THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 4,ヤフー スポーツ mlb 2024 at 17:38 JST
Yokohama DeNA BayStars manager Daisuke Miura is tossed in the air in celebration of the team's Japan Series title on Nov. 3. (Soichiro Yamamoto)
YOKOHAMA—The Yokohama DeNA BayStars completed a remarkable playoff run by trouncing the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 11-2 on Nov. 3 to win their first Japan Series championship in 26 years.
The title, the third in Yokohama’s history, snapped the longest championship drought among the 12 teams in Nippon Professional Baseball.
BayStars manager Daisuke Miura, 50, was a key player on the team when it last won the Japan Series in 1998.
Amid the celebration on Nov. 3, Miura said: “After winning the championship in 1998, (the team) had a hard time winning, and I, too, wanted to win again, but I was unable to do so as an active player. So, I’m happy to win the championship as a manager.”
The BayStars finished the regular season in third place in the Central League, a standing that put them at a significant disadvantage in the playoffs.
Forced to play all games on the road, the BayStars swept the Hanshin Tigers and then upended the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants.
In the Japan Series against Pacific League champion Softbank, DeNA could finally play in front of a home crowd but dropped the first two games to the Hawks at Yokohama Stadium.
Down in the hole, Yokohama team captain Shugo Maki gathered the players for a pep talk.
“It was my first Japan Series, and I didn’t know what the atmosphere would be like, and the team went on to lose two games in a row,” Maki, the second baseman, said of his intentions.
Three veterans spoke to the players, including outfielder Masayuki Kuwahara.
“I may have sounded a little harsh, but I told them, ‘To be frank, I don’t feel any atmosphere of us winning against Softbank right now.’”
Kuwahara reminded his teammates of Yokohama’s come-from-behind victory in Game 6 against the Giants that sent the BayStars to the Japan Series.
“Are we fighting with the feeling that if we lose, it’s over? Like in that game?” Kuwahara asked them.
He said he felt angry that the team did not appear frustrated at losing the first two games to the favored Hawks.
The talks worked.
Yokohama’s success on the road continued, and it swept all three games held in Fukuoka.
The BayStars first home victory in the playoffs came on Nov. 3 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series.
Kuwahara inspired the players not only with his words but also with great hitting and defense. He was named series MVP.
The only other third-place team to win the Japan Series was the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2010.
Yokohama is the first Central League team to do so.
The BayStars finished the regular season with a 71-69-3 record and a .570 winning percentage, the lowest percentage of any team to win the Japan Series.
相关文章:
相关推荐:
桑木志帆は6位後退も今季11個目イーグル 年間最多へあと1も「いや~。緊張する」と苦笑大橋悠依、引退決断は23年秋「きつい冬を越えるのはあと1回だと思わないと心が持たない」2冠の東京五輪後の苦悩も明かすりんたろう監督「鼠小僧次郎吉」を渋谷のユーロスペースで上映、特集上映も実施【箱根への道】日本薬科大「本気で」初出場狙う 中田盛之監督強気「昨年より10分短縮できます」…19日予選会【今夜の金ロー】ジョニデ&バートン監督のタッグに、あの女優も加わって最強に「アリス・イン・ワンダーランド」「まどか☆マギカ〈ワルプルギスの廻天〉」特報第2弾「SIDEほむら」を劇場上映りんたろう監督「鼠小僧次郎吉」を渋谷のユーロスペースで上映、特集上映も実施小祝さくら、岩井明愛、宮田成華が11アンダー首位 山下美夢有が1差4位…延田グループ・マスターズGCレディース少年サンデー65周年記念!「少年サンデーから生まれた映画」を1週間限定上映【箱根への道】日本薬科大「本気で」初出場狙う 中田盛之監督強気「昨年より10分短縮できます」…19日予選会