Saitama Seibu Lions

The Saitama Seibu Lions (Japanese埼玉 西武ライオンズ, saitama seibu raionzu ) is a Japanese professional baseball team in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Seibu Group, which the railroad company Seibu tetsudō and the Prince hotel chain hotels include. Home of the Lions is Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture. The team is thirteen times the Japanese master. She finished the 2008 season as the first Pacific League and won the Nihon Series 2008 title against the Yomiuri Giants.

History

The team was in 1950 as Nishitetsu Clippers founding member of the Pacific League and owned by the railway company Nishi- Nippon tetsudō (short: Nishitetsu ). Home of the team was Fukuoka. 1951 merged the Clippers with the Nishi- Nippon Pirates of the Nishitetsu Lions who were very successful in the 1950s, when she won the Nihon Series against the Yomiuri Giants three times in a row ( 1956-1958 ).

1973 changed the Lions won the owner and a new sponsor, Taiheiyo Club, a company that golf clubs and Holiday Resorts operates, and were called for four years Taiheiyo Club Lions. 1977 and 1978 sponsored the lighter society Crown Gas Lighter Lions, the team played under the name Crown Lighter Lions. Sporty experienced the Lions in the 1960s and especially the 1970s, a decline: Only 1963 she won the title in the Pacific League, but then subject to the Nihon Series. Between 1970 and 1979 they were six times six, ie last of the Pacific League.

In 1978, the Lions were eventually sold to the Seibu tetsudō and play since then as Seibu Lions in Tokorozawa, where in April 1979, the Seibu Lions Stadium (西武ライオンズ 球場, seibu raionzu KYUJO ) was completed. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Lions dominated the Pacific League, finished the season 13 times first and won it eight times the Nihon Series. Since 1 January 2008, the team Saitama Seibu Lions is officially called.

In recent years, the dominance subsided - in the 21st century they succeeded so far only three times to participate in the Nihon Series - and against the backdrop of the financial crisis, the company owner, the Lions were struggling with financial difficulties.

Since its inception in 1950, the Lions have more wins than losses: The winning percentage was .532 in 4167 to 2010 wins, 3661 losses and 325 draws.

Stadium

The Seibu Lions Stadium in Tokorozawa received between 1997 and 1999 a roof and the subsequent name Seibu Dome. For 2005 and 2006 the naming rights were sold to the company Invoice, the stadium was called Invoice Seibu Dome. January 2007, a sale of any rights in the recruiter Goodwill Group and thus a name change to goodwill Dome, but the contract was terminated and the 2008 preliminary stage again bears the name Seibu Dome.

The stadium currently holds 35,655 spectators. The station Seibukyūjo -mae directly at Seibu Dome operated a branch line of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line to Ikebukuro. In addition, the People Mover Leoliner connects the stadium with the Seibu Amusement Park.

Famous players and managers

The currently most famous former Seibu players is the Major League pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka ( " Dice -K "), which for a fee of 6 billion yen (about 52 million U.S. dollars) changed to the Boston Red Sox in November 2006. Matsuzaka had ( the nationally acclaimed High School tournament ) played for a legendary performance at Koshien since 1999 for the Lions and brought in 108 victories for the Lions.

Important players in the " Golden Age " of the Lions in the 1980s and 90s were the pitcher Kimiyasu Kudō, Osamu Higashio and Kuo Taiyuan ( Taigen Kaku ), the catcher Tsutomu Ito, Koji Akiyama outfielder Kazuhiro Kiyohara and infielder, Hiromichi Ishige and Orestes Destrade.

Reigning since 2008 Manager Hisanobu Watanabe played 1984-1997 14 years as a pitcher for the Lions.

Logo

Logo and mascot of the Lions is a white lion, which goes back to the manga character Kimba.

Minor league team

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