The 2009 Pennant Race

Central League

Champion Yomiuri Giants

Pacific League

Champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

A season archive covering the standings and game results. Rows follow the official final standings.

Final standings (official)

Central League

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RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Yomiuri Giants Champion14489469.659—
2Chunichi Dragons14481621.56612.0
3Tokyo Yakult Swallows14471721.49722.0
4Hanshin Tigers14467734.47924.5
5Hiroshima Toyo Carp14465754.46426.5
6Yokohama BayStars14451930.35442.5

Pacific League

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RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Champion14482602.577—
2Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles14477661.5385.5
3Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks14474655.5326.5
4Saitama Seibu Lions14470704.50011.0
5Chiba Lotte Marines14462775.44618.5
6ORIX Buffaloes14456862.39426.0

Season highlights

Central League Longest win streak: Yomiuri Giants, 10 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Yomiuri Giants at +45 Days in first place: Yomiuri Giants (155 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Yomiuri Giants stood at 91% in this model.

Eventual champion Yomiuri Giants bottomed out at 5.2% in this model (as of Apr 5, 2009).

Pacific League Longest win streak: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, 9 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at +26 Days in first place: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (128 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters stood at 96.1% in this model.

Eventual champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters bottomed out at 3.8% in this model (as of Apr 5, 2009).

Days in first place are counted per day with games played.

Games over .500

Balance = wins minus losses. The horizontal zero line is the .500 mark. The ▼ marks along the top of the plot show the days the lead changed hands, colored for the new leader.

Central League Games over .5002009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague±0+50AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG +43D +19S −1T −6C −10DB −42G best balance +45G
Central League Games over .5002009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague±0+50AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG +43D +19S −1T −6C −10DB −42G best balance +45G
Pacific League Games over .5002009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF +22E +11H +9L ±0M −15B −30F best balance +26LFEFEFHF
Pacific League Games over .5002009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF +22E +11H +9L ±0M −15B −30F best balance +26LFEFHF

Standings over time

Daily standings ordered by winning percentage (wins over decisions) at the end of each day. Teams tied on percentage share the same rank, so lines can overlap. Official tiebreakers such as head-to-head records are not applied to the daily series.

Central League Standings over time2009 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG #1D #2S #3T #4C #5DB #6
Central League Standings over time2009 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG #1D #2S #3T #4C #5DB #6
Pacific League Standings over time2009 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF #1E #2H #3L #4M #5B #6
Pacific League Standings over time2009 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF #1E #2H #3L #4M #5B #6

Win-loss calendar

A tall dark cell is a win, a short light cell a loss, and a thin line a tie - the heights keep the chart readable even without color. Doubleheaders split the day's cell vertically.

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Central League Win-loss calendar2009 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieYomiuri Giants89 - 46 - 9Chunichi Dragons81 - 62 - 1Tokyo Yakult Swallows71 - 72 - 1Hanshin Tigers67 - 73 - 4Hiroshima Toyo Carp65 - 75 - 4Yokohama BayStars51 - 93 - 0AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

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Pacific League Win-loss calendar2009 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters82 - 60 - 2Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles77 - 66 - 1Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks74 - 65 - 5Saitama Seibu Lions70 - 70 - 4Chiba Lotte Marines62 - 77 - 5ORIX Buffaloes56 - 86 - 2AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

Pennant odds over time

Estimates from re-running the current board's model on each day's data. Probabilities do not guarantee outcomes.

Central League Pennant odds over time2009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%S 0%T 0%
Central League Pennant odds over time2009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%S 0%T 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF 100%B 0%E 0%H 0%L 0%M 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2009 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF 100%B 0%E 0%H 0%L 0%M 0%

Interleague records

Interleague results only (rows in league and official-standings order, not by winning percentage).

Central League

TeamW - L - T
Yomiuri Giants12 - 9 - 3
Chunichi Dragons14 - 9 - 1
Tokyo Yakult Swallows15 - 9 - 0
Hanshin Tigers9 - 13 - 2
Hiroshima Toyo Carp14 - 9 - 1
Yokohama BayStars6 - 18 - 0

Pacific League

TeamW - L - T
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters12 - 11 - 1
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles9 - 15 - 0
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks18 - 5 - 1
Saitama Seibu Lions11 - 11 - 2
Chiba Lotte Marines9 - 12 - 3
ORIX Buffaloes8 - 16 - 0

Season rules and notes

  • Rows follow the official final standings (not necessarily in order of winning percentage).
  • Beyond the league schedule, "オールスター" (All-Star Series) was held this season (2 games, 2009-07-24 to 2009-07-25). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "パ CS 第1S" (Pacific League Climax Series First Stage) was held this season (2 games, 2009-10-16 to 2009-10-17). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "セ CS 第1S" (Central League Climax Series First Stage) was held this season (3 games, 2009-10-17 to 2009-10-19). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "セ CS 第2S" (Central League Climax Series Second Stage) was held this season (4 games, 2009-10-21 to 2009-10-24). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "パ CS 第2S" (Pacific League Climax Series Second Stage) was held this season (4 games, 2009-10-21 to 2009-10-24). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "日本シリーズ" (Japan Series) was held this season (6 games, 2009-10-31 to 2009-11-07). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "日韓クラブCS" (Japan-Korea Club Championship) was held this season (1 games, 2009-11-14 to 2009-11-14). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.

This page is reference material. Where it differs from the official records, the official records take precedence.