2004 Japan Series
| 2004 Japan Series | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 16 — October 25 | ||||||||||||
| MVP | Takashi Ishii (Seibu) | ||||||||||||
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| Television |
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| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saitama Seibu Lions (4) | Tsutomu Itoh | ||
| Chunichi Dragons (3) | Hiromitsu Ochiai |
The 2004 Japan Series, the 55th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series, began on October 16 and ended on October 25, and matched the Pacific League playoffs winner Seibu Lions against the Central League Champion, Chunichi Dragons.
After an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Yomiuri Giants in the 2002 Japan Series and losing out on the Pacific League pennant to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 2003, the Lions were back in the Japan Series in 2004 thanks in no small part to the healthy arm of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Also helping the cause offensively was Venezuelan import Alex Cabrera, who hit a record-tying 55 home runs in 2004. Seibu had not won the Japan Series since 1992.
Unlike the Lions, the Dragons had not had any success in winning the Japan Series since 1954, and this was their first appearance in the series since 1999, when they lost in 5 games to the Hawks. The Dragons pitching staff was led by Kenshin Kawakami and Masahiro Yamamoto, while Hitoki Iwase anchored the back of the bullpen. Offensively, the Dragons were led by Alex Ochoa and Kosuke Fukudome. In the middle of the infield, the Dragons were led by the amazing double-play tandem of Hirokazu Ibata and Masahiro Araki.
The first Japan Series game held in Nagoya Dome since Game 5 of the 1999 Japan Series turned out to be quite the close game, but the end result was the same: the Dragons were defeated by great pitching, this time from unheralded Takashi Ishii, who only won four games in the regular season. Chunichi had their ace on the mound in Kenshin Kawakami, who bounced back nicely from an injury-plagued 2003 season.
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