 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Japanese. (February 2022)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Yomiuri Giants" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Yomiuri Giants | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Information | |||||
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball
Japanese Baseball League (1936–1949) Independent (1934–1935) | ||||
| Location | Bunkyō,Tokyo,Japan | ||||
| Ballpark | Tokyo Dome | ||||
| Founded | December 26, 1934; 90 years ago (1934-12-26) | ||||
| Nickname(s) | Kyojin (巨人, giant) | ||||
| Japan Series championships | 22 (1951,1952,1953,1955,1961,1963,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1981,1989,1994,2000,2002,2009,2012) | ||||
| JBL championships | 9 (1936 Fall, 1937 Spring, 1938 Fall, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1949) | ||||
| CL pennants | 39 (1951,1952,1953,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1961,1963,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1976,1977,1981,1983,1987,1989,1990,1994,1996,2000,2002,2007,2008,2009,2012,2013,2014,2019,2020,2024) | ||||
| Playoff berths | 14 (2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2018,2019,2021,2024) | ||||
| Former name(s) |
| ||||
| Former ballparks |
| ||||
| Colors | Orange, Black, White | ||||
| Mascot | Giabbit | ||||
| Retired numbers | |||||
| Ownership | Legally asKK Yomiuri Kyojingun (株式会社読売巨人軍) 100% owned byThe Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings | ||||
| Management | Toshikazu Yamaguchi | ||||
| Manager | Shinnosuke Abe | ||||
| Current uniforms | |||||
| |||||
TheYomiuri Giants (読売ジャイアンツ,Yomiuri Jaiantsu, formallyYomiuri Kyojingun (読売巨人軍)) are a Japanese professionalbaseball team competing inNippon Professional Baseball'sCentral League. Based inBunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being theTokyo Yakult Swallows. They have played their home games atTokyo Dome since its opening in 1988. The team's owner isYomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largestmedia conglomerate which also owns two newspapers (including the eponymousYomiuri Shimbun) and theNippon Television Network (which includes flagshipNippon TV).
The Giants are the oldest professional sports team in Japan. They are also by far the most successful, having won 22Japan Series titles and an additional nine in the era of NPB's forerunner, theJapanese Baseball League. Their main rivalry is with theHanshin Tigers, a team especially popular in theKansai region. The Yomiuri Giants are regarded as "TheNew York Yankees of Japan" due to their widespread popularity, past dominance of the league, and polarizing effect on fans. (Baseball fans who are indifferent about teams other than their local team often have an intense dislike for the Giants; on the other hand, the Giants have a large fan base even in cities that have a team of their own.)
The English-language press occasionally calls the team theTokyo Giants, but that name has not been in use in Japan for decades. (Lefty O'Doul, a formerMajor League Baseball player, named the team "Tokyo Giants" in the mid-1930s.) Instead, the team is officially known by the name of its corporate owner, just like theHanshin Tigers andOrix Buffaloes. The team is often referred by fans and in news headlines and tables simply asKyojin (巨人, the Japanese word for "giant(s)"), instead of the usual corporate owner's name or the English nickname.
The Yomiuri Giants name and uniforms were based on theNew York (now San Francisco) Giants. The team's colors (orange and black) are the same colors worn by the National League's Giants (both then as now in both New York and San Francisco). The stylized lettering on the team's jerseys and caps is similar to the fancy lettering used by the Giants when they played in New York in the 1930s, although during the 1970s the Yomiuri Giants modernized their lettering to follow the style worn by the San Francisco Giants.
The team began in 1934 asThe Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club (大日本東京野球倶楽部,Dai-Nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu), a team of all-stars organized by media mogulMatsutarō Shōriki that toured the United States[1] and matched up against an American all-star team that includedBabe Ruth,Jimmie Foxx,Lou Gehrig, andCharlie Gehringer. While prior Japanese all-star contingents had disbanded, Shōriki went pro with this group, playing in an independent league.
In 1935, the team traveled to the United States and faced off against college and minor league teams, ultimately playing 109 games in 128 days (including 34 games on 17 days asdoubleheaders) across the country. The tour ended with a record of 75 wins, 33 losses, and 1 draw.
When they faced off against theSan Francisco Seals, the manager of the Seals,Lefty O'Doul, stated the team needed a promotional name, as just the team being named "Tokyo Dai Nippon Baseball Club" wouldn't mean anything of note to Americans, and because the tour was heavily funded with ticket sales.[citation needed] He suggested that sinceTokyo was theNew York ofJapan, they should emulate one of the two namedMLB teams in New York; either theYankees or theGiants (New York's third team, which would eventually be called theDodgers, lacked an official nickname at the time). As "Yankees" was immediately out of the question, due to it being an American name, O'Doul suggested the name "Giants", also thanks to the fact that coincidentally, O'Doul was formerly of the Giants himself, and the team adopted theTokyo Giants moniker mid-tour.
However, the Giants name would face minor challenging from Shōriki himself after the tour, as he wanted to name the team the Tokyo Golden Kites, after theOrder of the Golden Kite, a military order of the Empire of Japan (which would be abolished in 1947 followingWorld War II). The players, however, would hold firm, and Shōriki would retain the Giants name.[2]
In 1936, with the formation of theJapanese Baseball League, the team changed its name to theTokyo Kyojin, often called the Tokyo Giants in non-Japanese sources. It won eight league championships under that name from 1936 to 1943, including six championships in a row from 1938 to 1943.
Russian-born pitcherVictor Starffin, nicknamed "the blue-eyed Japanese", starred for the team until 1944. One of the league's premier pitchers, he won two MVP awards and aBest Nine award, and won at least 26 games in six different years, winning a league-record 42 games in 1939. He followed his record-setting performance with another 38 wins in 1940. PitcherEiji Sawamura co-starred with Starffin on the Kyojin. He pitched the firstno-hitter in Japanese pro baseball, on September 25, 1936, as well as two others. In 1937, he went 33–10 with a 1.38earned run average. From 1937 to 1943 Sawamura had a record of 63–22, 554 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA. Sawamura was conscripted into theJapanese Imperial Army in 1938, 1941, and 1943; he returned to play for the Giants between deployments, though injuries and time away hindered his form and velocity.[3] He was released by the team in 1943, then killed in battle when his ship was torpedoed near the end of theSecond World War.
OutfielderHaruyasu Nakajima was a featured hitter during the franchise's first decade-and-a-half, and asplayer-manager led the Kyojin to a championship in 1941.Tetsuharu Kawakami was a team fixture from 1938 to 1958, winning the batting title five times, two home run crowns, three RBI titles, and had six titles for the most hits in a season. He was the first player in Japanese pro baseball to achieve 2,000 hits and was named the league's MVP three times. Leadoff manShosei Go starred for the team from 1937 to 1943, winning league MVP in 1943. Only 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 140 lb (64 kg), he was nicknamed "The Human Locomotive" due to his speed.
PitcherHideo Fujimoto (also known as Hideo Nakagami) pitched for the team for 12 seasons from 1942 to 1955. He holds the Japanese records for lowest career ERA (1.90) and seasonal ERA (0.73 in 1943), as well as best all-time winning percentage (.697). He threw two careerno-hitters, including the firstperfect game in Japanese professional baseball. In addition, he served as the Giants'player-manager in 1944 (there was no 1945 season) and part of 1946.
In 1947 the team became the Yomiuri Giants, winning the final JBL championship in 1949 (again underplayer-managerHaruyasu Nakajima). From 1938 to 1987 the Giants played atKorakuen Stadium, moving to their current home theTokyo Dome in 1988.
In 1950, the Giants were one of the founding members ofNippon Professional Baseball, joining theCentral League.
SluggerNoboru Aota starred for the Giants from 1948 to 1952, winning the home run championship twice, and hitting a home run in the1951 Japan Series, when the Giants defeated theNankai Hawks 4 games to 2 for their first NPB championship. The Giants would also win Japan Series championships in1952,1953, and1955, all over the Nankai Hawks. The team was the Central League champion every year from 1955 to 1959, winning theJapan Series championship in 1955, but they lost four consecutive Japan Series thereafter, with the first three losses coming against theNishitetsu Lions, and then the Hawks finally got their revenge to close out the decade.
World careerhome run record holderSadaharu Oh starred for the Giants from 1959 to 1980, and fellowHall of FamerShigeo Nagashima played for the team from 1958 to 1974. The Giants lineup, consisting of Oh batting third and Nagashima batting fourth, was nicknamed theON Hou, ("Oh-Nagashima Cannon") as the two players emerged as the best hitters in the league. Now the team's manager,Tetsuharu Kawakami led the Giants to nine consecutiveJapan Series championships from 1965 to 1973,[4] and Oh and Nagashima dominated the batting titles during this period. During his career, Oh was a five-time batting champion and fifteen-time home-run champion, and won theCentral League most valuable player award nine times. Nagashima won the season MVP award five times, and theBest Nine Award every single year of his career (a total 17 times). Future Hall of FamerTsuneo Horiuchi pitched for the team during its heyday, from 1966 to 1983. The renowned left-handerMasaichi Kaneda pitched for the team from 1965 to 1969, later having his number retired by the Giants.
Shigeo Nagashima was appointed manager of the Giants almost immediately after his retirement in 1974, staying in that position until 1980. After a couple of down years the Giants re-assumed their dominant position in the Central League, winning league championships in 1976 and 1977. Sadaharu Oh rejoined the team as manager from 1984 to 1988. Nagashima returned as Giants manager from 1993 to 2001, winning Japan Series championships in 1994, 1996, and 2000.
OutfielderHideki Matsui starred for the Giants for ten seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s before migrating toMajor League Baseball. He was a three-time NPBMVP, leading his team to fourJapan Series, winning three titles (1994, 2000 and 2002), and earning the popular nickname "Godzilla". He also made nine consecutive All-Star Games and led the league inhome runs andRBIs three times.
.jpg)
| Name | Nationality | From | To | G | W | D | T | Wp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadayoshi Fujimoto |  Japan | 1936 | 1942 | 604 | 422 | 168 | 14 | .715 |
| Haruyasu Nakajima | Japan | 1943 | 1943 | 84 | 54 | 27 | 3 | .667 |
| Hideo Fujimoto | Japan | 1944 | 1944 | 35 | 19 | 14 | 2 | .576 |
| Hideo Fujimoto (2) | Japan | 1946 | 1946 | 25 | 15 | 9 | 1 | .625 |
| Haruyasu Nakajima (2) | Japan | 1946 | 1947 | 171 | 96 | 74 | 1 | .564 |
| Osamu Mihara | Japan | 1947 | 1949 | 302 | 177 | 118 | 7 | .600 |
| Shigeru Mizuhara | Japan | 1950 | 1960 | 1407 | 881 | 497 | 29 | .639 |
| Tetsuharu Kawakami | Japan | 1961 | 1974 | 1868 | 1066 | 741 | 61 | .590 |
| Shigeo Nagashima | Japan | 1975 | 1980 | 780 | 387 | 386 | 55 | .533 |
| Motoshi Fujita | Japan | 1981 | 1983 | 390 | 211 | 148 | 31 | .588 |
| Sadaharu Oh |  Taiwan | 1984 | 1988 | 650 | 347 | 264 | 39 | .568 |
| Motoshi Fujita (2) | Japan | 1989 | 1992 | 520 | 305 | 213 | 2 | .587 |
| Shigeo Nagashima (2) | Japan | 1993 | 2001 | 1202 | 647 | 551 | 4 | .538 |
| Tatsunori Hara | Japan | 2002 | 2003 | 280 | 147 | 138 | 5 | .535 |
| Tsuneo Horiuchi | Japan | 2004 | 2005 | 284 | 133 | 144 | 7 | .480 |
| Tatsunori Hara (2) | Japan | 2006 | 2015 | 1441 | 795 | 595 | 51 | .572 |
| Yoshinobu Takahashi | Japan | 2016 | 2018 | 429 | 210 | 208 | 11 | .502 |
| Tatsunori Hara (3) | Japan | 2019 | 2023 | 657 | 344 | 313 | 35 | .524 |
| Shinnosuke Abe | Japan | 2024 | ongoing | 143 | 77 | 59 | 7 | .566 |
The Giants have several rivalries with clubs in theCentral League, most notably rivalries with theNishinomiya-basedHanshin Tigers, theNagoya-basedChunichi Dragons and their cross-town rivals, theTokyo Yakult Swallows.
TheGiants-Tigers rivalry is considered the most intense professional rivalry in the history of Japanese team sports.
The Giants-Tigers feud began on July 15, 1936 in Nagoya,Aichi, Japan, at a time where Japanese clubs besides the Tigers did not have set home ballparks, and would bounce around wherever they could play. This game would set the tone for the history-setting rivalry, as the first home run in Giants professional club history would come on that day at the hands ofJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame memberHaruyasu Nakajima off Tigers' aceTadashi Wakabayashi, but the Tigers would win the game 8-7. On September 25, 1936, young Giants aceEiji Sawamura threw the first no-hitter in Japanese professional baseball history against the Tigers atHanshin Koshien Stadium.[6] He would be the only Giants pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Koshien untilShosei Togo did it on May 24, 2024.[7]
The Giants-Tigers rivalry has seen mostly the Giants enjoy long standing periods of success at the expense of the Tigers. From1956 to1959, the Giants won the Central League pennant over the Tigers in each of the four seasons; however, the Giants would lose all 4 of theirJapan Series appearances during that time, three times to theNishitetsu Lions (now theSaitama Seibu Lions) from 1956 to1958, and once to theNankai Hawks (now theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks) in 1959. Most notably during this time, the only ever baseballTenran-jiai, or "Match viewed by the Emperor" happened on June 25th, 1959, whereEmperor Hirohito decided to watch the game between the Tigers and Giants; Giants legendShigeo Nagashima would walk off future Tigers legendMinoru Murayama in the bottom of the 9th as the Giants won 5-4. During the Giants' V9 dynasty, where the Giants would win a record setting 9 consecutive Japan Series championships from1965 to1973, the Tigers would finish 2nd in the Central League 5 of the 9 seasons, including 3 consecutive second place finishes from1968 to1970.
As of the end of the2024 season, the Giants have the edge in Japan Series championships, 22–2, Central League pennants, 39–6, overall championships, 31–6, and the Giants lead the Tigers head to head, 1127–888–77.[8] The Giants and Tigers have met in theClimax Series 5 times, in which the Giants lead the overall head-to-head matchup 11-6-0, winning the series 4 times to the Tigers' 1.
The geographic rivalry between the Giants and theShinjuku-based Tokyo Yakult Swallows has been around since the Swallows were founded by the formerJapanese National Railways (known asKokutetsu (国鉄) in Japanese)) as the Kokutetsu Swallows on January 12, 1950. However, the rivalry never truly began in earnest untilYakult, who bought the team from national newspaperSankei Shimbun in 1970, added "Tokyo" to the team's name in the 2005-06 NPB offseason, where games began being referred to by the media as the "TOKYOシリーズ", or literally "Tokyo Series" in Japanese. In2015, the Swallows and Giants officially announced plans for an annual "Tokyo Series" event with each team hosting a series.[9] At the same time, the Swallows began producing annual alternate uniforms for said rivalry games.
Since Yakult added Tokyo to the Swallows name in 2006, the Giants lead the head-to-head regular season series 260–184–19. Overall, since the Swallows were founded in 1950, the Giants lead the head-to-head regular season series 1094–758–61. The Swallows and Giants have met in the Climax Series 4 times, in which Yakult lead the head-to-head matchups 9–4–1 (including Yakult's 1 advantage win in the2015 and2021 Central League Climax Series), winning the series 3 times to the Giants' 1 series win.
TheGiants-Dragons rivalry is said to be the oldest professional rivalry in the history of professional Japanese team sports.
The Giants and one of the teams that would eventually form the Dragons, then known as the NagoyaShachihoko, first met on February 5, 1936 atNarumi Baseball Stadium in the suburbs of Nagoya, marking the first ever game in the history of theJapanese Professional Baseball League, which is now known as Nippon Professional Baseball. The Shachihoko, later known as Nagoya Kinko, would be absorbed into theNagoya Baseball Club in 1943 as their parent company, the Nagoya Shimbun, was forced to merge into rival newspaper company Shin-Aichi Shimbun under theJapanese newspaper control ordinance, creating Chubu-Nippon Shimbun, orChunichi Shimbun as it is known today. This created the Sangyo Baseball Club, which is now known as today'sChunichi Dragons.
Like the Giants-Tigers rivalry, the Giants have enjoyed long standing success at the expense of the Dragons, creating animosity amongst Dragons fans. This came to a head in the finale of the1994 NPB season, where the Giants and Dragons were tied in the standings, each sitting at 69-60-0. The Giants would win that game and the Central League pennant by a score of 6-3, in what would be known as the10.8 Showdown, and eventually would win the1994 Japan Series over the Seibu Lions.
Since Nagoya Kinko merged into the Nagoya Baseball Club in 1943, the Giants lead the Dragons in Japan Series championships, 22-2, Central League pennants, 39-9, and head-to-head, 1061-871-61. The Giants and Dragons have met in the Climax Series 5 times, in which the overall head-to-head is tied, 12-12-1, including 1 game advantage wins in the2008,2009,2010, and2012 Central League Climax Series. The Giants also have won the head to head series in the Climax Series 3 times to Chunichi's 2.
Chuck Cary – PJesse Barfield – OF#Phil BradleyShigeru Chiba (千葉 茂)Keith ComstockWarren Cromartie – OF
Luis Cruz – IF
Mariano DuncanSuguru Egawa (江川 卓)Balvino GálvezDan GladdenGary Glover – P
Luis González – 2BBill Gullickson – P
Isao Harimoto (Jang Hun) (張本勲)Tatsuro Hirooka (広岡 達郎)Damon Hollins – OFTsuneo Horiuchi (堀内 恒夫)Gabe Kapler – OF, later manager of theSan Francisco GiantsMasumi Kuwata (桑田 真澄) – PTetsuharu Kawakami (川上 哲治)Kazuhiro Kiyohara (清原 和博)Yoshinobu Takahashi (高橋 由伸)Norihiro Komada (駒田 徳広)Davey Johnson – ManagerDomingo MartínezChris LathamShane MackYukinaga Maeda (前田 幸長) – PHiromi Makihara (槙原 寛己)Gregory PolancoKimiyasu Kudo (工藤 公康)Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜)Miles Mikolas – P
Scott Mathieson
Micheal Nakamura (マイケル 中村, MICHAEL)Shigeo Nagashima (長嶋 茂雄)Kiyoshi Nakahata (中畑 清)Hiromitsu Ochiai (落合 博満)Sadaharu Oh (王貞治)Sho Nakata (中田 翔)Hideki Okajima (岡島 秀樹)Roberto PetagineJeremy PowellTuffy RhodesMasaki Saito (斎藤 雅樹)Eiji Sawamura (沢村 栄治)[1],[2]Hirokazu Sawamura (澤村 拓一)Isao Shibata (柴田 勲)Kazunori Shinozuka (篠塚 和典)Reggie Smith
Victor Starffin[3]Kazumi Takahashi (高橋 一三)Shigeru Takada (高田 繫)Koji Uehara (上原 浩治)John WasdinRoy WhiteClyde WrightWally Yonamine (与那嶺 要)Shohei Baba (馬場 正平, ジャイアント馬場) (pitcher; later a pro wrestler, founder ofAll Japan Pro Wrestling)Lee Seung-Yeop (李承燁)Alex RamírezC. C. MercedesShinnosuke Abe (阿部 慎之助)Sadaharu Oh (王貞治)Shigeo Nagashima (長嶋 茂雄)Toshio Kurosawa (黒沢 俊夫)Eiji Sawamura (沢村 栄治)Tetsuharu Kawakami (川上 哲治)Masaichi Kaneda (金田 正一)| Player | Years | Games | Win | Defeat | Save | Innings Pitched | Strikeout | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takehiko Bessho | 1949–1961 | 476 | 221 | 102 | 0 | 2925 2/3 | 1372 | 2.20 |
| Teruzo Nakao | 1939–1957 | 516 | 209 | 127 | 0 | 3057 | 1597 | 2.48 |
| Tsuneo Horiuchi | 1966–1983 | 560 | 203 | 139 | 6 | 3045 | 1865 | 3.27 |
| Victor Starffin | 1936–1944 | 311 | 199 | 61 | 0 | 2245 | 1225 | 1.37 |
| Hideo Fujimoto | 1942–1946 1948–1955 | 332 | 183 | 72 | 0 | 2353 2/3 | 1100 | 1.90 |
| Masaki Saito | 1983–2001 | 426 | 180 | 96 | 11 | 2375 2/3 | 1707 | 2.77 |
| Masumi Kuwata | 1986–2006 | 442 | 173 | 141 | 14 | 2761 2/3 | 1980 | 3.53 |
| Hiromi Makihara | 1982–2001 | 463 | 159 | 108 | 56 | 2485 | 2111 | 3.19 |
| Kunio Jonouchi | 1962–1971 | 354 | 141 | 88 | 0 | 1966 2/3 | 927 | 2.56 |
| Suguru Egawa | 1979–1987 | 266 | 135 | 72 | 3 | 1857 1/3 | 1366 | 3.02 |
Sourse:Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB)[citation needed]
| Player | Years | Games | Number | Hit | Homerun | RBI | Stolen base | Strikes | Batting average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadaharu Oh | 1959–1980 | 2831 | 9250 | 2786 | 868 | 2170 | 84 | 1319 | .301 |
| Shigeo Nagashima | 1958–1974 | 2186 | 8094 | 2471 | 444 | 1522 | 190 | 729 | .305 |
| Tetsuharu Kawakami | 1938–1955 | 1979 | 7500 | 2351 | 181 | 1319 | 220 | 422 | .313 |
| Hayato Sakamoto | 2008–ongoing | 1985 | 7580 | 2205 | 266 | 944 | 160 | 1315 | .291 |
| Shinnosuke Abe | 2001–2019 | 2282 | 7514 | 2132 | 406 | 1285 | 13 | 1306 | .284 |
| Isao Shibata | 1962–1981 | 2208 | 7570 | 2018 | 194 | 708 | 579 | 1087 | .267 |
| Yoshinobu Takahashi | 1998–2015 | 1819 | 6028 | 1753 | 321 | 986 | 29 | 1173 | .291 |
| Kazunori Shinozuka | 1976–1994 | 1651 | 5372 | 1696 | 92 | 628 | 55 | 580 | .309 |
| Tatsunori Hara | 1981–1995 | 1697 | 6012 | 1675 | 382 | 1093 | 82 | 899 | .279 |
| Shigeru Chiba | 1938–1956 | 1512 | 5645 | 1605 | 96 | 691 | 155 | 575 | .284 |
Sourse:Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB)[citation needed]
| Rank | Player | Homeruns | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sadaharu Oh | 868 | 1959–1980 |
| 2 | Shigeo Nagashima | 444 | 1958–1974 |
| 3 | Shinnosuke Abe | 406 | 2001–2019 |
| 4 | Tatsunori Hara | 382 | 1981–1995 |
| 5 | Hideki Matsui | 332 | 1993–2002 |
| 6 | Yoshinobu Takahashi | 321 | 1998–2015 |
| 7 | Hayato Sakamoto | 266 | 2008–ongoing |
| 8 | Isao Shibata | 194 | 1962–1981 |
| 9 | Kazuhiro Kiyohara | 185 | 1997–2005 |
| 10 | Tetsuharu Kawakami | 181 | 1938–1958 |
Sourse:Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB)[citation needed]
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, % = Win Percentage
| Season | GP | W | L | T | % | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2017 | 143 | 72 | 68 | 3 | .514 | 4th, Central | Did not qualify |
| 2018 | 143 | 67 | 71 | 5 | .486 | 3rd, Central | Lost in League Final Stage, 0–4 (Carp) |
| 2019 | 143 | 77 | 64 | 2 | .546 | 1st, Central | Lost in Japan Series, 0–4 (Hawks) |
| 2020 | 120 | 67 | 45 | 8 | .598 | 1st, Central | Lost in Japan Series, 0–4 (Hawks) |
| 2021 | 143 | 61 | 62 | 20 | .496 | 3rd, Central | Lost in League Final Stage, 0–3 (Swallows) |
| 2022 | 143 | 68 | 72 | 3 | .514 | 4th, Central | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | 143 | 71 | 70 | 2 | .504 | 4th, Central | Did not qualify |
Due to the Yomiuri company's vast influence in Japan as a major media conglomerate, the Giants have long been branded as "Japan's Team". In fact, for some years the Giants' uniforms had "Tokyo" on the jersey instead of "Yomiuri" or "Giants", seeming to imply that the Giants represent the vast metropolis and geopolitical center of Japan, even though theYakult Swallows are also based in Tokyo and three other teams play in theGreater Tokyo Area. This bandwagon appeal has been compared with the marketability of theNew York Yankees,Real Madrid, andManchester United, except that support for the Giants nearly exceeds 50% of those polled, while in the United States and England, support is judged to be between 30% and 40% for the Yankees and Manchester United, respectively. Correspondingly, fans of other professional baseball teams in Japan are often openly derisive and contemptuous of the Giants' bandwagon marketing tactics, and an "anti-Giants" movement exists in protest of the Giants' near-hegemony.[1]
In addition, despite the Giants having employed many foreign players over the years, many Japanese point proudly to the "pure-blooded period" of 1958–1974 when the team enjoyed continued success — 13 pennants — despite having no foreign players.[1]
It has also long been alleged that the Giants rely on underhanded tactics to recruit the best players, involving bribes to players and amateur coaches, or using their influence on the governing council of Japanese professional baseball to pass rules that favors their recruiting efforts. This may be one explanation for the Giants' abundance of success in league play.[1] In August 2004, Yomiuri presidentTsuneo Watanabe resigned after it was revealed that the club had violated scouting rules by paying ¥2 million to pitching prospect Yasuhiro Ichiba. Ten months later, Watanabe was hired as chairman of the Yomiuri corporation.[10] In 2012,Asahi Shimbun discovered that the Giants had violated NPB rules by secretly paying pitcherTakahiko Nomaguchi while he was still an amateur playing in Japan's corporate league.[11]
In 2009, the Giants played theJapan national baseball team in an unofficial goodwill game before theWorld Baseball Classic.
As of October 21 before this game was played, the teams only had a 0.5 game difference theHanshin Tigers, this game resulted 9 to 0 win over Tigers on October 22,infielderShozo Doi andcatcherMasaaki Mori each had 3 hits and Doi hit a two run homerun in the fifth inning off Kenji Furusawa in the Giants 4 to 1 win fromNankai Hawks (nowFukuoka SoftBank Hawks) inJapan Series, starterKazumi Takahashi (23 wins, 13 losses) contribution this season.[12]
In 1985, AmericanRandy Bass, playing for theHanshin Tigers, came into the last game of the season against the Oh-managed Giants with 54 home runs, one short of managerSadaharu Oh's single-season record of 55. Bass was intentionally walked four times on four straight pitches each time, leading Bass to famously hold his bat upside down. Bass reached over the plate on the fifth occasion and batted the ball into the outfield for a single. After the game, Oh denied ordering his pitchers to walk Bass, but Keith Comstock, an American pitcher for the Giants, later stated that an unnamed Giants coach had threatened a fine of $1,000 for every strike that any Giants pitcher threw to Bass. The magazine Takarajima investigated the incident and reported that the Giants front office had likely ordered the team not to allow Bass an opportunity to tie or break Oh's record. For the most part the Japanese media remained silent on the incident as did league commissioner Takeso Shimoda.[13] A similar situation to this was presented in the 1992 movieMr. Baseball.
With the Giants andChunichi Dragons tied 69-60 after 129 games, and the makeup for the 129th game, originally scheduled for September 27, was postponed to September 29 by rain (the 130th scheduled game was played September 28 as planned), and it again was not played because of rain, the final game of the regular season was rescheduled for October 8, 1994. The winner advances to the Japan Series, with Chunichi having the advantage in case the game ends in a tie, Chunichi would advance by rule (the previous year's better record). The Giants won 6 to 3 against Chunichi, and took the Central League pennant and advanced to theJapan Series.
The team accelerates at a stretch when winning in nine consecutive hits of professional baseball tie-record in one inning of July 9 againstHiroshima Carp's game.Both main starter,Masaki Saito,DominicanBalvino Galvez raised 16 won games the most wins on this season,relief pitcher,Mario Brito who reinforced during the season and Hirofumi Kono supported the team,Hideki Matsui was very success as a main season. RookiesToshihisa Nishi andTakayuki Shimizu were active and generation change was also decided admirably. At the time I reached the biggest 11.5 game difference in league history and accomplished the league championship. Although defeated lost 1 to 4 games byOrix BlueWave (nowOrix Buffaloes) onJapan Series.[page needed]
Despite losing five consecutive games from the opening game on March 28, On May 26, a banned drug was detected to be used byLuis Gonzalez, so he was suspended for 1 year from Nippon Professional Baseball for violating league anti-doping policies,[14] and on the following day, the Giants decided to release Gonzalez from his contract. At the time, October reached the biggest 13 game (as July) difference in league history and accomplished the league championship, from September 19, including their 3rd consecutive victory against the Hanshin Tigers, they recorded a total of 12 consecutive victories for the first time in 32 years, followed by 3 to 1 winning the final direct confrontation on October 8. Contributors includedShinnosuke Abe,Yoshinobu Takahashi,Michihiro Ogasawara,Alex Ramirez,Seth Adam Greisinger,Marc Jason Kroon,Hisanori Takahashi, andTetsuya Utsumi, The Giants, however, lost 3 games to 4 to theSaitama Seibu Lions in the2008 Japan Series.[page needed] The Yomiuri Giants drew an average home attendance of 39,948 in 2008.[15]
On 18 November 2011, Giants' general manager Hidetoshi Kiyotake was fired by the Yomiuri organization for "defamation of the team and Yomiuri newspaper group". Kiyotake had recommended that Kaoru Okazaki be retained as the team's 2012 head coach. After Yomiuri chairmanTsuneo Watanabe ordered Kiyotake to replace Okazaki withSuguru Egawa, Kiyotake called a public press conference on 11 November 2011 to complain about Watanabe's interference in the club's decision-making processes. Yomiuri's response was to fire Kiyotake.[10]
Okazaki was eventually selected to remain as the next season's coach. The story made major headlines in the Japanese media.[16] On 13 December 2011, Kiyotake sued Yomiuri for ¥62 million for unfair dismissal and defamation and demanded that the company issue him a formal apology, printed in theYomiuri Shimbun.[17] Yomiuri counter-sued Kiyotake for ¥100 million, saying that he had damaged the team's image. The suits, combined into one case, opened in Tokyo District Court on 2 February 2012.[18]
In 2012 Japanese weeklyShukan Bunshun reported that current team managerTatsunori Hara had paid ¥100 million to a formeryakuza gangster in response to a threat to go public on an extra-marital affair that Hara had been involved in. The Yomiuri corporation admitted that the payout had been made, but suedShukan Bunshun for insinuating that the incident had underworld connections. The suit is pending.[19]
In 2015, an investigation by the league found that three Giants pitchers:Shoki Kasahara,Ryuya Matsumoto, andSatoshi Fukuda had bet on NPB and other sporting events with underworld bookmakers. The Giants claimed that the three did not bet on Giants games. Placing wagers on baseball games or associating with criminal elements is expressly prohibited in the contracts that all NPB players must sign, a rule similar to Major League Baseball's Rule 21 in North America, intended to prevent a repeat of theBlack Sox Scandal of 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.[20] On 9 November 2015, the Giants organization terminated the contracts of all three players, with an indefinite suspension fromallWorld Baseball Softball Confederation leagues on the players. The offending players must be reinstated by the WBSC before they can participate in any league.
The Giants have 6 mascots, known as the Giabbits. They are based on one of the older logos of the Giants. They have 2 adult male mascots named Giabyi and Giabba (their jersey numbers are 333 and 555 respectively), an adult female mascot named Vicky, and 2 children mascots (a boy and a girl respectively), Tsuppy and Chappy (the former wears shorts and the latter wears a skirt and a headband on their left ear). The most recent one, Grandpa Giabbit, was introduced in 2014, the team's 80th anniversary. His jersey number is 1934, the year the team was founded.
The Giants farm team plays in theEastern League. It was founded in 1949.
