There were many highlights of this year's Japan Series, but the highlight may have been Game 5, Hanshin Tigers when the score was 2-0 with one out in the 8th inning. The highlight of the game was the tying run's two-run double by Softbank and Yuki Yanagita outfielder.
On mound was Daichi Ishii. He hadn't allowed runs in 56 consecutive games (55 innings pitched) in both regular season and postseason games, and hadn't allowed Home Run in 130 2/3 innings (514 batters) since being hit by Hideto Maki against DeNA on July 13, 2023. The hit to left field came off Ishii's right arm.
Sports Hochi commentator Ando Tomoo was also impressed by the hit. He praised the 37-year-old veteran's hitting, saying, "It was a tying home run in the eighth inning that showed the true strength of Softbank 's Yanagita. Ishii's fastball had good grip and course, but it was sent all the way to the stands. If it had been a Central League hitter that he normally faces, he would have been overwhelmed by the power of the ball and would have either hit a fly ball to left field or a foul ball."
Yanagi batted first in all five games of the series, hitting a hit of 10 hit in each game. This tied the record for the most successful five-game series. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award with 10 hit in 22 At Bat bats for a batting average of .455, but he also set another major record.
That is a batting average of .300 on the "three major stages." Until last year, his career batting average in the Japan Series was .299, but this year's results have made it .321. He has achieved .312 in regular season and .320 in the All-Star Game, achieving .300 in three games.
regular season career batting average rankings in the Official Baseball Guide record collection are based on players with 4,000 or more At Bat. Of those, there were 27 ".300 hitter." Of those, only two also hit .300 in the Japan Series and All-Star Game. One was Shigeo Nagashima (.350 in regular season, .343 in the Series, .313 in the All-Star Game), and the other was Hisanori Suzuki, the Yokohama hitter who became the 1998 Japan Series MVP (.330 in regular season, .480 in the Series, .490 in the All-Star Game).
Ichiro, who hit .353 in regular season regular season fewer than 4,000 At Bat finished with a .263 batting average in the Japan Series. Also, Bass, who hit .337 in official games, finished with a .240 batting average in the All-Star Game. Looking at their numbers, you can see how difficult it is to hit .300 on all three major stages.
It's also worth noting that while Suzuki only had a high batting average in one Japan Series, Yanagi has been hitting more and more. Up until 2019, his batting average in the five series was .276, but in the three series since the 2020s, he's hit .393 with 24 At Bat in 61 hit. It's clear that as he's gotten older, he's shown his competitive edge on the big stage.
By the way, former players never had the opportunity to play in the Climax Series. Yanagida holds the records for most runs (33), hit (57), Home Run (10), RBI (36), and bases (95), but his batting average is only .281. Hopefully, he will also be able to clear .300. (Titles omitted)
*Reference material: Official Baseball Guide
Toyoaki Hiruma (Baseball Analyst)
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