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37-399: Although the team won four Pacific League championships, they lost all four Japan Series in which they played. The team's batting lineup was known as Itemae Dasen ( いてまえ打線 ). A stylized buffalo 's head with angry-looking red eyes (designed by Okamoto Taro ), or "Buffaloes" in red script, outlined with white. Another logo featured the "Buffaloes" in red script, while also featuring Buffie,

74-690: A 2.54 ERA. Bottler played for the Buffalo for three seasons, gradually converting from catcher to starting pitcher, where he had more success. It took 30 years for the franchise to win its first Pacific League title, in 1979, but it lost the Japan Series to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4-games-to-3. The Buffaloes made it back to the Japan Series in 1980, but again lost to Hiroshima by the same margin. The franchise's most notable player

111-548: A 2–3–3-3 format, with the latter four games in theory if additional games are needed following tiebreakers. The home team for games 1, 2 and eventually 6 and 7, alternates between the two leagues with the Pacific League having the advantage on the years ending with an odd number and the Central League on the years ending with an even number. Designated hitters are used if the team from the Pacific League hosts

148-497: A 3–3 draw after 12 innings, lasting 5 hours and 3 minutes. Even though the Central League is historically more victorious, in recent years, the Pacific League has been catching up in titles. Currently, the Central League has 38 titles, while the Pacific League has 37 titles. The Pacific League won eight consecutive Japan Series championships from 2013 to 2020, with six by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks , and one each by

185-644: A 4.16 ERA and 4.70 FIP after Nomo's departure. In 2000, the Buffaloes signed Mexican pitcher Narciso Elvira . While he had terrible pitching, he was noted for being the only Mexican player in NPB history as of 2022 to throw a no-hitter , and only allowing 4 walks. He was cut 6 games into the Buffaloes' 2001 Pacific League championship season, and then signed with the Samsung Lions of the KBO League and won

222-439: A Buffaloes reprint match in 2013. They also had 2 other mascots as part of the same group, named Capelot and Balbarock, with Capelot being a much more child-like character, whilst Balbarock was supposed to resemble the club's cap logo. Both were retired in 2000. All 4 were designed by Hanna-Barbera Productions , and their backstory was that they lived in a fantasy world of dreams and adventures named "Buffalo Valley", as described in

259-490: A deadly hitting tandem, and the Buffaloes had one of the most dominant offenses in the league. Despite the efforts of Rhodes and Nakamura, the Buffaloes could still not win the Japan Series, as they lost to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 5 games in the 2001 Japan Series . The Buffaloes are the second team to make the Japan Series but never win it, the first being the short lived Shochiku Robins , who only made

296-410: A loophole in his contract and "retired," allowing him to sign with MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers . The subsequent wave of players moving to Major League Baseball has become a fixture of Japanese professional baseball. To combat this, MLB and NPB agreed to make the posting system , which allowed players in NPB to "post" and allowed them to move to MLB. Without Nomo, the Buffaloes struggled in pitching, with

333-599: A secondary logo primarily used by the team only had him holding a bat and ball. His jersey number was 100. He was designed by Yoshio Shirakawa. He was retired in 1997 following the Buffaloes' major logo and jersey overhaul, coinciding with their move to the Osaka Dome. Japan Series The Japan Series ( 日本シリーズ Nippon Shiriizu , officially the Japan Championship Series , プロ野球日本選手権シリーズ Puro Yakyū Nippon Senshuken Shiriizu ), also

370-599: Is NPB's only 100 loss season. The Kintetsu Buffalo were among the first Japanese teams to sign American players. They signed former major league pitcher Glenn Mickens and catcher Ron Bottler for the 1959 season. Mickens had played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953 and Bottler had been a career minor league catcher in the United States. Mickens played for five years in Japan, compiling a record of 45–53 with

407-666: The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles . The streak was broken in 2021, with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows beating the Orix Buffaloes . Kazuhisa Inao , as an exception, won the Fighting Spirit Award (in 1956) while playing for the victorious Nishitetsu Lions . Since 2018, there is a limit of 12 innings in the seven regulation games, with games being called tie games if tied after that time. From 1987 to 2020,

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444-930: The Nippon Series , is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball , the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League , and is played in October or November. The first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion ( 日本一 , Nippon Ichi , number one in Japan) each year. The Japan Series uses

481-509: The Orix Buffaloes , before the start of the 2005 NPB season. At the time, Kintetsu Railway , the Buffaloes' owners, were in ¥1.3 trillion (or $ 11.2 billion today) in debt. This caused Buffaloes legend Tuffy Rhodes to sign with the Yomiuri Giants as Kintetsu was not able to strike up the multi year deal he wanted. The proposed merger of the teams led to the biggest crisis in the traditional two-league structure in NPB and finally caused

518-516: The 2002 Korean Series with them. Tuffy Rhodes played for the Buffaloes for eight seasons from 1996 to 2003, hitting 288 home runs over that span. In the 2001 season, he hit his 55th homer to tie Sadaharu Oh 's Japanese League single season home run record, set in 1964 . For the rest of the season, opposing pitchers intentionally walked Rhodes to prevent him from breaking Oh's record. Rhodes also played in tandem with Norihiro Nakamura , who also hit 46 home runs that same season. Together, they became

555-402: The 2005 season. The Buffaloes had 2 mascots, named Buffie and Falulu (バフィリード and ファルルリーナ). Buffie is a male buffalo and was introduced in 1997. He also appeared on the team logo. Falulu is a female buffalo. Buffie's jersey number is 100 while Falulu's is 200. They were retired in 2005 after the Buffaloes merged with the then-named Orix BlueWave (present day Orix Buffaloes ). Buffie reappeared in

592-652: The Buffaloes mascot. The team was founded in 1949 and began play in 1950 in the newly organized NPB. Owned by Kinki Nippon Railway Co. (later known as Kintetsu Railway ), the franchise was known as the Kintetsu Pearls from 1950 to 1958, Kintetsu Buffalo from 1959 to 1961, the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1962 to 1998, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1999 to 2004. In 1961, the Buffaloes lost 103 games that year. As of 2022, it

629-422: The Buffaloes to their third Pacific League championship. He won the season MVP award that year, and also tied Sadaharu Oh 's career record for hitting three home runs in a game five times. Bryant also struck out countless times, and holds the top four spots on the single-season strikeout records in Nippon Professional Baseball . Pitcher Hideo Nomo starred for the Buffaloes from 1990 to 1994 before he exercised

666-525: The Fighting Spirit Award, given to the most impactful player on the losing team. As stated above, the FSA was only given to a player on the winning team once; Kazuhisa Inao won it in 1956, despite being on the winning side, the Nishitetsu Lions. Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions ( Korean :  삼성 라이온즈 ) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in

703-685: The Japan Series in NPB's inaugural season, losing to the Mainichi Orions (now Chiba Lotte Marines) before folding at the end of the following season and being merged with the Taiyo Whales (now Yokohama DeNA BayStars) . In 2004 the team was sold to the Orix Group , the owner of the Orix BlueWave baseball team. The new owner then announced that the financially challenged Buffaloes and BlueWave would be merged into one team, called

740-568: The Japan Series the following year, but just barely, after being .001 winning percentage higher than the second place Orix Braves , but lost to the Giants in the first reverse sweep since the 1958 Japan Series . American outfielder Ralph Bryant starred for the Buffaloes from 1988 to 1995, in the process becoming one of the best left-handed power hitters in Japanese baseball history. Bryant had his best season in 1989 , where his 49 home runs led

777-907: The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. The franchise currently known as the Chiba Lotte Marines had a Japan Series record of 1–0 as the Mainichi Orions, 0–1 as the Daimai Orions, and 1–1 as the Lotte Orions. The franchise currently known as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters had a Japan Series record of 1–0 as the Toei Flyers. The franchise has a Japan Series record of 1–0 as Yokohama Baystars and a Japan Series record of 1–0 as

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814-893: The Saitama Seibu Lions had a Japan Series record of 3–2 as the Nishitetsu Lions. The franchise currently known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had a Japan Series record of 2–8 as the Nankai Hawks, and 2–1 as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. The franchise currently known as the Orix Buffaloes had a Japan Series record of 3–7 as the Hankyu Braves, and 1–1 as the Orix BlueWave. It took its current name in 2005 after merging with

851-497: The Samsung Lions organization was number 10, in honour of left-handed batter Yang Joon-hyuk , who played for the team from 1993 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2010. Yang led the league in batting four times, and holds six career batting records (including at one time the home run record with 351, now surpassed by Lee Seung-yeop ). The third retired number, 36, was retired in honour of Lee Seung-yuop , who has spent 15 seasons with

888-689: The Samsung Lions organization was number 22, in honour of catcher and slugger Lee Man-soo , who played for the team from 1982 to 1997, and was later a coach with the Chicago White Sox of the MLB and the SK Wyverns . Lee was a five-time KBO League Golden Glove Award -winner with the Lions, won the KBO League MVP in 1983, and the hitting Triple Crown in 1984. The second number retired by

925-675: The Taiyō Whales. The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes were merged with the Orix BlueWave in 2005 to form the Orix Buffaloes. The Shochiku Robins were merged with the Taiyō Whales in 1953, eventually becoming the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Two individual awards are given out at the conclusion of the Japan Series: the Most Valuable Player Award , given to the most impactful player on the winning team; and

962-439: The club's 1997 supporters' handbook. However, after the merger, only Buffie's copyright trademark was transferred to Orix Corporation . Before they were introduced, the team's mascot was a human character named Buffer (バッファくん), who served as the team mascot from 1976 to 1996. Logos of him usually depicted him holding a baseball bat and a ball, wearing the Buffaloes cap, raising one leg, whilst wearing Asics spiked shoes. However,

999-542: The first baseball player strike in Japan. The dispute officially ended after the two groups reached consensus on September 23, 2004. As part of the agreement, the Rakuten Golden Eagles were newly created (at a reduced "entry fee") to keep the former six-team league structure. Other agreements included the leagues adopting interleague play to help the Pacific League gain exposure by playing the more popular Central league teams. All these changes took place before

1036-628: The first team to win the pennant race, the Korean Series, and the Asian Series in the same year. In 2012, one of the most notable players on the team, Lee Seung-yuop , returned to South Korea from Japan. With his help, the Samsung Lions won their sixth championship in the 2012 season. They won another two championships in 2013 and 2014, for a total of eight Korean Series championships. In 2016, Samsung Lions moved to their new stadium, Daegu Samsung Lions Park . The first number retired by

1073-475: The game. There is a 40-man postseason roster limit, and the rule on drawn games is changed to 12 innings, since 2018. If the series is tied after the seventh game, a Game 8 will be held with the same team hosting Games 6 and 7 hosting this game. Only once a Game 8 has been played in Japan Series history, where the Seibu Lions defeated the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1986. In the event that Game 8 does not decide

1110-633: The innings limit is abolished starting in extra games (Game 8, et al) if necessary. Since 2021, extra games are played to 12 innings as normal. Starting in the 13th inning of extra games, the World Baseball Softball Confederation two-runner tiebreaker with runners at first and second base, similar to the Japanese High School Baseball Championship (Koshien), will be implemented. Historically: The franchise currently known as

1147-470: The league champion , while the Central League champion had a long wait before the Japan Series. During this time, the Pacific League won four consecutive Series from 2003 to 2006. Starting with the 2007 postseason, both leagues adopted the Climax Series to determine their champions. The Climax Series involves the top three finishers in each league, though the format gives a significant advantage to

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1184-488: The original six KBO League teams. They won their first championship in 1985, going 40-14-1 in the first half and 37-18 in the second half for a total of 77–32 for the best one-season winning percentage in KBO League history (a record that still stands). The 1985 team had two 25-game-winners on their staff, Kim Si-jin and Kim ll-young ; as the Lions were winners of both half-season pennants that year, no Korean Series

1221-439: The series, the next game would be played at the stadium that hosted Games 3 through 5 after a day of rest, and games will continue until one team wins four games. Every current team in the NPB has won the Japan Series at least once. The team with the most championships is the Yomiuri Giants , who have won the Japan Series twenty-two times. In 2004, the Pacific League instituted a three-team stepladder playoff format to determine

1258-548: The southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League . Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park . They have won the Korean Championship eight times, and also finished as runners-up on eleven occasions. The Samsung Lions are the first team to win four consecutive Korean Series titles (2011–2014), and are also the first team to win the regular season league title for five consecutive years (2011–2015). The Samsung Lions were founded in 1982 as one of

1295-467: The team with the best record in each league. On November 6, 2010, the Chunichi Dragons and Chiba Lotte Marines played the longest game in Japan Series history. It lasted fifteen innings and resulted in a 2–2 draw, with the game lasting 5 hours and 43 minutes. Only Game 2 of the 2022 Japan Series on October 23, 2022, came close, with the Orix Buffaloes and Tokyo Yakult Swallows playing to

1332-495: Was held and the Lions were declared champions outright. The Lions would also win the championship in 2002, 2005 and 2006, having the best record in each one of those years. In 2010, Ryu Jung-il was hired as the new manager of the Samsung Lions. He led the team to the best record in the league and its fifth KBO title in 2011. After the KBO League, the Samsung Lions won the Asian Series championship. The Samsung Lions became

1369-576: Was pitcher Keishi Suzuki , who played for the Buffaloes from 1966 to 1985, compiling a won-loss record of 317–238, a 3.11 ERA, and 3,061 strikeouts. He was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1988, the Buffaloes were so close to making the Japan Series, after tying a second game in a double-header against the Lotte Orions . In order for Kintetsu to win the pennant, they had to win both games. They would make

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