THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 4,野球 スポーツ ナビ 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:
「7 MEN 侍」本高克樹「僕らができる全て」中村嶺亜「メチャクチャ仕上がった」…初単独主演舞台初日意気込み「THE TIME,」安住紳一郎アナ、兵庫・斎藤元彦知事「パワハラ疑惑」調査「百条委員会」に見解「知事が何か言明するまでずっと続く可能性も」森保ジャパン、従来の4バックか攻撃的3バックか…「両方持っているのはすごくいいこと」5日中国戦森高千里55歳 “絶対領域”あらわな姿にネット騒然「やばい」「超かわいい」夫は人気俳優ドラマ「私の町の千葉くんは。」イケメン兄弟の間で揺れるマチ写したメインビジュアル(コメントあり)板野友美、手料理「#友飯」を披露!ナスと豚肉の味噌炒め、カルパッチョなど、彩のある豪華なラインナップ公開!八木莉可子、はにかみ笑顔のアップショットに「保存しました。ソッコーで。」「かわいすぎる〜透明感っ」と反響本仮屋ユイカ、夏は常に体調不良「ただの日常生活で15分から30分、日に当たるとぐったり疲れます」【中日】細川成也、竜党の「気合を入れろ、ドラゴンズ」コールに即回答! 18号ソロで追撃開始松任谷由実、ベルリンから来た甥孫と満面の笑みで2ショット 「ココロが癒されます」「メチャ幸せそう」など反響