What is Seibu Lions?

Information about Seibu Lions

Seibu Lions
LeaguePacific League
LocationTokorozawa, Saitama
BallparkSeibu Dome(Goodwill Dome)
Year Founded1950
Nickname(s)Seibu (西武), Lions (ライオンズ), Leo (レオ), Shishi (獅子, which means lion)
League championships1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004
Japan Series championships1956, 1957, 1958, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2004
Former name(s)Nishitetsu Clippers (1950), Nishitetsu Lions (1951-1972), Taiheiyo Club Lions (1973–1976), Crown Lighter Lions (1977–1978), Seibu Lions (1979–)
ColorsBlue, white and green
Logo DesignA white lions's head on a green field.[1]
Uniforms
　
Home
　
Away
The Seibu Lions (西武ライオンズ Seibu Raionzu) are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League and are owned by Seibu Railway. However, recently, the team has stood on shaky financial ground, a standing that may be remedied now that the Lions' superstar pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka has signed with the Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox signing Matsuzaka, the Lions will get the 6 billion Japanese Yen (about $51.11 million USD) posting fee. Since 1978, the team logo and mascot is based on the adult Kimba the White Lion, a famous classic anime series by Osamu Tezuka.

In 2004, Former Seibu Lions player Kazuo Matsui became the first Japanese infielder to play in Major League Baseball.

Franchise history

Nishitetsu Clippers (1950)

In 1950, the team became a founding member of the Pacific League, and was owned by Nishi-Nippon Railroad based in Fukuoka. The team finished sixth that year, and at the end of the season the team was merged with the Nishi-Nippon Pirates to form the Nishitetsu Lions.

Nishitetsu Lions (1951-1972)

In 1951, the Nishi-Nippon Pirates and Nishitetsu Clippers merged to form the Nishitetsu Lions. They were one of the top Pacific League teams of the decade, winning four pennants and winning three straight Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants. Osamu Mihara managed the team throughout their 1950s success period. The team was not as successful in the following decade and in 1973 was sold and became the Taiheiyo Club Lions. The Nishitetsu Lions called Heiwadai Stadium home for their entire existence.

Taiheiyo Club Lions (1973-1976)

In November, 1972, the Nishitetsu Lions were bought by the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation from Nishi-Nippon Railroad. The company was founded by Nagayoshi Nakamura, owner of the Lotte and the Orions. The team's sponsorship rights were then sold to Taiheiyo Club, a golf course and resort developer, and the team was renamed. The team remained as the Taiheiyo Club Lions until after the 1976 season.

Crown Lighter Lions (1977-1978)

At the end of the 1976 season, the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation announced that the team's new sponsor was Crown Gas Lighter. With this, the team's name for the upcoming season was changed to the Crown Lighter Lions. At the end of the 1978 season the team was sold to Seibu Railway.

Seibu Lions (1979-)

The Crown Lighter Lions were sold to Seibu Railway in 1978, and since then have used the name Seibu Lions, and relocated to a new ballpark in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Since being sold to Seibu, the Lions have appeared in 14 Japan Series, and won nine.

Season-by-Season Records

Season-by-Season Records (1950-2007)



Year Team Name Place
1950Nishitetsu Clippers5th
1951Nishitetsu Lions2nd
1952Nishitetsu Lions3rd
1953Nishitetsu Lions4th
1954Nishitetsu Lions1st
1955Nishitetsu Lions2nd
1956Nishitetsu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1957Nishitetsu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1958Nishitetsu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1959Nishitetsu Lions4th
1960Nishitetsu Lions3rd
1961Nishitetsu Lions3rd
1962Nishitetsu Lions3rd
1963Nishitetsu Lions1st
1964Nishitetsu Lions5th
1965Nishitetsu Lions3rd
1966Nishitetsu Lions2nd
1967Nishitetsu Lions2nd
1968Nishitetsu Lions5th
1969Nishitetsu Lions5th
1970Nishitetsu Lions6th
1971Nishitetsu Lions6th
1972Nishitetsu Lions6th
1973Taiheiyo Club Lions4th
1974Taiheiyo Club Lions4th
1975Taiheiyo Club Lions3rd
1976Taiheiyo Club Lions6th
1977Crown Lighter Lions6th
1978Crown Lighter Lions5th
1979Seibu Lions6th
1980Seibu Lions4th
1981Seibu Lions4th
1982Seibu Lions2nd (Japan Series Winner)
1983Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1984Seibu Lions3rd
1985Seibu Lions1st
1986Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1987Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1988Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1989Seibu Lions3rd
1990Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1991Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1992Seibu Lions1st (Japan Series Winner)
1993Seibu Lions1st
1994Seibu Lions1st
1995Seibu Lions3rd
1996Seibu Lions3rd
1997Seibu Lions1st
1998Seibu Lions1st
1999Seibu Lions2nd
2000Seibu Lions2nd
2001Seibu Lions3rd
2002Seibu Lions1st
2003Seibu Lions2nd
2004Seibu Lions2nd (Japan Series Winner)
2005Seibu Lions3rd
2006Seibu Lions2nd
2007Seibu Lions5th

Current roster

Pitcher

  • 11 Takayuki Kishi (岸 孝之)
  • 13 Fumiya Nishiguchi (西口 文也)
  • 14 Chikara Onodera (小野寺 力)
  • 15 Kohji Onuma (大沼 幸二)
  • 16 Hideaki Wakui (涌井 秀章)
  • 17 Satoshi Yamazaki (山崎 敏)
  • 19 Shuichiroh Osada (長田 秀一郎)
  • 20 Jun Yamamoto (山本 淳)
  • 23 Ming-Chieh Hsu (許 銘傑)
  • 24 Hironori Matsunaga (松永 浩典)
  • 25 Eiji Shotsu (正津 英志)
  • 26 Tomoki Hoshino (星野 智樹)
  • 28 Okamoto Atsushi (岡本 篤志)
  • 29 Koji Mitsui (三井 浩二)
  • 30 Jason Johnson (J・ジョンソン)
  • 34 Christopher Gissell (C・ギッセル)
  • 35 Tetsuya Iwasaki (岩崎 哲也)
  • 36 Minoru Yamagishi (山岸 穣)
  • 38 Junji Nishikawa (西川 順司)
  • 41 Fumikazu Kimura (木村 文和)
  • 47 Hoashi Kazuyuki (帆足 和幸)
  • 50 Yuhya Tazawa (田沢 由哉)
  • 54 Alex Graman (A・グラマン) - CL
  • 57 Yasuhiro Tanaka (田中 靖洋)
  • 59 Ayumu Yamamoto (山本 歩)
  • 62 Daiei Syu (朱 大衛)
  • 63 Kouki Fujiwara (藤原 虹気)
  • 69 Kazumasa Azuma (東 和政)

Catcher

  • 22 Kohsuke Noda (野田 浩輔)
  • 27 Tohru Hosokawa (細川 亨)
  • 31 Taichi Yoshimi (吉見 太一)
  • 37 Ginjiro (銀仁朗)
  • 49 Tatsuyuki Uemoto (上本 達之)
  • 68 Kohji Tahara (田原 晃司)

Infielder

  •  3 Hiroyuki Nakajima (中島 裕之)
  •  4 Hiroyuki Takagi (高木 浩之)
  •  6 Taketoshi Gotoh (後藤 武敏)
  •  7 Yasuyuki Kataoka (片岡 易之)
  •  8 Hiroshi Hiroshi (平尾 博嗣)
  • 32 Yoshihito Ishii (石井 義人)
  • 33 Akira Etoh (江藤 智)
  • 40 Jeffery Liefer (J・リーファー)
  • 42 Alex Cabrera (A・カブレラ)
  • 43 Takuya Hara (原 拓也)
  • 45 Keisuke Mizuta (水田 圭介)
  • 56 Haruki Kurose (黒瀬 春樹)
  • 60 Takeya Nakamura (中村 剛也)
  • 61 Hidekazu Hoshi (星 秀和)
  • 64 Naoto Ishibashi (石橋 尚登)

Outfielder

  •  0 Yuutaro Oosaki (大崎 雄太朗)
  •  2 Hiroyuki Shibata (柴田 博之)
  •  5 Kazuhiro Wada (和田 一浩)
  •  9 Shogo Akada (赤田 将吾)
  • 10 Tomoaki Satoh (佐藤 友亮)
  • 39 Masahide Kaizuka (貝塚 政秀)
  • 44 Hisashi Takayama (高山 久)
  • 46 G.G.Satoh (G.G.佐藤)
  • 51 Hiroyuki Ohshima (大島 裕行)
  • 52 Takumi Kuriyama (栗山 巧)
  • 53 Kazuki Fukuchi (福地 寿樹)
  • 58 Kenta Matsusaka (松阪 健太)

Coaches/Other

=Manager
=
  • 99 Hisanobu Watanabe (渡辺 久信)
=Coaches
=
  • 71 Masahiro Doi (土井 正博) - Head
  • 75 Daisuke Araki (荒木 大輔) - Pitching
  • 80 Ryoji Moriyama (森山 良二) - Pitching
  • 78 Yoshiie Tachibana (立花 義家) - Hitting
  • 72 Masaji Shimizu (清水 雅治) - Defending and Base-running(Third Base)
  • 79 Seiji Tomashino (苫篠 誠治) - Defending and Base-running(First Base)
  • 87 Kazuya Harai (原井 和也) - Defending and Base-running(Assistant)
  • 81 Yukihiro Ueda (植田 幸弘) - Battery
  • 74 Hisanobu Watanabe (渡辺 久信) - Farm Manager
  • 77 Takehiro Ishii (石井 丈裕) - Farm Pitching and Training
  • 86 Tetsuya Shiozaki (潮崎 哲也) - Farm Pitching
  • 89 Hiroyuki Mori (森 博幸) - Farm Hitting
  • 70 Yuusuke Kawada (河田 雄祐) - Farm Defending and Base-running
  • 88 Katsuya Souma (相馬 勝也) - Farm Battery
  • 98 Kouichi Ohsako (大迫 幸一) - Training
  • 99 Shinobu Sakamoto (坂元 忍) - Farm Training

Managers

  • Kaname Miyazaki(宮崎 要) 1950
  • Osamu Mihara(三原脩) 1951-1959
  • Tokuji Kawasaki(川崎 徳次) 1960-1961
  • Futoshi Nakanishi(中西 太) 1962-1969
  • Kazuhisa Inao(稲尾 和久) 1970-1974
  • Shinichi Eto(江藤 愼一) 1975
  • Masakazu Kito(鬼頭 政一) 1976-1977
  • Rikuo Nemoto(根本 陸夫) 1978-1981
  • Tatsuro Hirooka(広岡 達朗) 1982-1985
  • Masahiko Mori(森 祇晶) 1986-1994
  • Osamu Higashio(東尾 修) 1995-2001
  • Haruki Ihara(伊原 春樹) 2002-2003
  • Tsutomu Ito(伊東 勤) 2004-2007
  • Hisanobu Watanabe (渡辺 久信) 2008

Former players of note

Honored numbers

  • none

External links

Notes and references

1. ^ The head is that of the adult version of the anime character Kimba the White Lion.


Nippon Professional Baseball
Central LeaguePacific League
Yomiuri GiantsChunichi DragonsTokyo Yakult SwallowsHokkaido Nippon Ham FightersTohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesChiba Lotte Marines
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Japan Series - Japanese Baseball League (former) - Eastern League - Western League-
Pacific League (パシフィック・リーグ
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Tokorozawa (Japanese: 所沢市; -shi) is a city in Saitama, Japan. It is located in the central part of the Musashino plain, about 30 km west of downtown Tokyo.
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P. leo

Binomial name
Panthera leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution of lions in Africa


Synonyms
Felis leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

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