Yokohama DeNA BayStars


The Yokohama DeNA BayStars are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current name in 2011 when the club was purchased by software company DeNA.
The minor league team shares the same name and uniform as the parent team and plays in the Eastern League. The minor league home field is Yokosuka Stadium, located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa.

History

Origin (1930s–1949)

The team began as the Taiyo Fishing Company, an amateur team currently affiliated with the Maruha Corporation. The team began to appear in national tournaments in the 1930s and won the National Sports Festival in 1948, giving it national recognition. In the 1949 off-season, the Japanese professional baseball league drastically expanded itself and many players from the Taiyo amateur team were recruited to join the professional leagues. The owner of the Taiyo company decided to join the newly expanded Central League, which was established in 1950. The team's first professional incarnation was as the Maruha Team. The franchise was based in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi.

Taiyo Whales (1950–1952)

The team name was changed to the Taiyō Whales shortly after the start of the 1950 season. The Whales received several veteran players from the Yomiuri Giants to compensate for their lack of players, but ended up in the bottom half of the standings each year.
In 1951, there was talk of merging with the Hiroshima Carp, which had experienced serious financial problems but the merging never occurred due to massive protests from Hiroshima citizens.

Taiyo Shochiku Robins (1953) and Yo-Sho Robins (1954)

In 1952, it was decided that teams ending the season with a winning percentage below.300 would be disbanded or merged with other teams. The Shochiku Robins fell into this category, and were merged with the Taiyo Whales to become the Taiyō-Shochiku Robins in January, 1953. However, the team's re-organization was not completed in time for the 1953 season, and the team ended up continuing its offices in both Shimonoseki and Kyoto. Home games took place in Osaka for geographical reasons, and the team's finances were managed by both the Taiyo and Shochiku companies until the franchise was officially transferred to Osaka in 1954 to become the Yō-Shō Robins.
The Shochiku Robins had won the 1950 Central League championship before being merged.

Taiyo Whales (1955–1977)

The Shochiku company discontinued its support in December, 1954, and the team name returned to the Taiyo Whales. The franchise moved to Kawasaki, Kanagawa, and obtained an exclusive home field,, but ended up in last place six years in a row from 1954–1959.
In 1960, the team recruited Osamu Mihara, who had been manager of the Nishitetsu Lions the previous year. Mihara led the team to its first pennant in 1960, and swept the Pacific League champions in the Japanese championship series. The team had been in last place the previous year.
However, this success did not last long, and the team quickly fell back into last place in 1961. The Whales made a comeback in 1962, but trailed four games behind the Hanshin Tigers to end up in second place. They lost the league championship again to the Tigers in 1964, only one game away from first place.
The team produced countless star players during the 1970s, but rarely ended the season above the.500 mark. The small Kawasaki Stadium made the Whales one of the most offensively productive teams in Japanese baseball history, but a weak pitching staff, and lack of financial support put the team out of serious contention.
By 1976, the team had been planning on moving from Kawasaki to Yokohama, and support from the mayor of Yokohama allowed the team to gain financial support from the Kokudo Company. 55% of the team's share was retained by Taiyo, and the other 45% went to Kokudo.

Yokohama Taiyo Whales (1978–1992)

In 1978, the team moved to the newly-completed Yokohama Stadium in central Yokohama. The team name was changed to the Yokohama Taiyō Whales to reflect the team's new home town. The Kokudo Company sold its shares of the team to the Nippon Broadcasting System and TBS. The Nippon Broadcasting System obtained 30% of the shares, and TBS bought 15%, while Taiyo kept its 55%. The team enjoyed far more popularity during this period than in previous years, but continued to post only meager results in the standings, with their best placing being in 1979, when they finished second behind the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Yokohama BayStars (1993–2011)

In November, 1992, Taiyo changed its name to the Maruha Corporation, and renamed the team as the Yokohama BayStars. The BayStars were the first Japanese professional baseball team to not include the name of the parent company into the team name.
Originally, the team was going to be renamed simply to the Yokohama Whales, but new restrictions on whaling in Japan convinced the company to drop the original name. Some superstitious fans had believed that dead whales put a curse onto the team, preventing the Whales from winning championships. In his visit to the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa remarked to then-president Bill Clinton that the Maruha Corporation's decision was reflective of Japan's change in attitude towards whaling.
The BayStars remained a non-contender during the early 1990s, but gradually assembled the players that would contribute to the team's championship in 1998. Akihiko Ohya became manager in 1996, and almost caught up to the Yakult Swallows in 1997, ending in second place. Hiroshi Gondo became manager in 1998, and the BayStars won their first league championship in 38 years in 1998, defeating the Seibu Lions to win the Japanese championship series. The team's consistent hitting, impeccable defense, and solid pitching staff contributed to an epic 1998 season. The BayStars' offense in the '98 season became known as the "Machine Gun Offense" because of the quick succession of hits the Yokohama batters would get, and no game was ever over until the final out was recorded.
The team dropped to third place in 1999 despite having the best offense in Japan and also setting a league record for team batting average at.294, and has not been in serious contention for the championship ever since. In 2001, the Maruha Corporation sold its remaining shares to TBS, giving TBS full ownership of the team. Akihiko Ohya returned in 2007 after leaving the team in 1997. In 2009 the team finished at the bottom of the league despite having a few young stars on the team like slugger Shuichi Murata and league batting champion Seiichi Uchikawa, and also having the pitching of Daisuke Miura and the signing of foreign star Ryan Glynn.
On May 18, 2009, The BayStars' management announced it had fired Ohya and appointed Tomio Tashiro as acting manager.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2012–present)

In 2011, the franchise was acquired by a mobile telephone game company DeNA. The name was changed to reflect this, and they changed their mascot from Hosshey to Starman, who wore the new uniform.
In October 2015 Alex Ramírez, a former BayStars player and the only foreign-born player to have 2,000 hits in Japanese baseball, was named as manager for the 2016 season. He replaced Kiyoshi Nakahata, who resigned at the end of 2015 to take responsibility for the club's poor performance. In 2016, Yokohama DeNA BayStars completed the regular season in the third place with a winning percentage of.493, 19.5 games behind the league leader Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Defeating the second place Yomiuri Giants in Climax Series Stage 2, Yokohama DeNA BayStars advanced to Climax Series Stage 1 but the league leader Hiroshima Toyo Carp beat Yokohama DeNA Baystars to become Central League Champions. In 2017, Yokohama DeNA BayStars completed the regular season in the third place 14.5 games behind the league leader Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Their.252 team batting average and 134 home runs were both second best in the Central League. In Climax Series Stage 2, Yokohama DeNa BayStars defeated the second place Hanshin Tigers and advanced to Climax Series Stage 1. Although losing the first game against Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Yokohama DeNA BayStars won next four games to become 2017 Central League Climax Series Champions for the first time in 19 years since 1998. José López was the most valuable player of the Central League Climax Series. The BayStars advanced to the 2017 Japan Series against the Pacific League Champion Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. The Hawks won the first three games of the series. Facing elimination, the BayStars won Games 4 and 5. Returning home, the Hawks, trailing 3–2 in the ninth inning, Uchikawa hit a game-tying solo home run off of Yokohama DeNA BayStar's star closer, Yamasaki. Keizo Kawashima hit the walk-off RBI single for SoftBank in the eleventh inning for the title. Winning Game 6, the Hawks won the series, 4–2. Hawks' pitcher Dennis Sarfate, with two saves and a Game 6 win, was named the Japan Series Most Valuable Player. Toshiro Miyazaki won the Fighting Spirit Award, given to the best player on the losing team. It was the first Japan Series loss for the team.

Season-by-season records

YearTeam NamePlaceManager
1950Taiyo Whales5thTairiku Watanabe
1951Taiyo Whales6thHaruyasu Nakajima
Giichi Arima
1952Taiyo Whales4thTokuro Konishi
1953Taiyo Shochiku Robins5thTokuro Konishi
1954Yosho Robins6thTakeo Nagasawa
1955Taiyo Whales6thIsamu Fujii
1956Taiyo Whales6thMasami Sakohata
1957Taiyo Whales6thMasami Sakohata
1958Taiyo Whales6thMasami Sakohata
1959Taiyo Whales6thShigeo Mori
1960Taiyo Whales1st Osamu Mihara
1961Taiyo Whales6thOsamu Mihara
1962Taiyo Whales2ndOsamu Mihara
1963Taiyo Whales5thOsamu Mihara
1964Taiyo Whales2ndOsamu Mihara
1965Taiyo Whales4thOsamu Mihara
1966Taiyo Whales5thOsamu Mihara
1967Taiyo Whales4thOsamu Mihara
1968Taiyo Whales5thKaoru Betto
1969Taiyo Whales3rdKaoru Betto
1970Taiyo Whales3rdKaoru Betto
1971Taiyo Whales3rdKaoru Betto
1972Taiyo Whales5thKaoru Betto
1973Taiyo Whales5thKaoru Betto
1974Taiyo Whales5thKaoru Betto
1975Taiyo Whales5thNoboru Akiyama
1976Taiyo Whales6thNoboru Akiyama
1977Taiyo Whales6thKaoru Betto
1978Yokohama Taiyo Whales4thKaoru Betto
1979Yokohama Taiyo Whales2ndKaoru Betto
1980Yokohama Taiyo Whales4thKiyoshi Doi
1981Yokohama Taiyo Whales6th-
1982Yokohama Taiyo Whales5thJunzo Sekine
1983Yokohama Taiyo Whales3rdJunzo Sekine
1984Yokohama Taiyo Whales6thJunzo Sekine
1985Yokohama Taiyo Whales4thSadao Kondoh
1986Yokohama Taiyo Whales4thSadao Kondoh
1987Yokohama Taiyo Whales5thTakeshi Koba
1988Yokohama Taiyo Whales4thTakeshi Koba
1989Yokohama Taiyo Whales6thTakeshi Koba
1990Yokohama Taiyo Whales3rdYutaka Sudoh
1991Yokohama Taiyo Whales5thYutaka Sudoh
1992Yokohama Taiyo Whales5thYutaka Sudoh
Akira Ejiri
1993Yokohama Baystars5thAkihito Kondo
1994Yokohama Baystars6thAkihito Kondo
1995Yokohama Baystars4thAkihito Kondo
1996Yokohama Baystars5thAkihiko Ohya
1997Yokohama Baystars2ndAkihiko Ohya
1998Yokohama Baystars1st Hiroshi Gondoh
1999Yokohama Baystars3rdHiroshi Gondoh
2000Yokohama Baystars3rdHiroshi Gondoh
2001Yokohama Baystars3rdMasaaki Mori
2002Yokohama Baystars6thMasaaki Mori
2003Yokohama Baystars6thDaisuke Yamashita
2004Yokohama Baystars6thDaisuke Yamashita
2005Yokohama Baystars3rdKazuhiko Ushijima
2006Yokohama Baystars6thKazuhiko Ushijima
2007Yokohama Baystars4thAkihiko Ohya
2008Yokohama Baystars6thAkihiko Ohya
2009Yokohama Baystars6thAkihiko Ohya
Tomio Tashiro
2010Yokohama Baystars6thTakao Obana
2011Yokohama Baystars6thTakao Obana
2012Yokohama DeNA BayStars6thKiyoshi Nakahata
2013Yokohama DeNA BayStars5thKiyoshi Nakahata
2014Yokohama DeNA BayStars5thKiyoshi Nakahata
2015Yokohama DeNA BayStars6thKiyoshi Nakahata
2016Yokohama DeNA BayStars3rdAlex Ramirez
2017Yokohama DeNA BayStarsClimax Series Champions 3rdAlex Ramirez
2018Yokohama DeNA BayStars4thAlex Ramirez
2019Yokohama DeNA BayStars2ndAlex Ramirez

Roster

Former players

None

Honored numbers

MLB Players

Former:
They have been represented by various star-themed characters such as: