The 2012 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 Champion144864315.667—
2Chunichi Dragons144755316.58610.5
3Tokyo Yakult Swallows144686511.51120.0
4Hiroshima Toyo Carp144617112.46226.5
5Hanshin Tigers144557514.42331.5
6Yokohama DeNA BayStars144468513.35141.0

Pacific League

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RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Champion144745911.556—
2Saitama Seibu Lions14472639.5333.0
3Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks144676512.5086.5
4Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles144676710.5007.5
5Chiba Lotte Marines144626715.48110.0
6ORIX Buffaloes144577710.42517.5

Season highlights

Central League Longest win streak: Yomiuri Giants, 10 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Yomiuri Giants at +44 Days in first place: Yomiuri Giants (89 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Yomiuri Giants stood at 99% in this model.

Eventual champion Yomiuri Giants bottomed out at 0.1% in this model (as of Apr 7, 2012).

Pacific League Longest win streak: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 7 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at +17 Days in first place: Chiba Lotte Marines (73 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters stood at 31% in this model.

Eventual champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters bottomed out at 11.7% in this model (as of Apr 4, 2012).

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 .5002012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−40−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG +43D +22S +3C −10T −20DB −39G best balance +44CTDSDSDGDG
Central League Games over .5002012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−40−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG +43D +22S +3C −10T −20DB −39G best balance +44CTDSDDGDG
Pacific League Games over .5002012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF +15L +9H +2E ±0M −5B −20F best balance +17HMFMFMFMFLFLFLF
Pacific League Games over .5002012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF +15L +9H +2E ±0M −5B −20F best balance +17HMFMFFLFFL

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 time2012 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG #1D #2S #3C #4T #5DB #6
Central League Standings over time2012 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG #1D #2S #3C #4T #5DB #6
Pacific League Standings over time2012 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF #1L #2H #3E #4M #5B #6
Pacific League Standings over time2012 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF #1L #2H #3E #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 calendar2012 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieYomiuri Giants86 - 43 - 15Chunichi Dragons75 - 53 - 16Tokyo Yakult Swallows68 - 65 - 11Hiroshima Toyo Carp61 - 71 - 12Hanshin Tigers55 - 75 - 14Yokohama DeNA BayStars46 - 85 - 13AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

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Pacific League Win-loss calendar2012 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters74 - 59 - 11Saitama Seibu Lions72 - 63 - 9Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks67 - 65 - 12Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles67 - 67 - 10Chiba Lotte Marines62 - 67 - 15ORIX Buffaloes57 - 77 - 10AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

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 time2012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%S 0%T 0%
Central League Pennant odds over time2012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctG 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%S 0%T 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2012 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctF 100%B 0%E 0%H 0%L 0%M 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2012 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 Giants17 - 7 - 0
Chunichi Dragons12 - 8 - 4
Tokyo Yakult Swallows9 - 15 - 0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp10 - 11 - 3
Hanshin Tigers9 - 12 - 3
Yokohama DeNA BayStars9 - 14 - 1

Pacific League

TeamW - L - T
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters14 - 8 - 2
Saitama Seibu Lions13 - 11 - 0
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks8 - 13 - 3
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles10 - 14 - 0
Chiba Lotte Marines12 - 7 - 5
ORIX Buffaloes10 - 13 - 1

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 (3 games, 2012-07-20 to 2012-07-23). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "CS ファーストS" (Climax Series First Stage) was held this season (6 games, 2012-10-13 to 2012-10-15). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "CS ファイナルS" (Climax Series Final Stage) was held this season (9 games, 2012-10-17 to 2012-10-22). 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, 2012-10-27 to 2012-11-03). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • Beyond the league schedule, "アジアシリーズ" (Asia Series) was held this season (7 games, 2012-11-08 to 2012-11-11). 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.