Hanshin becomes the first team to win back-to-back titles in the Professional Baseball Central League

On the 3rd, Hanshin became the first team to win back-to-back championships in the professional baseball Central League. They lost the match against Hiroshima at Mazda Stadium, where they had the magic number ``1'' to win the championship, but the second-place Giants lost to DeNA in a night game, so the championship was decided. This is the eighth time they have won the title, and the 12th time if you include the time in the 1st league.

Hanshin's difficult road to V2, surpassing rivals with overall strength - professional baseball

Under coach Kyuji Fujikawa, who is in his second year in office, the team has steadily racked up wins from the start and maintained a high ranking. Even in the second half of the match, which was a competitive battle with the giants, they never gave up the lead and made it through.

Hanshin, aiming to become number one in Japan for the first time in three years, will participate in the Climax Series (CS) final stage, which begins on October 14th, and will play against the winner of the CS first stage to advance to the Japan Series.

◇Short history of Hanshin baseball team

Founded in 1935 as the Osaka Tigers, the team changed its name to the Hanshin Tigers in 1961. He won four championships during his time in the 1st league. After changing to a two-league system, they won the Central League in 1962 and 1964, and in 1985, under manager Yoshida Yoshida, they became the team's first team to win the number one title in Japan. After a long period of stagnation, they won the league championship in 2003 under manager Senichi Hoshino. In 2005, manager Akifu Okada led them to victory in the Central League, and in 2023, when he returned, he led the team to their second title in Japan. Last season was the team's first league victory in two years under coach Kyuji Fujikawa, who was in his first year in office.