2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Seibu Lions defeating the Chunichi Dragons in the 2004 Japan Series. This season also saw the first and only players strike in Japanese professional baseball history. Players went on strike for two days in September because of the potential mergers and realignment.

2004 NPB season
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationMarch 27, 2004 – October 25, 2004
Regular Season
Season MVPCL: Kenshin Kawakami (CHU)
PL: Nobuhiko Matsunaka (DAI)
League Postseason
CL championsChunichi Dragons
  CL runners-upYakult Swallows
PL championsSeibu Lions
  PL runners-upFukuoka Daiei Hawks
Japan Series
ChampionsSeibu Lions
  Runners-upChunichi Dragons
Finals MVPTakashi Ishii (SEI)
NPB seasons

Format

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Central League

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  • Season Format
    • Regular Season
  • Regular Season 1st place is the champion

Pacific League

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  • Season Format
    • Regular Season
    • Playoff 1st Stage: Regular Season 2nd place vs. Regular Season 3rd place – Best of 3
    • Playoff 2nd Stage: Regular Season 1st place vs. Playoff 1st Stage winner – Best of 5
  • Playoff 2nd Stage winner is the champion

Japan Series

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  • Central League champion vs. Pacific League champion – Best of 7

Standings

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Note:Two games for each team are cancelled due to players' strike

Central League

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Regular season

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Central League G W L T Pct. GB
Chunichi Dragons 138 79 56 3 .583
Yakult Swallows 138 72 64 2 .529 7.5
Yomiuri Giants 138 71 64 3 .525 8.0
Hanshin Tigers 138 66 70 2 .485 13.0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp 138 60 77 1 .438 20.0
Yokohama BayStars 138 59 76 3 .438 20.0

Pacific League

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Regular season

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Pacific League G W L T Pct. GB
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 133 77 52 4 .594
Seibu Lions 133 74 58 1 .560 4.5
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 133 66 65 2 .504 12.0
Chiba Lotte Marines 133 65 65 3 .500 12.5
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 133 61 70 2 .466 17.0
Orix BlueWave 133 49 72 2 .376 29.0

Playoff 1st Stage

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Seibu Lions (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (1)

Game Score Date Location
1 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 7, Seibu Lions – 10 October 1 Seibu Dome
2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 4 October 2 Seibu Dome
3 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 6 October 3 Seibu Dome

Playoff 2nd Stage

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Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (2) vs. Seibu Lions (3)

Game Score Date Location
1 Seibu Lions – 3, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 9 October 6 Fukuoka Dome
2 Seibu Lions – 11, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 1 October 7 Fukuoka Dome
3 Seibu Lions – 6, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 5 October 9 Fukuoka Dome
4 Seibu Lions – 1, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 4 October 10 Fukuoka Dome
5 Seibu Lions – 4, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 3 (10 innings) October 11 Fukuoka Dome

Japan Series

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Chunichi Dragons (3) vs. Seibu Lions (4)

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 Dragons – 0, Lions – 2 October 16 Nagoya Dome 37,909
2 Dragons – 11, Lions – 6 October 17 Nagoya Dome 37,969
3 Lions – 10, Dragons – 8 October 19 Seibu Dome 23,910
4 Lions – 2, Dragons – 8 October 21 Seibu Dome 29,073
5 Lions – 1, Dragons – 6 October 22 Seibu Dome 31,526
6 Dragons – 2, Lions – 4 October 24 Nagoya Dome 38,120
7 Dragons – 2, Lions – 7 October 25 Nagoya Dome 38,050

See also

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References

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