Sports season
The 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 64th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
Juiced ball scandal
At the beginning of the 2013 NPB season, a new livelier ball was introduced in secret. This juiced up baseball allowed more home runs to be scored, leading to Tokyo Yakult Swallows outfielder Wladimir Balentien to break the 55 single season home run record set by Sadaharu Oh and later tied by Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera.[1] This caused three-term NPB commissioner Ryozo Kato resigning, though he claimed that he did not know about these juiced baseballs.[2]
Regular season standings
Climax Series
Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.
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| First Stage | | | Final Stage | | | Japan Series |
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| | 1 | Yomiuri Giants | 4 |
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| 2 | Hanshin Tigers | 0 | | | 3 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 0 | | | |
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| 3 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 2 | | | | CL1 | Yomiuri Giants | 3 |
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| | | | PL1 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 4 |
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| | 1 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 4 | |
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| 2 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 1 | | | 3 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 1 | | | |
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| 3 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 2 | | | | |
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First stage
The regular season league champions, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (PL) and the Yomiuri Giants (CL), received byes to the championship round.
Central League
Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2) vs. Hanshin Tigers (0)
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
1 | October 12 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 8, Hanshin Tigers – 1 | Koshien Stadium | 3:34 | 46,923[3] |
2 | October 13 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 7, Hanshin Tigers – 4 | Koshien Stadium | 3:02 | 46,902[4] |
Pacific League
Chiba Lotte Marines (2) vs. Saitama Seibu Lions (1)
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
1 | October 12 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 11, Saitama Seibu Lions – 1 | Seibu Dome | 3:24 | 32,880[5] |
2 | October 13 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 0, Saitama Seibu Lions – 15 | Seibu Dome | 3:16 | 33,914[6] |
3 | October 14 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 4, Saitama Seibu Lions – 1 | Seibu Dome | 3:01 | 33,832[7] |
Final stage
The regular season league champions, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (PL) and the Yomiuri Giants (CL), received a one-game advantage.
Central League
Yomiuri Giants (4) vs. Hiroshima Toyo Carp (0)
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
1 | October 16 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 3 | Tokyo Dome | 3:27 | 45,107[8] |
2 | October 17 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 3 | Tokyo Dome | 2:26 | 45,316[9] |
3 | October 18 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 1, Yomiuri Giants – 3 | Tokyo Dome | 2:32 | 46,081[10] |
Pacific League
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (4) vs. Chiba Lotte Marines (1)
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
1 | October 17 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 0, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 2 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 2:55 | 24,332[11] |
2 | October 18 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 4, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 2 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:25 | 24,097[12] |
3 | October 19 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 0, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 2 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:00 | 24,396[13] |
4 | October 21* | Chiba Lotte Marines – 5, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 8 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:33 | 24,264[14] |
- * Postponed from October 20 due to rain[15]
Japan Series
PL Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (4) vs. CL Yomiuri Giants (3)
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
1 | October 26 | Yomiuri Giants – 2, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 0 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:20 | 25,209[16] |
2 | October 27 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 2 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:16 | 25,219[17] |
3 | October 29 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 5, Yomiuri Giants – 1 | Tokyo Dome | 3:26 | 44,940[18] |
4 | October 30 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 5, Yomiuri Giants – 6 | Tokyo Dome | 4:07 | 44,968[19] |
5 | October 31 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 4, Yomiuri Giants – 2 | Tokyo Dome | 3:49 | 44,995[20] |
6 | November 2 | Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 2 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:16 | 25,271[21] |
7 | November 3 | Yomiuri Giants – 0, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 3 | Miyagi Baseball Stadium | 3:15 | 25,249 |
League leaders
Central League
Pacific League
2013 average attendance
Team | Games | Total attendance | Attendance Per Game |
Yomiuri | 41 | 1,666,044 | 40,635 |
Hanshin | 43 | 1,654,301 | 38,472 |
SoftBank | 41 | 1,350,604 | 32,942 |
Chunichi | 40 | 1,111,064 | 27,777 |
Nippon-Ham | 42 | 1,095,307 | 26,079 |
Seibu | 41 | 881,118 | 21,491 |
Hiroshima | 43 | 853,646 | 19,852 |
Orix | 42 | 821,848 | 19,568 |
Yakult | 39 | 731,778 | 18,764 |
Yokohama | 43 | 781,426 | 18,173 |
Rakuten | 40 | 675,880 | 16,897 |
Lotte | 41 | 684,911 | 16,705 |
| 538 | 12,307,927 | 297,355 |
[22]
See also
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2013 in Nippon Professional Baseball.