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2024 Japan Series Preview

Yuri KarasawaOct 26, 20245 MIN READ
2024 Japan Series Preview

TOKYO, Japan – The Yokohama DeNA BayStars will meet the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2024 Japan Series, a rematch of their 2017 showdown where SoftBank triumphed 4-2. There are plenty of parallels to draw between 2024 and 2017. The BayStars narrowly made the playoffs as the Central League’s three-seed in both years, getting through the gauntlet of playing the entire postseason on the road while starting the Championship Series with a 1-0 disadvantage. SoftBank also won over 90 games in both years, a rare feat in NPB’s 143-game schedule, cementing its status as one of the league’s historically dominant teams. Can DeNA continue its Cinderella story, or will the SoftBank empire crush its dreams again?

DeNA BayStars

The BayStars went 71-69-3 in the regular season, setting a new record for having the worst winning percentage (.507) of any team to reach the Nippon Series. They were outside the playoff picture for much of the year but took advantage of a late-season collapse by the Hiroshima Carp to sneak in as a wild-card team.

The team was carried by its offense as they led the CL in batting average (.256), extra-base hits (359), stolen bases (69), and OPS+ (110). First baseman Tyler Austin won the batting title (.316) and OPS title (.983), while second baseman Shugo Maki and third baseman Toshiro Miyazaki each posted an OPS+ over 145. Their pitching was just below league-average in terms of ERA+ (98), but Katsuki Azuma, Andre Jackson, and Anthony Kay stabilized the rotation, and closer Kohei Morihara posted a career-best 29 saves.

In the opening round of the playoffs, they swept the defending champion Hanshin Tigers on the road, but they lost their ace, Katsuki Azuma, to a hamstring injury. Moving on to face the Yomiuri Giants on the road with an automatic 1-0 disadvantage, their season would have already been seen as a relative success if they had been eliminated. But they didn’t back down, upsetting the regular season pennant-winners in a hard-fought series that went down to the wire.

The BayStars haven’t won a regular-season CL pennant since 1998 but have now reached the Japan Series for the second time as a three-seed. Manager Daisuke Miura, who took over from beloved Venezuelan Alex Ramirez in 2021, has led DeNA to the postseason for three straight seasons. The franchise was a perennial loser for most of its history and only has two Japan Series titles (1960 and 1998), though they were known as the Taiyo Whales for the first. 2024 would be Yokohama’s first championship in 26 years.

SoftBank Hawks

The winners of six of seven Japan Series titles from 2014 to 2020 – including four straight from 2017 to 2020 – the Hawks established themselves as one of the greatest dynasties in baseball history. A downturn in 2021 led to the resignation of manager Kimiyasu Kudo, and Hiroshi Fujimoto failed to restore the team’s dominance in 2022 and 2023. However, in 2024, team legend and former Samurai Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo took over, successfully revitalizing the once-formidable powerhouse.

This season, SoftBank won over 90 games for the first time since 2017 and ran laps around its competition with a +217 run differential. Led by homegrown stars Yuki Yanagita and Ryoya Kurihara, plus top free agent signings Kensuke Kondoh and Hotaka Yamakawa, the lineup posted an incredible 120 OPS+. In total, they had ten hitters hit above league average with at least 200 plate appearances, showcasing the team’s depth. The pitching staff also led NPB with a 120 ERA+, supported by its excellent defense across the diamond.

SoftBank got a first-round bye in the playoffs and swept the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Pacific League Championship Series. Their star hitters came through, and the starting pitcher trio of Kohei Arihara, Livan Moinelo, and Carter Stewart Jr. did their jobs. Compared to the BayStars, who have played eight postseason games, the Hawks coasted to the Japan Series in just three games. A win would mark SoftBank’s 12th title in franchise history.

Head to Head

When the teams met in interleague play in June, SoftBank won the series 2-1 in Yokohama. Since NPB alternates home-field advantage in the Japan Series each year between the PL and CL, DeNA will have home advantage despite their inferior regular season record. While the BayStars’ offense can hold its own against the Hawks on a good day, SoftBank holds a clear edge in every other category – particularly with the bullpen and defense – and enters the series as the heavy favorite. Azuma’s status for the series is still unknown.

Where to Watch?

Japan’s TBS and Fuji TV will carry the Nippon Series. TVer, a free video-on-demand service, enables Japanese television to be streamed online, though a VPN will be required for foreign viewers. Games 1, 3, 4, and 6 will start at 18:30 local time (05:30 EST), and Games 2, 5, and 7 will begin at 18:00  (05:00 EST)

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