Hiroshima Toyo Carp | |||||
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League |
Nippon Professional Baseball (1950–present)
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Ballpark | Mazda Stadium (2009–present) | ||||
Year established | 1950 | ||||
Nickname(s) | Koi (鯉?, koi) | ||||
Central League pennants | 7 (1975, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1991, 2016) | ||||
Japan Series championships | 3 (1979, 1980, 1984) | ||||
Former name(s) |
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Former ballparks |
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Colors | Red, White |
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Retired numbers | 3, 8, 15 | ||||
Ownership | Matsuda family | ||||
Manager | Koichi Ogata |
Nippon Professional Baseball (1950–present)
The Hiroshima Toyo Carp (広島東洋カープ Hiroshima Tōyō Kāpu?) are a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by Hajime Matsuda (松田元 Matsuda Hajime?), who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder (34.2%), which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family (about 60%). Because of that, Mazda is not considered as the owner firm. However, the company connection is highlighted in the club name—until 1984, Mazda's official name was Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. (東洋工業株式会社 Tōyō Kōgyō Kabushiki Gaisha?).
The Nippon Professional Baseball league was scheduled to be expanded into two separate leagues in 1949, and Hiroshima prefecture decided to establish a professional baseball team as part of the reconstruction process from the devastation of the atomic bomb. The team joined the Central League in December 1949 as the Hiroshima Carp.