2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2004 in baseball.

Sports season

2004 NPB season

League| Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport| Baseball
Duration| March 27, 2004 – October 25, 2004
Regular season
Season MVP| CL: Kenshin Kawakami (CHU)
PL: Nobuhiko Matsunaka (DAI)
League postseason
CL champions| Chunichi Dragons
CL runners-up| Yakult Swallows
PL champions| Seibu Lions
PL runners-up| Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Japan Series
Champions| Seibu Lions
Runners-up| Chunichi Dragons
Finals MVP| Takashi Ishii (SEI)
NPB seasons

← 2003

2005 →

The 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Seibu Lions defeating the Chunichi Dragons in the 2004 Japan Series. This season also saw the first and only players strike in Japanese professional baseball history. Players went on strike for two days in September because of the potential mergers and realignment.

## Format

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### Central League

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* Season format
* Regular season
* Regular season 1st place is the champion

### Pacific League

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* Season format
* Regular season
* Playoff 1st stage: Regular season 2nd place vs. regular season 3rd place – Best of 3
* Playoff 2nd stage: Regular season 1st place vs. playoff 1st stage winner – Best of 5
* Playoff 2nd stage winner is the champion

### Japan Series

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* Central League champion vs. Pacific League champion – Best of 7

## Standings

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Note:Two games for each team are cancelled due to players' strike

### Central League

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#### Regular season

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Central League | G  | W  | L  | T  | Pct.  | GB

|
|
|
|
|
|

Chunichi Dragons | 138 | 79 | 56 | 3 | .583 | —
Yakult Swallows | 138 | 72 | 64 | 2 | .529 | 7.5
Yomiuri Giants | 138 | 71 | 64 | 3 | .525 | 8.0
Hanshin Tigers | 138 | 66 | 70 | 2 | .485 | 13.0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 138 | 60 | 77 | 1 | .438 | 20.0
Yokohama BayStars | 138 | 59 | 76 | 3 | .438 | 20.0

### Pacific League

[edit]

#### Regular season

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Pacific League | G  | W  | L  | T  | Pct.  | GB

|
|
|
|
|
|

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | 133 | 77 | 52 | 4 | .594 | —
Seibu Lions | 133 | 74 | 58 | 1 | .560 | 4.5
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 133 | 66 | 65 | 2 | .504 | 12.0
Chiba Lotte Marines | 133 | 65 | 65 | 3 | .500 | 12.5
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 133 | 61 | 70 | 2 | .466 | 17.0
Orix BlueWave | 133 | 49 | 72 | 2 | .376 | 29.0

#### Playoff 1st stage

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Seibu Lions (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (1)

Game | Score | Date | Location

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|
|

1 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 7, Seibu Lions – 10 | October 1 | Seibu Dome
2 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 4 | October 2 | Seibu Dome
3 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 6 | October 3 | Seibu Dome

#### Playoff 2nd stage

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Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (2) vs. Seibu Lions (3)

Game | Score | Date | Location

|
|
|

1 | Seibu Lions – 3, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 9 | October 6 | Fukuoka Dome
2 | Seibu Lions – 11, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 1 | October 7 | Fukuoka Dome
3 | Seibu Lions – 6, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 5 | October 9 | Fukuoka Dome
4 | Seibu Lions – 1, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 4 | October 10 | Fukuoka Dome
5 | Seibu Lions – 4, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 3 (10 innings) | October 11 | Fukuoka Dome

## Japan Series

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Main article: 2004 Japan Series

Chunichi Dragons (3) vs. Seibu Lions (4)

Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance

|
|
|
|

1 | Dragons – 0, Lions – 2 | October 16 | Nagoya Dome | 37,909
2 | Dragons – 11, Lions – 6 | October 17 | Nagoya Dome | 37,969
3 | Lions – 10, Dragons – 8 | October 19 | Seibu Dome | 23,910
4 | Lions – 2, Dragons – 8 | October 21 | Seibu Dome | 29,073
5 | Lions – 1, Dragons – 6 | October 22 | Seibu Dome | 31,526
6 | Dragons – 2, Lions – 4 | October 24 | Nagoya Dome | 38,120
7 | Dragons – 2, Lions – 7 | October 25 | Nagoya Dome | 38,050

## See also

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* 2004 Major League Baseball season

## References

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* v
* t
* e

Nippon Professional Baseball seasons

1930s–1940s
(Japanese Baseball League)|

* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

1950s–1960s|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s–1980s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s–2000s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s–2020s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* Japan Series
* Climax Series

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