Sports season
The 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 62nd season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950 . The season was delayed by the Tohoku earthquake . The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles , based in northern Japan, and coached by Senichi Hoshino , were particularly affected by the quake, as the Miyagi Baseball Stadium was badly damaged.[citation needed
Because of energy concerns following the earthquake, NPB also imposed restrictions on games during the regular season. A three-hour-thirty-minute rule was imposed. If a game went past the 3:30 mark, regardless of inning, the inning in question would be the last inning. A game would be called should any blackout occur during the game. The 3:30 clock starts at the first pitch of the game and continues in case of any delay.
[1]
At the season's end, the Yokohama BayStars was renamed as Yokohama DeNA BayStars as the owner changes.
Climax Series
Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.
First Stage Final Stage Japan Series 1 Chunichi Dragons 4 2 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 2 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2 3 Yomiuri Giants 1 CL1 Chunichi Dragons 3 PL1 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4 1 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4 2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 0 3 Saitama Seibu Lions 0 3 Saitama Seibu Lions 2
First stage
The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), received byes to the championship round.
Central League
Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2) vs. Yomiuri Giants (1)
Game
Date
Score
Location
Time
Attendance
1
October 29
Yomiuri Giants – 2, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3
Meiji Jingu Stadium 3:28
32,339[1]
2
October 30
Yomiuri Giants – 6, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2Meiji Jingu Stadium
3:24
32,148[2]
3
October 31
Yomiuri Giants – 1, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3
Meiji Jingu Stadium
2:51
31,687[3]
Pacific League
Saitama Seibu Lions (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (0)
Game
Date
Score
Location
Time
Attendance
1
October 29
Saitama Seibu Lions – 5, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 2Sapporo Dome 3:55
42,063[4]
2
October 30
Saitama Seibu Lions – 8, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 1Sapporo Dome
3:15
41,926[5]
Final stage
The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), received a one-game advantage.
Central League
Chunichi Dragons (4) vs. Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2)
Game
Date
Score
Location
Time
Attendance
1
November 2
Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 2
Nagoya Dome 3:05
34,689[6]
2
November 3
Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3, Chunichi Dragons – 1Nagoya Dome
2:53
38,414[7]
3
November 4
Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2, Chunichi Dragons – 1Nagoya Dome
3:50
37,599[8]
4
November 5
Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 5
Nagoya Dome
3:08
38,342[9]
5
November 6
Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 2
Nagoya Dome
2:51
38,252[10]
Pacific League
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (4) vs. Saitama Seibu Lions (0)
Game
Date
Score
Location
Time
Attendance
1
November 3
Saitama Seibu Lions – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4
Yahoo Dome 2:57
37,025[11]
2
November 4
Saitama Seibu Lions – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 7
Yahoo Dome
3:10
35,021[12]
3
November 5
Saitama Seibu Lions – 1, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2
Yahoo Dome
4:00
37,025[13]
Japan Series
PL Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (4) vs. CL Chunichi Dragons (3)
Game
Date
Score
Location
Time
Attendance
1
November 12
Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1Fukuoka Dome 3:31
34,457[14]
2
November 13
Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1Fukuoka Dome
3:44
34,758[15]
3
November 15
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4, Chunichi Dragons – 2Nagoya Dome 3:22
38,041[16]
4
November 16
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2, Chunichi Dragons – 1Nagoya Dome
3:40
38,041[17]
5
November 17
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5, Chunichi Dragons – 0Nagoya Dome
3:49
38,051[18]
6
November 19
Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1Fukuoka Dome
3:07
34,927[19]
7
November 20
Chunichi Dragons – 0, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 3
Fukuoka Dome
3:30
34,737[20]
