Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines | |||||
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千葉ロッテマリーンズ | |||||
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Information | |||||
League | Nippon Professional Baseball
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Location | ZOZO Marine Stadium | ||||
Founded | November 26, 1949 | ||||
Nickname(s) | Kamome (鴎, seagulls) | ||||
PL pennants | 5 (1950, 1960, 1970, 1974, 2005) | ||||
Japan Series championships | 4 (1950, 1974, 2005, 2010) | ||||
Former name(s) |
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Former ballparks |
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Colors | Black, White | ||||
Mascot | Mar-kun, Rine-chan, and Zu-chan | ||||
Playoff berths | |||||
Retired numbers | |||||
Ownership | Katsumi Kawai | ||||
Management | Lotte Holdings | ||||
Manager | Masato Yoshii | ||||
Uniforms | |||||
The Chiba Lotte Marines (千葉ロッテマリーンズ, Chiba Rotte Marīnzu) are a professional
The "Marines" name originates from the name of the stadium they play in, which is officially named Chiba Marine Stadium, because the stadium is located right on the water.
Through 2022, the franchise's all-time record is 4733-4701-394 (.501).[1]
History
The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural member of the Pacific League, and were owned by the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. The Orions were named after the constellation of the same name.[2] The Marines won the inaugural Japan Series in 1950.
In 1958, the team was merged with the Daiei Unions and renamed the Daimai Orions, to reflect that both Daiei and Mainichi had a 50% stake in the team, with control being given to Daiei Film president Masaichi Nagata. In 1964 they became the Tokyo Orions, and the Lotte Orions in 1969. The franchise was slow to replicate its initial success: the Orions made the Japan Series in 1960 and 1970, only to lose both years.
The team played in central Tokyo until 1972. From 1973 to 1977 the Lotte Orions played in the northern Japanese city of Sendai. In 1974, they beat the Chunichi Dragons, becoming the first Pacific League team to win the Series in ten years, as the Yomiuri Giants had claimed the prior nine titles behind the Oh–Nagashima attack. After beating the Dragons, their owners, Lotte Holdings, decided to hold their victory parade in Tokyo, which shocked fans in Sendai. This eventually caused their attendance there to crash, from sold out games in 1973, to only about 2000-3000 for their last few years in Sendai.[3]
In 1977, the Orions signed
In 1978 the team returned to the Tokyo area, settling in
In 1992, the team moved to
The team failed to reach the Japan Series again until 2005. The Marines started the 2005 season in first place behind American manager Bobby Valentine, who had returned after having managed the team to a 2nd place finish in 1995 behind the Orix BlueWave, but struggles between him and general manager Tatsuro Hirooka had him leave after that lone season, but fell behind the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as the year progressed. Under the playoff format of the time, the preliminary five-game playoff round, prior to the Japan Series, saw the teams with the best first and second half records face off. The Marines defeated the Hawks three games to two in the Pacific League championship, winning the rubber match despite entering the eighth inning trailing, 2–1.
The Marines thus qualified for the
In 2010, the Marines clinched third place on the last day of the season to earn a berth into the Climax Series. They went on to become the first third place team to ever win the Climax Series,[citation needed] and faced off with the Chunichi Dragons in the 2010 Japan Series. The Marines defeated the Dragons in seven games, composed of four wins, two losses, and one tie, winning their second Japan Series in under ten years.
In 2013, the Marines clinched third place to clinch a berth in the Climax Series and faced the Saitama Seibu Lions in the first stage. They defeated the Lions in 3 games to move onto the final stage. They would lose to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 5 games, who would go on and defeat the Yomiuri Giants in 7 games to win their first (and still only) Japan Series title.
They would make it back in the playoffs in 2015. They defeated the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 3 games in the first round, then got swept by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who received a one game advantage for having the best record in the Pacific League.
The following season, they returned to the playoffs. They would make a much earlier exit, as they were swept by the Hawks in 2 games in the first stage.
It would not be until 2020 when they returned to the playoffs. The Hawks, with a 1 game advantage, would sweep them again in the first stage.
They bounced back the following year by defeating the Eagles in 2 games in the first stage, including a tie in the second game which allowed them to advance as they had the better record at 67-57-19, while the Eagles had a 66-62-15 record. They got swept by the Orix Buffaloes in the final stage in 3 games, however a tie in the third game and Orix having the better record at 70-55-18, allowed the Buffaloes to advance.
On April 10, 2022, Rōki Sasaki threw a perfect game, NPB's first in 28 years and the 16th in NPB history. Sasaki tied an existing NPB record by striking out 19 batters, and setting a new record by striking out 13 consecutive batters. [4] It didn't do much to help the season, as the Marines finished in 5th place with a 69-73-1 record, and Tadahito Iguchi would be let go after that season, replaced by Masato Yoshii.
The Marines would edge out the Hawks and Eagles in a close playoff race in 2023, finishing 2nd with a 70-68-5 record. They would defeat the Hawks in 3 games in the first stage, but lost in 5 games to the Buffaloes in the final stage, who also had a 1 win advantage for having the best record in Pacific League. That season would be the last for ZOZO Marine Stadium public address announcer Emi Taniho. Originally, she was given a farewell ceremony on October 7, 2023, her supposed last home game, which included many former Marines players, but she was given extended duty, as the Marines were appearing to make a run for the Climax Series. That game was also her 2,100th game announcing. Her actual last day with the team was on December 20.
This article needs to be updated.(March 2021) |
Current roster
Notable former players
- Benny Agbayani (also known as "Benny")
- Hiromitsu Ochiai
- Alfredo Despaigne
- Mike Diaz
- Jose Fernández
- Julio Franco
- Matt Franco
- Mel Hall
- Isao Harimoto
- Baek In-chun
- Pete Incaviglia
- Hideki Irabu
- Kazuya Fukuura (retired in 2019)
- Masaaki Kitaru
- Kiyoshi Hatsushiba
- Masahide Kobayashi
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka
- Satoru Komiyama (retired in 2009)
- Bill Madlock
- Leon Lee (father of Derrek Lee)
- Leron Lee (uncle of Derrek Lee)
- Choji Murata (elected to Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005)
- Jim Lefebvre
- Darryl Motley
- Bill R.W. Murphy
- Yuhei Nakaushiro
- Katsuo So
- Kazuhiro Yamauchi
- Akihito Igarashi
- Michiyo Arito
- Saburo Omura (also known as "Saburo", retired in 2016)
- Tomohiro Kuroki (also known as "Johnny Kuroki")
- Katsuya Nomura
- Tomoya Satozaki (retired in 2014)
- Dan Serafini
- Lee Seung-yuop
- Yokohama BayStarsin 2009)
- Kim Tae-kyun
- Norifumi Nishimura
- Shunsuke Watanabe
- Julio Zuleta
- Frank Bolick
- Derrick May
- Rick Short
- Brian Sikorski
- José Castillo
- Chen Kuan-yu
- Chen Wei-Yin
- Luis Cruz
- Toshihide Narimoto
- Makoto Kosaka
- Koichi Hori
- Adeiny Hechavarria
- Leonys Martín
- Hiroyuki Yamazaki
- Yukinaga Maeda
- Kazuhiko Ushijima
- Tadahito Iguchi
- Hideaki Takazawa
- Kihachi Enomoto
- Eric Hillman
MLB players
Retired:
- Hideki Irabu (1997–2002)
- Masato Yoshii (1998–2002)
- Satoru Komiyama (2002)
- Tadahito Iguchi (2005–2008)
- Masahide Kobayashi (2008–2009)
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka (2011–2012)
- Ryohei Tanaka (2009–2011)
- Yasuhiko Yabuta (2008–2009)
- Shunsuke Watanabe (2014)
- Yuhei Nakaushiro (2016–2018)
- Hirokazu Sawamura (2021–2022)
Honored number
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- 26 – This number was retired in honor of the Marines' fans in 2005. It was inspired by some teams in other sports (such as football, which retires "12" for the "12th man", or basketball, which retires "6" for the "6th man").The MLB's Los Angeles Angels has retired No. 26, in same fashion, for the founder Gene Autry.
Managers
No. | Years in office |
YR | Managers | G | W | L | T | Win% | Pacific League championships |
Japan Series championships |
Playoff berths |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1950–1951 | 2 | Yoshio Yuasa | 230 | 135 | 85 | 10 | .614 | 1 (1950) | 1 (1950) | |
2 | 1952 | 1 | Yoshio Yuasa Kaoru Betto (1st) |
120 | 75 | 45 | 0 | .625 | |||
3 | 1953 | 1 | Tadashi Wakabayashi | 120 | 56 | 62 | 2 | .475 | |||
4 | 1954–1959 | 6 | Kaoru Betto (2nd) | 834 | 467 | 341 | 26 | .578 | |||
5 | 1960 | 1 | Yukio Nishimoto | 133 | 82 | 48 | 3 | .631 | 1 (1960) | ||
6 | 1961–1962 | 2 | Mitsuo Uno | 272 | 132 | 136 | 4 | .493 | |||
7 | 1963–1965 | 3 | Yasuji Hondo | 440 | 203 | 227 | 10 | .472 | |||
8 | 1966 | 1 | Hitoshi Tamaru | 134 | 61 | 69 | 4 | .469 | |||
9 | 1967 | 1 | Katsuki Tokura, Watarui Nonin |
137 | 61 | 69 | 7 | .469 | |||
10 | 1968–1970 | 3 | Watarui Nonin | 399 | 216 | 164 | 19 | .568 | 1 (1970) | ||
11 | 1971 | 1 | Watarui Nonin, Keiji Ohsawa |
130 | 80 | 46 | 4 | .635 | |||
12 | 1972 | 1 | Keiji Ohsawa | 130 | 59 | 68 | 3 | .465 | |||
13 | 1973–1978 | 6 | Masaichi Kaneda (1st) | 780 | 374 | 339 | 67 | .525 | 1 (1974) | 1 (1974) | 2 (1974,1977) |
14 | 1979–1981 | 3 | Kazuhiro Yamauchi | 390 | 182 | 171 | 37 | .516 | 2 (1980,1981) | ||
15 | 1982–1983 | 2 | Kazuyoshi Yamamoto | 260 | 97 | 145 | 18 | .401 | |||
16 | 1984–1986 | 3 | Kazuhisa Inao | 390 | 185 | 175 | 30 | .514 | |||
17 | 1987–1989 | 3 | Michiyo Arito | 390 | 153 | 213 | 24 | .418 | |||
18 | 1990–1991 | 2 | Masaichi Kaneda (2nd) | 260 | 105 | 148 | 7 | .415 | |||
19 | 1992–1994 | 3 | Soroku Yagisawa | 390 | 160 | 224 | 6 | .417 | |||
20 | 1995 | 1 | Bobby Valentine (1st) | 130 | 69 | 58 | 3 | .543 | |||
21 | 1996 | 1 | Akira Ejiri | 130 | 60 | 67 | 3 | .472 | |||
22 | 1997–1998 | 2 | Akihito Kondo | 270 | 118 | 147 | 5 | .445 | |||
23 | 1999–2003 | 5 | Koji Yamamoto | 690 | 324 | 352 | 14 | .479 | |||
24 | 2004–2009 | 6 | Bobby Valentine (2nd) | 837 | 425 | 392 | 20 | .520 | 1 (2005) | 1 (2005) | 2 (2005,2007) |
25 | 2010–2012 | 3 | Norifumi Nishimura | 432 | 191 | 213 | 28 | .472 | 1 (2010) | 1 (2010) | |
26 | 2013–2017 | 5 | Tsutomu Itoh | 717 | 339 | 368 | 10 | .473 | 3 times (2013,2015,2016) | ||
27 | 2018–2022 | 5 | Tadahito Iguchi | 692 | 324 | 338 | 30 | .489 | 1 (2020,2021) | ||
28 | 2023– | 1 | Masato Yoshii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | ||
Totals | 71 seasons | 23 managers | 9,551 | 4,597 | 4,580 | 374 | .501 | 5 times | 4 times | 11 times |
Cheer dancers
The Marines' cheer dancing squad is known as M☆Splash!!. They were formed in 2004. Alongside the team's mascots Mar-kun, Rine-chan and Zu-chan, they entertain the crowd during Marines games, with 27 members.[6]
Mascots
Mar-kun (マーくん, Maa-kun) is a main mascot character of the Marines. With his girlfriend Rine-chan (リーンちゃん, Riin-chan) and his young brother Zu-chan (ズーちゃん, Zuu-chan), he entertains spectators at team games. Their name is a separateness of the team name. Originally Rine-chan wore a pink sports visor cap till the 2022 season when she wore the same baseball cap as her boyfriend while retaining the skirt, while Zu-chan wears the cap backwards and wears an apron instead of the jersey beginning 2022, before that he wore a shirt unless all three wear their team's special home uniforms.
Mysterious fish (謎の魚, Nazo-no-sakana) was a mascot character that was introduced in May 2017. He is a weird fish with legs.[7][8] He has collaborated with Hawaiian Airlines that former Marines' player Benny Agbayani works for, since 2018.[9] However, the person playing the mascot announced after the 2021 season that he would retire, which also meant the mascot was officially retired.[10]
Back when the team were known as the "Lotte Orions", their mascot was a character known simply as Bubble-Boy (バブル坊や, Bable-Boya) who only appeared as a logo.
In 2005, the Marines introduced a mascot named Cool-kun ( かっこいいくん, Kakkoi-kun), a penguin who was known for his acrobatic stunts and would often challenge mascots like Doala and B.B to acrobatic stunt contests at rival games. He also would be stuck up and rude at times, but he would burst to tears or show great emotion at the right time. Despite being friends with Mar-kun, they do not get along very well. In 2016, he was retired by the team.[11]
Minor League team
The Marines farm team plays in the Eastern League. The team was founded as the Mainichi Glitter Orions in 1950.
See also
- Lotte Giants
- Lotte Group
References
- ^ "千葉ロッテマリーンズ 年度別成績 (1950-2023)".
- ^ a b How Every NPB Team got its Name (feat. The Yakyu Cosmopolitan), retrieved 2022-02-08
- ^ Why Rays to Montreal will Inevitably Fail - The Story of the "Gypsy Lotte" Orions, retrieved 2022-01-27
- ^ (Kyodo News)
- ^ "Nippon Professional Baseball 千葉ロッテマリーンズ 年度別成績 (1950-2021)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ "M☆Splash!!とは|千葉ロッテマリーンズ". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ "Please observe the new fish mascot in the Nippon Professional Baseball league". Cut4. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- ^ "Here's the NPB fish mascot casually pushing a suitcase with hands protruding from inside its mouth". Cut4. 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- ^ "Creepy Evolving Japanese Baseball Mascot Reveals Its Fifth and Final Form". grape. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- ^ "【12/13(月)更新】謎の魚引退|千葉ロッテマリーンズ". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ^ "マスコットキャラクターCOOLについて|千葉ロッテマリーンズ". 千葉ロッテマリーンズ オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-24.