2017 Japan Series
| 2017 Japan Series | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 28 – November 5 | ||||||||||||
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| Team (Wins) | Manager(s) | Season | |
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| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (3) | Kimiyasu Kudoh | 94–49–0 (.657) | |
| Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2) | Alex Ramírez | 73–65–5 (.529) |
The 2017 Japan Series is championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it is a best-of-seven playoff between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Pacific League and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Central League. The Hawks lead the series, 3–2.
SoftBank finished in first place in the Pacific League during the 2017 regular season, while the BayStars advanced to the postseason after finishing in third place in the Central League. In the 2017 Climax Series, the Hawks defeated the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to win the Pacific League Championship. The BayStars defeated the Hiroshima Toyo Carp to become the Central League champions, becoming the first Central League team to finish in third place during the regular season to win a Climax Series.
The Yokohama DeNA BayStars last won the Japan Series in 1998. They had losing records in every season from 2002 through 2016, with ten last place finishes in that span. In 2012, DeNA purchased the BayStars from the Tokyo Broadcasting System. DeNA focused on increasing attendance at Yokohama Stadium and improving the team, hiring Alex Ramírez as their manager in 2016. The BayStars finished in third place in the Central League in 2017, 13 1⁄2 games behind the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Their .252 team batting average and 134 home runs were both second best in the Central League. The BayStars defeated the Hanshin Tigers and then the Carp in the 2017 Central League Climax Series, becoming the first third place team to advance to the Japan Series from the Central League.José López was the most valuable player (MVP) of the Central League Climax Series.
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