| 2001 Japan Series | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Dates | October 20–25 | |||||||||
| MVP | Atsuya Furuta | |||||||||
| FSA | Tuffy Rhodes | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | ABC (Games 1, 2),Fuji Television (Games 3, 5),TV Asahi (Game 4) | |||||||||
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The2001Japan Series was the 52nd edition ofNippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched theCentral League championYakult Swallows against thePacific League championOsaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. The Swallows defeated the Buffaloes in five games to claim their fifth Japan Series championship.
Kintetsu had one of the most powerful offenses ever seen in the league. Foreign importTuffy Rhodes teamed up withNorihiro Nakamura to become one of the most feared hitting tandems inNippon Professional Baseball history. Rhodes hit 55 home runs to tie the NPB record for most home runs hit in a season, while Nakamura hit 46 home runs of his own. Kintetsu entered the series looking for the franchise's first ever Japan Series win. They lost in1979 and1980 to theHiroshima Toyo Carp and in1989 against theYomiuri Giants.
Most of the core team from the1997 Japan Series championship still remained inKazuhisa Ishii and all-world catcherAtsuya Furuta.Shinya Miyamoto anchored the middle of the infield.
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffaloes – 0,Swallows – 7 | October 20 | Osaka Dome | 33,837[1] |
| 2 | Buffaloes – 9, Swallows – 6 | October 21 | Osaka Dome | 33,277[1] |
| 3 | Swallows – 9, Buffaloes – 2 | October 23 | Jingu Stadium | 30,443[1] |
| 4 | Swallows – 2, Buffaloes – 1 | October 24 | Jingu Stadium | 32,145[1] |
| 5 | Swallows – 4, Buffaloes – 2 | October 25 | Jingu Stadium | 32,568[1] |
Game 1
Game 1 would become one of the best pitching performances turned in by any one starter in quite some time. In fact, it almost became historic. Yakult aceKazuhisa Ishii kept the powerful Buffaloes lineup at bay, striking out 12 batters and walking 4. After walking the first batter of the game, Ishii retired the next 8 batters he faced. He would no-hit the Buffaloes through 6 and 1/3 innings and eventually shut them out, throwing a complete game.
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