2003 Japan Series
| 2003 Japan Series | |||||||||||||
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| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 18 – October 27 | ||||||||||||
| MVP | Toshiya Sugiuchi (Daiei) | ||||||||||||
| FSA | Tomoaki Kanemoto (Hanshin) | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast | |||||||||||||
| Television | RKB (Game 1, JNN), Nippon TV (Game 2, NNN), ABC (Game 3, ANN), MBS (Game 4, JNN), Yomiuri TV (Game 5, NNN), TV Asahi (Game 6, ANN), TVQ and TV Tokyo (Game 7, TXN and others) | ||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Masayoshi Kayano (RKB), Masashi Funakoshi (NTV), Shiryu Ito (ABC), Makoto Akagi (MBS), Jun-ya Yamamoto (YTV), Takao Nakayama (EX), Ryoko Kaji (TVQ) | ||||||||||||
| Radio | NHK, JRN, NRN, Radio Nippon | ||||||||||||
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| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (4) | Sadaharu Oh | 82–55–3 | |
| Hanshin Tigers (3) | Senichi Hoshino | 87–51–2 |
The 2003 Japan Series matched the Pacific League champion Fukuoka Daiei Hawks against the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers. This was the 54th annual meeting of the champions of the Pacific and Central Leagues. The home team won every game in the series, and three games ended with sayonara victories, including back-to-back games with the Tigers at home in Koshien Stadium. In the end, the Hawks would prevail in the seventh game at Fukuoka Dome.
The Hawks were looking for their second championship in five years (they defeated the Chunichi Dragons in 1999, four games to one), and this was their third appearance in that span. Despite the team's youth, slugger and manager Sadaharu Oh whipped the young team into shape in the previous seasons. Daiei had the best offense in the league, led by Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Kenji Johjima, and Tadahito Iguchi, with speedsters Munenori Kawasaki and Arihito Muramatsu setting up the sluggers with their speed. The Hawks also had four hitters with 100 or more runs batted in and the team batted a league record .297.
Pitching-wise, the Hawks boasted the best young rotation in the league, with 20-game winner Kazumi Saitoh leading the charge. Toshiya Sugiuchi and Rookie of the Year Tsuyoshi Wada were also key cogs in the Hawks' pennant-winning season. While sometimes shaky, Takayuki Shinohara was pegged the team's closer, and he was helped by a veteran set of relievers.
On the other side, the Tigers were looking for their first Japan Series championship since 1985, and only their second in the team's long and storied history. This was their fourth appearance in the Japan Series, and their first since 1985.
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