After some key off-season moves, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have returned to dominating the Pacific League with an eye toward winning yet another Japan Series championship.
The Hawks won their first PL pennant in four years on Monday, September 23 when the second-place Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters lost 6-4 to the Saitama Seibu Lions.
SoftBank beat the Orix Buffaloes 9-4 later that evening and then celebrated winning the pennant. The Hawks have NPB's best record with 86 wins, 47 losses and three ties for a winning percentage of .647 (through games of September 25).
"We worked so hard since the start of spring training for this day, so I felt great to be tossed in the air," Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo said, according to Kyodo News, of the doage ritual of players tossing their manager in the air after winning a pennant.
Bringing in Kokubo, a former star infielder on Hawks teams that won the Japan Series in 2003 and 2011 when he was the series MVP, was just one of the big moves the team made before the start of the 2024 season.
The Hawks won the Japan Series six of seven times between 2014 and 2020 but missed out the last three seasons when the Yoshinobu Yamamoto-led Buffaloes dominated with three straight pennants.
Yamamoto, of course, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the off-season bringing an abrupt end to Orix's dominant run.
Under the player-friendly Kokubo, the Hawks took the PL lead for good on April 4 and have never looked back.
Yamakawa Boosts SoftBank Hawks Lineup
Next to hiring Kokubo, the biggest move the Hawks made in the offseason was signing first baseman Hotaka Yamakawa after a scandal tarnished his image with the Lions.
Simply put, Yamakawa has been the best power hitter in the league by far. As of this writing, he leads the league with 33 homers and 95 RBIs.
Outfielder Kensuke Kondoh, a 2023 free agent pickup, has produced his second straight MVP-caliber season and has a league-leading .314 batting average.
Ukyo Shuto continues to be a solid leadoff hitter with 41 steals so far while Ryoya Kurihara has had a bounce-back season with 17 homers and 79 RBIs after missing much of the last two seasons.
Kokubo challenged his players to be better this season and they have lived up to the expectations.
"At the start of the season, I told my players that they should try to be irreplaceable and they played really well," Kokubo said, according to Kyodo.
Moinelo Bolsters Starting Rotation
Another move that paid off for the Hawks was converting left-handed relief ace Livan Moinelo to a starter and he came through with flying colors.
The 29-year-old native of Cuba is 11-5 with a league-leading 1.94 ERA and 151 strikeouts.
Kohei Arihara has been SoftBank's most consistent starter with a 13-7 record, a 2.42 ERA and 120 strikeouts.
Stewart Shines for SoftBank Hawks
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Carter Stewart Jr finally found his footing in Japan and has put up a record of 9-4 with a stellar 1.95 ERA and 105 strikeouts.
In his most recent win on Wednesday, September 25, Stewart held the Lions hitless over five innings en route to a 2-0 win.
Three SoftBank relievers then combined to hold the Lions hitless until closer Roberto Osuna gave up a two-out triple to Daiju Omura in the ninth inning.
Stewart was considered one of the top prospects of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft and was chosen by the Atlanta Braves with the eighth overall pick.
Due to a wrist injury, Atlanta offered a signing bonus below the full value of the draft slot and Stewart did not sign with the Braves.
Instead, he opted to sign a six-year contract with the Hawks in 2019. While some questioned the decision, it now appears that Stewart made a good move.
After two seasons in the minors, the 24-year-old is now a bona fide big leaguer in Japan and signed a two-year, $10 million USD (¥1.4 billion JPY) contract extension with the Hawks in 2023.
Could he have made more money in the United States? Possibly, but he seems happy in Japan and one could make the argument that choosing NPB over MLB has paid off for him and the Hawks.
Fellow starter Shuta Ishikawa is 7-2 with a 2.56 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 15 games.
With a starting rotation that could feature Arihara, Moinelo, Stewart Jr and Ishikawa, the Hawks would be tough to beat in a short series.
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Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.
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