Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Why Baseball? Why Hiroshima Carp?

Baseball was never my game until I got the chance to go to Japan. Initially, it was so slow that it was a torture to watch baseball games on the TV, but being the only programme which could cross the language boundary (lack of Japanese language knowledge had made it impossible to understand all the other programmes in Japanese), I stuck by it. Eventually, I came to understand the flow of the game, the strategy, the significance of all the little minor things that were going on on the pitch. I concluded that baseball is one of the most interesting games.
Even though I was based in Tokyo and the most popular teams in the baseball scene were Tokyo Giants and Seibu Lions, it was Hiroshima Carp that caught my attention. Giants and Lions are traditional strong teams, with very good track records and good money backing. But they play unimaginative baseball, relying mainly on homeruns to get their points. In contrast, the Carp is a minor team which have difficulties in recruiting the hot rookies each year (these potential big-name players usually choose to go to bigger teams like Giants and Lions). However, the team plays very aggressive baseball, with the whole team functioning like a well-lubricated engine. The players have the pace, the intelligence, the co-operation and they are willing to put in their very best into every game (unlike some big-names from other teams who have like to put up an air). This is why it is also so nice to see them play; you will never know what they are going to do next! Lots of surprises and lots of entertainment.

Japanese Professional Baseball League

The Teams

The Japanese Professional Baseball League comprises of 2 leagues, namely the Central League and the Pacific League. The Central League is made up by Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, Yokohama Baystars, Hanshin Tigers, Chunichi Dragons and Yakult Swallows. The Pacific League consists of Seibu Lions, Orix Bluewaves, Kintetsu Baffaloes, Daiei Hawks, Nippon Ham Fighters and Chiba Lotte Marines.

The Differences in the Two Leagues

Both leagues basically share the same rules, except for 2 major differences. First, in Central League, the pitcher is one of the 9 players in the batting roster, whereas in the Pacific League, the pitcher will not hold the bat at all (pitchers are usually very poor batters because they very seldom practise batting). Second, in Central League, there is no such thing as a draw game. They will play until 18 innings and if the match is still tied, there will be a re-match on a later date. For Pacific League, there is a time limit for the game if the game go into extra-innings, and if the score still remains tied at the end of the time limit, then the game will be declared drawn and no replay will be scheduled.

The Eventual Winner

Each team will basically play 135 games per season (for Central League more games may be played if there is a replay), meaning each team will meet one another 27 times! The baseball season is only from April to October, which means the teams will be playing almost everyday (usually only Monday is the rest day).
Unlike football leagues, in baseball, the score in each game does not count towards anything in the standings. There is no such thing as a "goal difference". The league standing is based solely on the winning percentage, i.e. the percentage of games that you win. Just like the NBA system.
When the winner of each league has been decided, these 2 teams will meet in the Japan Series. The Japan Series is a series of best-of-seven games to decide the eventual winner - The Japan's No. 1. But you might ask, since both leagues have different rules, which set of rules should they adopt for the Japan Series? Well, it is simple. They will have home and away games, and the rule to adopt will depend on which ground they are playing on. If the Pacific League team is playing at home, then they will adopt Pacific League Rulings. If they are playing at the home of the Central League team, then Central League rulings will be adopted.

Japan Series


19 October



Japan Series Game 2

	1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  T

Yakult	0  2  1  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   5

Seibu	5  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1x  6


Series Score:  Yakult 1 Seibu 1







21 October



Japan Series Game 3

	1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  T

Seibu	0  0  2  1  0  0  0  0  0  3

Yakult	0  3  0  0  0  0  0  2  X  5


Series Score:  Yakult 2 Seibu 1







22 October



Japan Series Game 4

	1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  T

Seibu	0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  1

Yakult	0  0  3  0  0  0  2  2  X  7


Series Score:  Yakult 3 Seibu 1







23 October



Japan Series Game 5

	1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  T

Seibu	0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0

Yakult	0  2  0  1  0  0  0  0  X  3


Series Score:  Yakult 4 Seibu 1



Yakult Swallows won the Japan Series!