2011 Japan Series

2011 Japan Series
Dates	November 12–20
MVP	Hiroki Kokubo (Hawks)
Broadcast
Television	In Japan:; TV Nishinippon and Fuji TV (Game 1); TV Tokyo (Games 2, 5); Tokai TV and Fuji TV (Game 3); TBS (Games 4, 7); KBC and TV Asahi (Game 6)
TV announcers	Nobuo Yoshida (Fuji TV), Tomoki Uekusa (TV Tokyo), Atsushi Moriwaki (Tokai TV), Hiroyuki Takada (CBC), Takao Nakayama (TV Asahi), Masahiro Hayashi (TBS)
	Japan Series
	Japan Series

The 2011 Japan Series was the 62nd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff matched the Chunichi Dragons and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the respective champions of the Central League's and the Pacific League's Climax Series (postseason). The Series began on Saturday, November 12, 2011 and was a rematch of the 1999 Japan Series, which the Hawks won, four games to one.

The Hawks won the series in seven games, claiming their fifth Japan Series crown.

Climax Series

First Stage			Final Stage			Japan Series

Central League			1	Chunichi Dragons	4
2	Tokyo Yakult Swallows	2	2	Tokyo Yakult Swallows	2
3	Yomiuri Giants	1				CL1	Chunichi Dragons	3
						PL1	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	4
Pacific League			1	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	4
2	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	0	3	Saitama Seibu Lions	0
3	Saitama Seibu Lions	2

Summary

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the series, 4–3.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	November 12	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1 (10)	Yahoo Dome	3:31	34,457[1]
2	November 13	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1 (10)	Yahoo Dome	3:44	34,758[2]
3	November 15	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4, Chunichi Dragons – 2	Nagoya Dome	3:22	38,041[3]
4	November 16	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2, Chunichi Dragons – 1	Nagoya Dome	3:40	38,041[4]
5	November 17	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5, Chunichi Dragons – 0	Nagoya Dome	3:49	38,051[5]
6	November 19	Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1	Yahoo Dome	3:07	34,927[6]
7	November 20	Chunichi Dragons – 0, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 3	Yahoo Dome	3:30	34,737[7]

Road to the Series

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

After not having won a playoff series since 2003 when they won the Japan Series that year, the Hawks finally broke through against the Saitama Seibu Lions. Earning a first-round bye and a one-game advantage in the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage, the Hawks completed the sweep of the Lions to earn their spot in the Japan Series.

During the regular season, the Hawks were the best team in the league record-wise at 88-46-10. They scored the second-most runs in the league (550) and allowed the fewest (351), while also stealing the most bases and leading the league in team batting average (.267). Leading the team offensively was new acquisition Seiichi Uchikawa, who led the entire league in batting average at .338. He was helped by two longtime Hawks mainstays at the top of the lineup, Munenori Kawasaki and Yuichi Honda, who stole 91 bases between them. Providing the power was Nobuhiro Matsuda, who finally had a breakout season with 25 home runs and 83 runs batted in, both team highs.

In a pitching-heavy year for NPB, the Hawks had a three-headed monster that finished 3-4-5 in ERA. Tsuyoshi Wada (16-5, 1.51), Toshiya Sugiuchi (8-7, 1.91) and D. J. Houlton (19-6, 2.19) anchored the Hawks rotation, and Houlton had the most wins by a foreigner since Gene Bacque. The bullpen featured another breakout star in Masahiko Morifuku, who led the team in holds with 34 and had a 1.13 ERA to go along with it. Closing duties were split between regular closer Takahiro Mahara and another stellar foreigner, Brian Falkenborg, who each had 19 saves.

Chunichi Dragons

Chunichi also won the Central League with the best record at 75-59-10, defeating the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4-2 in the Central League Climax Series. The Dragons had been to the Japan Series the previous season but fell to the Chiba Lotte Marines in seven games. This was Chunichi's third Japan Series appearance in the last five years, winning in 2007 against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Returning largely the same team as the previous season, the Dragons showcased an excellent pitching staff that covered up for a league-worst offense that only batted .228 as a team. The offensive leaders were Tony Blanco, who hit 16 home runs during the season while batting .248. Masahiro Araki led the team in batting average at .263 and also stolen bases with 18.

The pitching staff was led by a stellar foreigner of their own in Maximo Nelson, who may have had a losing record at 10-14 with a 2.52 ERA, but was the only pitcher on the staff who threw 200 innings. Veteran Kazuki Yoshimi offset this with an 18-3 record and a 1.63 ERA, and Taiwanese lefty Chen Wei-Yin added eight wins of his own.

The bullpen was the real star, though, as it had four relievers who posted ERA's under 2.00. Takuya Asao led the pack with a nigh-unhittable 0.41 ERA and a 7-2 record while also leading the league in holds with 45 and also getting 10 saves. Masato Kobayashi also was dominant with a 0.87 ERA and 18 holds in 58 innings, and Yoshihiro Suzuki added 12 holds of his own while also posting a 1.08 ERA. The anchor in the bullpen was longtime closer Hitoki Iwase, who saved 37 games during the season.

Game summaries

Game 1

Saturday, November 12, 2011, 1:00 pm (JST) at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	4	1
SoftBank	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
Starting pitchers: CHU: Chen Wei-Yin (0-0) SFT: Tsuyoshi Wada (0-0) WP: Takuya Asao (1-0) LP: Takahiro Mahara (0-1) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (1) Home runs: CHU: Kazuhiro Wada (1), Masaaki Koike (1) SFT: None Attendance: 34,457

Game 2

Sunday, November 13, 2011, 6:16 pm (JST) at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	7	0
SoftBank	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	8	0
Starting pitchers: CHU: Kazuki Yoshimi (0-0) SFT: Toshiya Sugiuchi (0-0) WP: Masafumi Hirai (1-0) LP: Takahiro Mahara (0-2) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (2) Attendance: 34,758

Game 3

Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 6:11 pm (JST) at Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SoftBank	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	4	12	1
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	4	1
WP: Tadashi Settsu (1-0) LP: Maximo Nelson (0-1) Sv: Brian Falkenborg (1) Home runs: SFT: Hitoshi Tamura (1), Toru Hosokawa (1) CHU: None Attendance: 38,041

Game 4

Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 6:35 pm (JST) at Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SoftBank	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
Starting pitchers: SFT: D. J. Houlton (0-0) CHU: Yudai Kawai (0-0) WP: D. J. Houlton (1-0) LP: Yudai Kawai (0-1) Sv: Brian Falkenborg (2) Attendance: 38,041

Game 5

Thursday, November 17, 2011, 6:15 pm (JST) at Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SoftBank	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	5	10	0
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Starting pitchers: SFT: Hiroki Yamada (0-0) CHU: Chen Wei-Yin (0-0) WP: Hiroki Yamada (1-0) LP: Chen Wei-Yin (0-1) Attendance: 38,051

Game 6

Saturday, November 19, 2011, 6:17 pm (JST) at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0
SoftBank	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
Starting pitchers: CHU: Kazuki Yoshimi (0-0) SFT: Tsuyoshi Wada (0-0) WP: Kazuki Yoshimi (1-0) LP: Tsuyoshi Wada (0-1) Sv: Takuya Asao (1) Attendance: 34,927

Game 7

Sunday, November 20, 2011, 6:33 pm (JST) at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chunichi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
SoftBank	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	X	3	8	0
Starting pitchers: CHU: Daisuke Yamai (0-0) SFT: Toshiya Sugiuchi (0-0) WP: Toshiya Sugiuchi (1-0) LP: Daisuke Yamai (0-1) Sv: Tadashi Settsu (1) Attendance: 34,737

gollark: `INSERT INTO messages VALUES (?, ?)` is much neater than some horrible mess of file handling.

gollark: It has different ones, but not directory traversal ones - I wasn't paying much attention and thought it used nickname in the filename.

gollark: Ah, never mind, yours *doesn't* have the problem I thought it did.

gollark: Also, probably faster, likely neater code, would scale better to doing other things.

gollark: Well, it wouldn't be vulnerable to directory traversal attacks like I think yours is?

References

"Saturday, November 12, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
"Sunday, November 13, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
"Tuesday, November 15, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
"Wednesday, November 16, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
"Thursday, November 17, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
"Saturday, November 19, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
"Sunday, November 20, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Saturday, November 12, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[2] "Sunday, November 13, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[3] "Tuesday, November 15, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[4] "Wednesday, November 16, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[5] "Thursday, November 17, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[6] "Saturday, November 19, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[7] "Sunday, November 20, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

Japan Series
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Most Valuable Players Fighting Spirit Award Climax Series