific League has been catching up! The Central League currently has 38 titles, and the Pacific League has 37.

The Pacific League even won eight championships in a row from 2013 to 2020! The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won six of those, and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles each won one. This winning streak ended in 2021 when the Tokyo Yakult Swallows from the Central League beat the Orix Buffaloes.

List of Winners

Here's a quick guide to the table below:

Did you know? Kazuhisa Inao won the Fighting Spirit Award in 1956 even though his team, the Nishitetsu Lions, won the series! Usually, this award goes to a player on the losing team.

Extra Inning Rules

Since 2018, games in the Japan Series can only go for 12 innings. If the score is still tied after 12 innings, the game is called a draw.

If the series goes to Game 8 or more, they used to play until a winner was decided, no matter how many innings it took! But since 2021, even these extra games have a 12-inning limit. If it's still tied after 12 innings in Game 8 or later, they use a special tiebreaker rule. This rule puts two runners on base to start the inning, making it easier to score and end the game.

Teams by Number of Wins

Here's how many times each team has won and lost in the Japan Series:

¹The team now known as the Saitama Seibu Lions won 3 times and lost 2 times when they were called the Nishitetsu Lions. ²The team now known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won 2 times and lost 8 times as the Nankai Hawks, and won 2 times and lost 1 time as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. ³The team now known as the Orix Buffaloes won 3 times and lost 7 times as the Hankyu Braves, and won 1 time and lost 1 time as the Orix BlueWave. They became the Orix Buffaloes in 2005 after joining with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. ⁴The team now known as the Chiba Lotte Marines won 1 time and lost 0 times as the Mainichi Orions, lost 1 time as the Daimai Orions, and won 1 time and lost 1 time as the Lotte Orions. ⁵The team now known as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters won 1 time and lost 0 times as the Toei Flyers. ⁶The team won 1 time and lost 0 times as Yokohama Baystars and won 1 time and lost 0 times as the Taiyō Whales. ⁷The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes joined with the Orix BlueWave in 2005 to form the Orix Buffaloes. ⁸The Shochiku Robins joined with the Taiyō Whales in 1953. This team eventually became the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Leagues by Number of Wins

Here's how the two leagues compare in Japan Series wins:

Winning Streaks and Dry Spells

• The Yomiuri Giants hold the record for the longest winning streak, winning nine Japan Series championships in a row from 1965 to 1973!
• The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks also had an impressive streak, winning four championships in a row from 2017 to 2020.
• Some teams have gone a long time without winning the Japan Series. For example, the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes never won a championship in their entire history from 1950 to 2004. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp have not won since 1984, and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars have not won since 1998.

Individual Awards

At the end of the Japan Series, two special awards are given out:

• The Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award goes to the player who had the biggest impact on the winning team.
• The Fighting Spirit Award goes to the player who had the biggest impact on the losing team.

As mentioned before, Kazuhisa Inao is the only player who won the Fighting Spirit Award while his team actually won the series!

See also

In Spanish: Serie de Japón para niños

• Nippon Professional Baseball
• Asia Series