For firearmofmutiny and dr4b: NPB "best game/play" rankings
I found this buried in the middle of the sports paper tonight, a bit of trivia that people on my flist who follow Japan pro baseball might be interested in.
Yesterday the NPB gathered results of a survey sent out to active 858 players, coaches, and managers asking them to rank their most memorable games and plays. I find this of personal interest because I am familiar with the vast majority of these; in fact the number one memorable game, according to the survey, was the one-game playoff between the Yomiuri Giants and the Chunichi Dragons on Oct. 8, 1994 -- the game I will always pinpoint as the night I became a Dragons fan, because they lost in such agonizing fashion to the Giants (Japan's win-everything-all-the-time, everybody-loves-them answer to the Yankees (*spit*)).
Here are the results in full:
Memorable Games results
No.
Date
Card
Votes
Description
Team
Location
Home
Away
1
Oct. 8, 1994
Dragons
Giants
Nagoya Kyuujo
99
Giants win one-game playoff to decide the CL pennant in what Nagashima, as manager, calls a "national event"
2
Sept. 26, 2001
Buffaloes
Blue Wave
Osaka Dome
36
Kitagawa as pinch hitter unleashes a come-from-behind walkoff grand slam to win the PL pennant
3
Oct. 12, 2006
Fighters
Hawks
Sapporo Dome
23
Fighters win PL crown for the first time in 25 years with walkoff win in second round of playoffs
4
Oct. 21, 2009
Fighters
Eagles
Sapporo Dome
22
Sledge hits walk-off grand slam to win first game of Climax Series
5
Apr. 17, 1985
Tigers
Giants
Koshien
20
Bass, Kakefu, and Okada hit back-to-back-to-back homers
5
Oct. 19, 1988
Orions
Buffaloes
Kawasaki
20
Kintetsu wins game 1 and ties game 2 of doubleheader to clinch pennant
5
Nov. 1, 2007
Dragons
Fighters
Nagoya Dome
20
Yamai and Iwase combine for perfect game to win Japan Series
8
Mar. 23, 2009
Korea
Japan
USA
17
Ichiro hits extra-inning, game-winning hit that gives Japan second WBC title
9
Sept. 24, 2000
Giants
Dragons
Tokyo Dome
15
Giants' Eto hits game-tying grand slam, followed by Nioka's walk-off homer to win CL title
9
Nov. 9, 2008
Giants
Lions
Tokyo Dome
15
Lions battle Giants through seven hard-fought games to win Japan Series crown
9
Nov. 5, 2009
Giants
Fighters
Tokyo Dome
15
Japan Series game 5: Kamei and Abe hit back-to-back homers, the second a walk-off winner
Memorable Plays results:
No.
Date
Card
Votes
Description
Team
Location
Home
Away
1
Oct. 21, 2009
Fighters
Eagles
Sapporo Dome
43
Sledge hits walk-off grand slam to win first game of Climax Series
2
Sept. 26, 2001
Buffaloes
Blue Wave
Osaka Dome
35
Kitagawa as pinch hitter unleashes a come-from-behind walkoff grand slam to win the PL pennant
3
May 16, 1999
Lions
Blue Wave
Seibu Dome
32
First matchup of Ichiro vs. Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka strikes him out three times: "it was then that my confidence turned into conviction"
4
Apr. 7, 1999
Fighters
Lions
Tokyo Dome
23
Matsuzaka's pro debut: first win, max 155km/h heater, 8 IP 2 ER
5
Oct. 25, 1995
Swallows
Blue Wave
Jingu
22
Japan Series game 4 11th inning O'Malley vs. Kobayashi 14-pitch battle ending in dramatic strikeout
5
Oct. 12, 2006
Fighters
Hawks
Sapporo Dome
22
Playoff 2nd round 2nd game, Saito's tears after hitting walk-off to clinch pennant
7
Apr. 17, 1985
Tigers
Giants
Koshien
30
Bass, Kakefu, and Okada hit back-to-back-to-back homers
8
Mar. 23, 2009
Korea
Japan
USA
17
Ichiro hits extra-inning, game-winning hit that gives Japan second WBC title
9
Oct. 26, 2002
Giants
Lions
Tokyo Dome
12
Japan Series game 1: Kiyohara hits monster home run off Matsuzaka over the left field billboards
10
Sept. 3, 1977
Giants
Swallows
Kourakuen
11
Sadaharu Oh hits homer #756
10
May 3, 1993
Lions
Marines
Seibu
11
Irabu vs. Kiyohara: Irabu throws 158km/h (98.2 mph) fastball, a Japanese record
10
Jun. 12, 1999
Tigers
Giants
Koshien
11
Shinjo, during an intentional walk pitchout, hits the ball into left, driving in the winning run
10
Oct. 1, 2008
Buffaloes
Hawks
Kyocera Dome
11
Kiyohara's final game
Yesterday the NPB gathered results of a survey sent out to active 858 players, coaches, and managers asking them to rank their most memorable games and plays. I find this of personal interest because I am familiar with the vast majority of these; in fact the number one memorable game, according to the survey, was the one-game playoff between the Yomiuri Giants and the Chunichi Dragons on Oct. 8, 1994 -- the game I will always pinpoint as the night I became a Dragons fan, because they lost in such agonizing fashion to the Giants (Japan's win-everything-all-the-time, everybody-loves-them answer to the Yankees (*spit*)).
Here are the results in full:
Memorable Games results
No.
Date
Card
Votes
Description
Team
Location
Home
Away
1
Oct. 8, 1994
Dragons
Giants
Nagoya Kyuujo
99
Giants win one-game playoff to decide the CL pennant in what Nagashima, as manager, calls a "national event"
2
Sept. 26, 2001
Buffaloes
Blue Wave
Osaka Dome
36
Kitagawa as pinch hitter unleashes a come-from-behind walkoff grand slam to win the PL pennant
3
Oct. 12, 2006
Fighters
Hawks
Sapporo Dome
23
Fighters win PL crown for the first time in 25 years with walkoff win in second round of playoffs
4
Oct. 21, 2009
Fighters
Eagles
Sapporo Dome
22
Sledge hits walk-off grand slam to win first game of Climax Series
5
Apr. 17, 1985
Tigers
Giants
Koshien
20
Bass, Kakefu, and Okada hit back-to-back-to-back homers
5
Oct. 19, 1988
Orions
Buffaloes
Kawasaki
20
Kintetsu wins game 1 and ties game 2 of doubleheader to clinch pennant
5
Nov. 1, 2007
Dragons
Fighters
Nagoya Dome
20
Yamai and Iwase combine for perfect game to win Japan Series
8
Mar. 23, 2009
Korea
Japan
USA
17
Ichiro hits extra-inning, game-winning hit that gives Japan second WBC title
9
Sept. 24, 2000
Giants
Dragons
Tokyo Dome
15
Giants' Eto hits game-tying grand slam, followed by Nioka's walk-off homer to win CL title
9
Nov. 9, 2008
Giants
Lions
Tokyo Dome
15
Lions battle Giants through seven hard-fought games to win Japan Series crown
9
Nov. 5, 2009
Giants
Fighters
Tokyo Dome
15
Japan Series game 5: Kamei and Abe hit back-to-back homers, the second a walk-off winner
Memorable Plays results:
No.
Date
Card
Votes
Description
Team
Location
Home
Away
1
Oct. 21, 2009
Fighters
Eagles
Sapporo Dome
43
Sledge hits walk-off grand slam to win first game of Climax Series
2
Sept. 26, 2001
Buffaloes
Blue Wave
Osaka Dome
35
Kitagawa as pinch hitter unleashes a come-from-behind walkoff grand slam to win the PL pennant
3
May 16, 1999
Lions
Blue Wave
Seibu Dome
32
First matchup of Ichiro vs. Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka strikes him out three times: "it was then that my confidence turned into conviction"
4
Apr. 7, 1999
Fighters
Lions
Tokyo Dome
23
Matsuzaka's pro debut: first win, max 155km/h heater, 8 IP 2 ER
5
Oct. 25, 1995
Swallows
Blue Wave
Jingu
22
Japan Series game 4 11th inning O'Malley vs. Kobayashi 14-pitch battle ending in dramatic strikeout
5
Oct. 12, 2006
Fighters
Hawks
Sapporo Dome
22
Playoff 2nd round 2nd game, Saito's tears after hitting walk-off to clinch pennant
7
Apr. 17, 1985
Tigers
Giants
Koshien
30
Bass, Kakefu, and Okada hit back-to-back-to-back homers
8
Mar. 23, 2009
Korea
Japan
USA
17
Ichiro hits extra-inning, game-winning hit that gives Japan second WBC title
9
Oct. 26, 2002
Giants
Lions
Tokyo Dome
12
Japan Series game 1: Kiyohara hits monster home run off Matsuzaka over the left field billboards
10
Sept. 3, 1977
Giants
Swallows
Kourakuen
11
Sadaharu Oh hits homer #756
10
May 3, 1993
Lions
Marines
Seibu
11
Irabu vs. Kiyohara: Irabu throws 158km/h (98.2 mph) fastball, a Japanese record
10
Jun. 12, 1999
Tigers
Giants
Koshien
11
Shinjo, during an intentional walk pitchout, hits the ball into left, driving in the winning run
10
Oct. 1, 2008
Buffaloes
Hawks
Kyocera Dome
11
Kiyohara's final game