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Players Who’ve Achieved Champion Status in World Series and Japan Series

 Conor Liguori - World Baseball Network  |    Oct 25th, 2024 7:00pm EDT

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The World Series and the Nippon Series, also known as the Japan Series, will be played almost simultaneously. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in game one of the World Series on Friday, and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks will play game one of the Japan Series on Saturday.

A handful of players in both series are seeking the first title of their professional baseball career, including likely AL MVP Aaron Judge, Central League Batting Champion Tyler Austin, and slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani won a Japan Series championship in 2016 with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto won an NPB title with the Orix Buffaloes in 2022. If the Dodgers win the 2024 World Series, the duo will become the 14th and 15th players in history to win a World Series and Japan Series.

The first player to accomplish the feat was Johnny Logan, a four-time MLB All-Star shortstop for the 1957 World Series champion Milwaukee Braves. The 1963 season was Logan’s last in MLB, and he played the final year of his career with the Nankai Hawks, helping the club defeat the Hanshin Tigers four games to three in the 1964 Japan Series.

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Chris Martin is the most recent player to win both. Martin was Ohtani’s teammate on the 2016 Nippon-Ham Fighters and won the World Series in 2021 with the Atlanta Braves, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings against the Houston Astros.

11 additional players won a World Series and Japan Series:

Player (MLB Team – Year/NPB Team – Year)

• 2B Jim Lefebvre (Los Angeles Dodgers – 1965/Lotte Orions – 1974)
• OF Roy White (New York Yankees – 1977,1978/ Yomiuri Giants – 1981)
• OF Gary Thomasson (New York Yankees – 1978/Yomiuri Giants – 1981)
• OF George Vukovich (Philadelphia Phillies – 1980/Seibu Lions – 1986, 1987)
• OF Dan Gladden (Minnesota Twins – 1987, 1991/Yomiuri Giants – 1994)
• 2B Tadahito Iguchi (Chicago White Sox – 2005/Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 1999, 2003, Chiba Lotte Marines – 2010)
• RHP Hideki Okajima (Boston Red Sox – 2007/Yomiuri Giants – 2000, 2002, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 2006, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2014)
• OF So Taguchi (St. Louis Cardinals – 2006, Philadelphia Phillies – 2008/Orix BlueWave – 1996)
• RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox – 2007/Seibu Lions – 2004)
• OF Hideki Matsui (New York Yankees – 2009/Yomiuri Giants – 1994, 2000, 2002)
• RHP Koji Uehara (Boston Red Sox – 2013/Yomiuri Giants – 2000, 2002)

Hideki Matsui is the only Japanese player in MLB history to win World Series MVP. The outfielder turned designated hitter won the award in 2009 with the New York Yankees, who defeated the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

Ohtani or Yamamoto has an opportunity to become the second Japanese World Series MVP and join an exclusive list of players to win titles in the top professional baseball leagues in the U.S. and Japan. Meanwhile, these impressive feats may be accomplished just one year after the Samurai Japan teammates defeated the United States 3-2 in the 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship.

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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/

Photo Credit: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a home run during the first inning against the New York Mets during Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field on October 17, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)