Don’t be fooled by the title – rather, note that the pennant and the Japan Series are two separate terms… and this one is referring to the Buffaloes winning the Pacific League title… in 2021. The book was written a couple of years back, as Orix won its first pennant since its merger in late 2004. So what was different about the team that allowed them to pull off a worst-to-first two years ago?
That is what makes this book so interesting, and such a fun read. The author, Masanori Kise, does not just look at what the team has done in the past 2-3 years, but takes the reader behind the curtain and talks about basically everything that has gone on since the Orix BlueWave won the PL in 1995, the same year that Kobe was devastated by a huge earthquake in January, and the Japan Series the very next year.
The first half of the book takes the reader through the list of managers from their last championship to the present – here are some of the main ones – Akira Ohgi, Masataka Nashida, Akinobu Okada, Koji Moriwaki, and Junichi Fukura, until finally reaching current manager Satoshi Nakajima. Each manager and the team’s spot in the standings are highlighted and explained.
The next section of the book gives detailed profiles of how some of the key components of the 2021 championship team were acquired. It should be noted that they are almost all homegrown products. The list includes: Yuma Mune, Masataka Yoshida, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yutaro Sugimoto, Kotaro Kurebayashi, and T-Okada.
Of note is the drafting strategy used by the team in 2015 and 2016, and how it led to the team being stacked right around this time. Back in the fall of 2013 when Tokyo was given the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and then it was later confirmed that baseball would make its return to the games, the team was dead set on picking up top-level talent that could potentially represent the Buffaloes on Samurai Japan. This would do nothing but create extra buzz around the team, so it was of critical importance. The draft crop: Masataka Yoshida (2015 D1) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2016 D4), both of whom are major leaguers in 2024.
Kise also provided great insight into the significance of key hits as well, such as the clutch home run by veteran T-Okada in late September against the Marines. Little did I know, he hit a similar bomb in Game 2 of the 2014 playoffs, giving the team a shot at advancing to the Final Stage. (They lost, though.) In fact, a couple of weeks before that, they had lost their shot at the PL title in their final game of the year, which left T-Okada stupefied on the Buffaloes’ bench as the Hawks celebrated a walk-off pennant-clinching win in Fukuoka.
Interspersed in the book are some of the fundamental moves that the team made that changed its approach to baseball operations. Early in their dark years, the team did not give draftees a signing bonus at all, which is a badge of shame on the franchise. When the team merged, basically the entire fanbase was torn asunder. Osaka (originally home to the Kintetsu Buffaloes) would host the team, but most of the coaching staff and personnel was from Kobe (Orix BlueWave). Fans in Kobe felt deserted by the move several miles down the freeway, and fans in Osaka felt like the Kintetsu tradition was wiped from the history books and operations manual completely. A second huge move was changing spring camp locations, from Miyako Island in Okinawa (where facilities were starting to decay, but where famous players like Ichiro trained) to Miyazaki (which would allow the team to actually have exhibition games with other clubs).
I could go on and on about how much of an education this book was for me, who runs a Buffaloes X account but does not really know much detail. Now, I feel like I can talk a little more competently with fellow Buffaloes fans, thanks to this 416-page tome.
And now, back to celebrating the Hanshin Tigers’ 2023 championship. Perhaps I should write an English version of this about our beloved winners? (I should also add that Mr. Kise wrote a book in early 2023 entitled “Why Can’t the Tigers Win the Pennant?” Ironic, isn’t it. I just discovered it a few days back, and have ordered it, and will read and review it in due time.)