The 2007 Japan Series, the 58th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series, began Saturday, October 27, 2007, pitting the Pacific League Regular League and Climax Series' Champion, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, and the Chunichi Dragons, winners of the Central League's Climax Series, in a rematch of the previous year's Japan Series, won by the Fighters. It was the first championship for the Dragons since the 1954 Japan Series, marking the end of the longest championship drought in NPB history.
2007 Japan Series | ||||||||||
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Dates | October 27 – November 1 | |||||||||
MVP | Norihiro Nakamura (Dragons) | |||||||||
Broadcast | ||||||||||
Television | ||||||||||
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In a virtual mirror image of the 2006 series, the Dragons won in the same manner that the Fighters had the previous year, losing the first game and sweeping the next four. In one of baseball's rare situations, for the first time in a recognised WBSC premiership championship final since the 1956 Major League Baseball championship series, and the first one to end a series in a major professional championship, a perfect game was pitched, although recognised only by international standards and not NPB because multiple pitchers were used because NPB's definition is different from most recognised authorities. This would also be the last time a perfect game was thrown in NPB until Roki Sasaki threw a perfect game against the Orix Buffaloes on April 10, 2022.
Climax Series
editFirst Stage | Final Stage | Japan Series | |||||||||||
1 | Yomiuri Giants | 0 | |||||||||||
2 | Chunichi Dragons | 2 | 2 | Chunichi Dragons | 3 | ||||||||
3 | Hanshin Tigers | 0 | CL2 | Chunichi Dragons | 4 | ||||||||
PL1 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 1 | |||||||||||
1 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 3 | |||||||||||
2 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 2 | 2 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 2 | ||||||||
3 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 1 | |||||||||||
Summary
editChunichi Dragons won the series, 4–1.
Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
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1 | October 27 | Chunichi Dragons – 1, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 3 | Sapporo Dome | 2:48 | 40,616 |
2 | October 28 | Chunichi Dragons – 8, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 1 | Sapporo Dome | 3:43 | 40,770 |
3 | October 30 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 9 | Nagoya Dome | 3:39 | 38,068 |
4 | October 31 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 2, Chunichi Dragons – 4 | Nagoya Dome | 3:45 | 38,059 |
5 | November 1 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 0, Chunichi Dragons – 1 | Nagoya Dome | 2:26 | 38,118 |
Game summaries
editGame 1
editTeam | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Chunichi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Nippon-Ham | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
WP: Yu Darvish (1–0) LP: Kenshin Kawakami (0–1) Home runs: CHU: None NHF: Fernando Seguignol (1) |
Game 2
editTeam | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chunichi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Nippon-Ham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
WP: Kenichi Nakata (1–0) LP: Ryan Glynn (0–1) Home runs: CHU: Lee Byung-Kyu (1), Masahiko Morino (1) NHF: Fernando Seguignol (2) |
Game 3
editTeam | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nippon-Ham | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Chunichi | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
WP: Kenta Asakura (1–0) LP: Masaru Takeda (0–1) |
Game 4
editTeam | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nippon-Ham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Chunichi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 4 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
WP: Yoshihiro Suzuki (1–0) LP: Mitsuo Yoshikawa (0–1) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (1) |
Game 5
editTeam | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nippon-Ham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Chunichi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 1 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
WP: Daisuke Yamai (1–0) LP: Yu Darvish (1–1) Sv: Hitoki Iwase (2) |
This was the first perfect game in Japan Series history, but it is only recognised as such by the global governing body of baseball, the World Baseball Softball Confederation because the NPB definition requires one pitcher to pitch all nine innings, excluding combined no-hitters or perfect games, and exclude runners who score on walks, and advance by means that do not involve a hit that later score.
See also
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