Let’s dive into what happened this week in Nippon Professional Baseball. The postseason begins on Saturday, so stay tuned for a Talking Yakyu Podcast episode previewing the Yomiuri Giants vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars and Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters!
Since this was the last full week of the regular season and the games were makeups from past rainouts, we’ll shift from our typical daily format to just focus on the notable stories that matter.
Another Title for Hanshin
The Hanshin Tigers clinched the Central League pennant on Saturday night. They entered the day with a magic number of one, needing either a win or a Yomiuri Giants loss.
Despite Teruaki Sato hitting his 39th home run, the Tigers fell to the Carp in their afternoon game. But the Yokohama DeNA BayStars defeated the Giants, 5-2, at Tokyo Dome, allowing the celebrations to commence.
It marks the team’s third regular season title in four years, and the first time ever in consecutive seasons. As is Osaka baseball tradition, thousands of Tigers fans gathered at Dotonbori, with some even jumping into the river.
Earlier in the week, southpaw Haruto Takahashi threw eight shutout innings against the Swallows to pick up his 16th win of the season, bolstering his case for the Sawamura Award.
With Hanshin’s final three regular-season games coming up and the pennant already locked up, all eyes will be on Sato’s Triple Crown chase as he’s in prime position to claim it, hitting .311 with 39 homers and 105 RBI.
Father Time for Veterans
The end of the regular season also marks the swan song for several veteran fan favorites. Masanori Ishikawa (Swallows), Wataru Karashima (Eagles), Katsuya Kakunaka (Marines), and Yuki Karakawa (Marines) each held their retirement games, following Yoshihisa Hirano (Buffaloes) and Akira Nakamura (Hawks) the week before.
They all had long, memorable careers with their respective clubs and received fitting send-offs. Ishikawa, 46, who debuted in 2002, entered in relief to face one batter and recorded a strikeout looking.
Karashima, 35, induced a flyout to open the game before handing the ball to Tatsuki Koja, who threw 8 ⅔ innings of one-hit ball with 14 strikeouts. Kakunaka, 39, went hitless but made a catch in right field with the Marines’ cheering section right behind him, while Karakawa, 37, struck out the only batter he faced.
Hiroshima Cut Kozono
The Hiroshima Carp announced that they will not re-sign Kaito Kozono, Masaya Yano, Seita Maekawa, or Shunsuke Tamura for 2027 following the fallout from the “zombie cigarettes” scandal involving former teammate Ryutaro Hatsuki. Yano and Maekawa were referred to prosecutors on suspicion of receiving and possessing etomidate, respectively, while Kozono and Tamura appeared in photographs with Hatsuki’s alleged supplier, though the images alone did not establish drug use.
It is a somewhat shocking fall from grace for Kozono, who won the Central League batting title just last year, was a member of Japan’s WBC team, and entered 2026 as one of the faces of the franchise. His talent should draw interest from other NPB clubs, but whether they are willing to take on the controversy remains to be seen.
Quick Hits
- Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) became the first NPB hitter to reach 40 home runs this season.
- Koki Yamaguchi (Marines) had another big week, swatting a walk-off homer on Saturday before hitting his 36th and 37th home runs on Sunday. He surpassed Benny Agbayani’s single-season home run record for the Marines since the franchise moved to Chiba.
- Kaima Taira (Lions) tossed seven innings of one-run ball on Tuesday, reaching the qualifying innings threshold while maintaining an NPB-best 1.36 ERA.
- Managers: Mamoru Kishida (Buffaloes) will return for his third season next year, while Ryoji Aikawa (BayStars) will return for his second. Kazuki Inoue (Dragons) will step down.
RIP Shikira Nogami
The week also brought tragic news, as the Orix Buffaloes announced that 19-year-old catching prospect Shikira Nogami unexpectedly passed away in his dorm room on September 30. A seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, Nogami was in his first professional season and played in Orix’s final minor league game on September 27. The cause of his death has not been disclosed.
