Hanshin Tigers Win the Central League, Earn Climax Series Berth

Thumbnail: File: Hanshin Tigers_insignia By: Hanshin Tigers Baseball Club,Ltd. (in public domain)

Hanshin Tigers Win the Central League, Earn Climax Series Berth

Under first-year manager Fujikawa Kyuji, the Hanshin Tigers clinched the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Central League title in record time with a 2-0 win over the Hiroshima Toyo Carp on September 7 at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Hyōgo Prefecture.

Kinami Seiya and Sakamoto Seishiro both had multiple hits, and the Tigers’ pitching was brilliant, with ace starter Hiroto Saki going four innings before being ejected for throwing a dangerous pitch in the fifth inning. But the Hanshin bullpen was absolutely brilliant, with Atsuki Yuasa, Takuma Kirishiki, Masaki Oyokawa, Daichi Ishii, and Suguru Iwazaki all going one inning and allowing no runs.

Teruaki Satō and Hanshin will now play out the rest of the NPB Regular Season in September and early October before embarking on the Central League Climax Series—the equivalent of the MLB Playoffs—and hopefully the 2025 Japan Championship Series.

The 2025 NPB Regular Season will come to an end on October 2, 2025, and with three weeks to go, the Tigers (78-46-3) had a massive 16-game lead over second-place Yomiuri Giants (62-62-3) in the Central League Standings with Yokohama (59-82-5), Chunichi 58-68-2), and Hiroshima (54-67-5) all fighting for that third and final CL playoff spot.

SoftBank (75-46-4) leads the Pacific League, but the Hawks are still fighting with Nippon-Ham (73-50-3) in the league, with Orix (64-57-3) sitting comfortably in third place. In the NPB, the second- and third-place teams in each league meet in the opening round of the Climax Series in a best-of-3 showdown at the second-place team’s stadium in the Final Stage, with the winners facing the Regular Season pennant winners.

Two seasons ago, in 2023, Hanshin also won the Central League with an 85-53-5 record, followed by the franchise’s first Japan Series championship in 38 years (1985). Last year, in 2024, the Tigers finished in second place in the Central League with a 74-63-7 record.

After the Tigers clinched their league, jubilant Hanshi fans celebrated with some 29 people jumping into the Dotonbori River in the western Japanese city, with a weeklong sale hitting department stores in Osaka as the professional baseball team was celebrated.

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Hanshin Tigers Star Players This 2025 NPB Regular Season

Hanshin is currently the oddsmakers’ favorite (+150, bet $100 to win $150) to win the 2025 Japan Series, and the Tigers will be a tough team to beat with a Bye in the Climax Series round and Homefield Advantage in the best-of-6 Central League Final Stage.

This team has excelled in the field, at the plate, and on the mound with several Hanshin players putting up some eye-popping statistics as the Regular Season winds down. On offense, the Tigers have been led by slugger Teruaki Satō (36/90/.277), Takumu Nakano (0/26/.288), Kōji Chikamoto (2/33/.277), Shōta Morishita (20/80/.269), and Yūsuke Ōyama (9/66/.260).

The starting pitching for Hanshin has also been strong, with Hiroto Saki (12-5, CL-leading 1.62 ERA), Shoki Murakami (11-4, 2.12 ERA), and American Jon Duplantier (113 Ks) leading the way on the bump for the Central League champions.

The set-up bullpen has also been stellar with southpaw Masaki Oyokawa (6-3, 0.94 ERA and Atsuki Yuasa (4-4, 42.43), as have the Tigers closers, Suguru Iwazaki (1-2, 1.69 ERA) and Daichi Ishii (1-0, league-leading 0.18 ERA) for first-year manager Fujikawa Kyuji.

With hitting from Satō, Nakano, Morishita, and Ōyama, and pitching from Saki, Murakami, Oyokawa, Iwazaki, and Ishii, expect the Hanshin Tigers to advance from the Final Stage and make the 2025 Japan Series, which starts on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

Hanshin Tigers 2025 Regular Season Tickets Still Available

Before awaiting their opponents in the Final Stage of the Central League Playoffs, Hanshin will wrap up 2025 Regular Season play with a three-game series against the DeNA BayStars (September 9-11) at Home at Hanshien Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan before heading to Tokyo to face the Yomiuri Giants for a single game at the Tokyo Dome on Friday, September 12.

The Tigers will then return home and host Chunichi for two games, on September 14 and September 15, before heading to Hiroshima and MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium to feed the Carp on September 17 and September 18, where you can find tickets for as low as $4.94. Hanshi next hosts DeNA again for a pair of games on Friday, September 19, and Saturday, September 20.

Hanshin will play Tokyo Yakult for two games on September 21 and September 22 at Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, and then travel to Yokohama to face the DeNA BayStars at Yokohama Stadium on September 23. Tickets for that afternoon’s game can be found here at TicketX for as low as $29.04.

Saki and the Tora will welcome Chunichi to Hanshin Koshien Stadium near Kobe for the second-to-last homestand of the Regular Season, a three-game series with dates against the Dragons on September 26, September 27, and September 28.

The Central League champions will host Yakult again in the last game of the NPB Regular Season on Thursday, October 2, when they welcome the Swallows to Hanshin Koshien Stadium for a night game you can see for just $28.09.

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Where to Get 2025 Climax Series, Japan Series Tickets

With the 2025 NPB Regular Season coming to a close in October, that means the Postseason soon follows as three teams from the Central League and three teams from the Pacific League begin the two Climax Series in mid-October between the 2nd- and 3rd-place finishers in each league.

Central League winners Hanshin will host the winner of that Climax Series in the Final Stage, with the eventual Pacific League winners—SoftBank or Nippon-Ham—playing host to the Pacific League Climax Series survivors.

The two Central and Pacific league Final Stage winners then collide in the best-of-7 2025 Japan Series to determine a Japan Series champion and a “Nippon Ichi” (No. 1 in Japan, 日本一).

Whoever wins four games first is the champion, and ties are possible, so the NPB employs a 2—3—3—3 format. The Central League winner will have the Homefield Advantage (Games 1 and 2 and possibly 6 and 7) at Home. You can find NPB tickets for both Climax Series and Final Stage series, as well as for the Japan Series—the equivalent of the MLB World Series—here at TicketX.

2025 Japan Championship (Nippon) Series Schedule

⚾Game 1—Saturday, October 25, 2025 (at CL winners)

⚾Game 2—Sunday, October 26, 2025 (at CL winners)

⚾Game 3—Tuesday, October 28, 2025 (at PL winners)

⚾Game 4—Wednesday, October 29, 2025 (at PL winners)

⚾Game 5—Thursday, October 30, 2025 (at PL winners)

⚾Game 6—Saturday, November 1, 2025 (at CL winners)

⚾Game 7—Sunday, November 2, 2025 (at CL winners)

• if necessary

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Where to Watch the 2025 Japan Championship Series

TV viewers in Japan can watch the 2025 Japan Series on the live streaming service DAZN Japan, with some games airing on the Nippon Television Network (NTV), Fuji TV, and Pacific League TV.

For baseball fans living outside of Japan who want to watch the NPB Japan Championship Series, using a VPN to access a streaming service like team-specific YouTube channels or ABEMA-TV is recommended. You can also see NPB highlights on the Japan Ball website.

Last 10 Japan Championship Series Winners

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Pacific League have won six of the last 11 Japan Championship Series, with a new champion to potentially be crowned when the 2025 Japan Series begins with Game 1 on Saturday, October 25, 2025, between the winners of the Central League and the Pacific League playoffs.

The Pacific Division has won eight of the last 11 NPB championships, but the Central League has captured three of the last four titles, with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars becoming the league’s second straight Nippon Ichi. The Yomiuri Giants have won the most NPB titles with 22, their last coming in 2012.

• 2024—Yokohama DeNA BayStars (CL)

• 2023—Hanshin Tigers (CL)

• 2022—Orix Buffaloes (PL)

• 2021—Tokyo Yakult Swallows (CL)

• 2020—Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL)

• 2019—Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL)

• 2018—Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL)

• 2017—Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL)

• 2016—Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (PL)

• 2015—Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL)

2025 NPB Championship Series Winner Odds

• Hanshin Tigers +150

• Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks +250

• Nippon Ham Fighters +400

• Orix Buffaloes +900

• Yomiuri Giants +1400

• Yokohama Bay Stars +1600

• Hiroshima Carp +2200

• Rakuten Eagles +2500

• Seibu Lions +2500

• Chunichi Dragons +3300

• Chiba Lotte Marines +100,000

• Yakult Swallows +100,000

About the Hanshin Tigers

The Hanshin Tigers play in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball and are based in the city of Nishinomiya in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium (Grass). The team is owned by the Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and the Tigers are one of the oldest teams in Japanese pro baseball, playing their first season back in 1936 as the Osaka Tigers.

The Mōko have won the Japan Series two times (1985, 2023), the JBL Championships four times (Fall 1937, Spring 1938, 1944, 1947) and Hanshin has made the Playoffs 12 times—this will be their 13th appearance—and have now won seven Central League pennants (1962, 1964, 1985, 2003, 2005, 2023, 2025).

The team has had a number of name changes through the years. Because of anti-foreign sentiment and the Tojo government’s ban on English nicknames, the team was just called Hanshin in 1940. In 1947, the JPBL again allowed the use of nicknames, so the franchise became the Ōsaka Tigers. In 1961, the current Hanshin Tigers team name was adopted, with the club playing in the suburb of Nishinomiya, and not located in Osaka Prefecture.

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Hanshin Tigers in Major League Baseball (MLB)

We have seen many former Hanshin Tigers play in Major League Baseball (MLB) through the years, including retired players Cecil Fielder (319 MLB HR), Matt Keough, Marvell Wynne, Tony Tarasco, George Altman, Randy Bass, Dwayne Murphy, and Eduardo Pérez.

The team also has some former MLB players on its current Hanshin Tigers roster including First Teamers P Rafael Dolis (Cubs, Blue Jays), former Phillies and Yankees reliever Nick Nelson and INF Ramon Hernández (Diamondbacks) and Second Teamers P Jeremy Beasley (Diamondbacks, Blue Jays), P Grant Hartwig (Mets), and 2B Jon Duplantier (Diamondbacks).

Where to Find Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Tickets

You can find NPB tickets,  Hanshin Tigers tickets, and other sports tickets here at TicketX on the second-hand market with an industry-low flat fee of 20% for buyers and absolutely no commission fees for sellers. All sales on TicketX are backed by our 100% Buyer Guarantee—meaning verified tickets that get you in without worry, and should games be postponed or rescheduled, we will issue a full refund.

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First-time buyers looking for NPB Regular Season, Climax Series, Final Stage, and 2025 Japan Series tickets can get 10% off their purchases by using this special promo code.

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