2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season
# 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Seibu Lions defeating the Chunichi Dragons in the 2004 Japan Series. This season also saw the first and only players strike in Japanese professional baseball history. Players went on strike for two days in September because of the potential mergers and realignment.

## Format

### Central League

* Season Format
   * Regular Season
* Regular Season 1st place is the champion

### Pacific League

* Season Format
   * Regular Season
   * Playoff 1st Stage: Regular Season 2nd place vs. Regular Season 3rd place – Best of 3
   * Playoff 2nd Stage: Regular Season 1st place vs. Playoff 1st Stage winner – Best of 5
* Playoff 2nd Stage winner is the champion

### Japan Series

* Central League champion vs. Pacific League champion – Best of 7

## Standings

Note:Two games for each team are cancelled due to players' strike

### Central League

**Regular season**

| Central League | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chunichi Dragons | 138 | 79 | 56 | 3 | .583 | — |
| Yakult Swallows | 138 | 72 | 64 | 2 | .529 | 7.5 |
| Yomiuri Giants | 138 | 71 | 64 | 3 | .525 | 8.0 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 138 | 66 | 70 | 2 | .485 | 13.0 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 138 | 60 | 77 | 1 | .438 | 20.0 |
| Yokohama BayStars | 138 | 59 | 76 | 3 | .438 | 20.0 |

### Pacific League

**Regular season**

| Pacific League | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | 133 | 77 | 52 | 4 | .594 | — |
| Seibu Lions | 133 | 74 | 58 | 1 | .560 | 4.5 |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 133 | 66 | 65 | 2 | .504 | 12.0 |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 133 | 65 | 65 | 3 | .500 | 12.5 |
| Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 133 | 61 | 70 | 2 | .466 | 17.0 |
| Orix BlueWave | 133 | 49 | 72 | 2 | .376 | 29.0 |

**Playoff 1st Stage**

Seibu Lions (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (1)

| Game | Score | Date | Location |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 7, Seibu Lions – 10 | October 1 | Seibu Dome |
| 2 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 4 | October 2 | Seibu Dome |
| 3 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5, Seibu Lions – 6 | October 3 | Seibu Dome |

**Playoff 2nd Stage**

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (2) vs. Seibu Lions (3)

| Game | Score | Date | Location |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Seibu Lions – 3, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 9 | October 6 | Fukuoka Dome |
| 2 | Seibu Lions – 11, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 1 | October 7 | Fukuoka Dome |
| 3 | Seibu Lions – 6, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 5 | October 9 | Fukuoka Dome |
| 4 | Seibu Lions – 1, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 4 | October 10 | Fukuoka Dome |
| 5 | Seibu Lions – 4, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – 3 (10 innings) | October 11 | Fukuoka Dome |

## Japan Series

Chunichi Dragons (3) vs. Seibu Lions (4)

| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dragons – 0, Lions – 2 | October 16 | Nagoya Dome | 37,909 |
| 2 | Dragons – 11, Lions – 6 | October 17 | Nagoya Dome | 37,969 |
| 3 | Lions – 10, Dragons – 8 | October 19 | Seibu Dome | 23,910 |
| 4 | Lions – 2, Dragons – 8 | October 21 | Seibu Dome | 29,073 |
| 5 | Lions – 1, Dragons – 6 | October 22 | Seibu Dome | 31,526 |
| 6 | Dragons – 2, Lions – 4 | October 24 | Nagoya Dome | 38,120 |
| 7 | Dragons – 2, Lions – 7 | October 25 | Nagoya Dome | 38,050 |
