The 2020 Pennant Race

Central League

Champion Yomiuri Giants

Pacific League

Champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

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 Champion12067458.598—
2Hanshin Tigers12060537.5317.5
3Chunichi Dragons12060555.5228.5
4Yokohama DeNA BayStars12056586.49112.0
5Hiroshima Toyo Carp120525612.48113.0
6Tokyo Yakult Swallows120416910.37325.0

Pacific League

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RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Champion12073425.635—
2Chiba Lotte Marines12060573.51314.0
3Saitama Seibu Lions12058584.50015.5
4Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles12055578.49116.5
5Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters12053625.46120.0
6ORIX Buffaloes12045687.39827.0

Season highlights

Central League Longest win streak: Yomiuri Giants, 9 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Yomiuri Giants at +30 Days in first place: Yomiuri Giants (135 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Yomiuri Giants stood at 92.1% in this model.

Eventual champion Yomiuri Giants bottomed out at 22% in this model (as of Jun 19, 2020).

Pacific League Longest win streak: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 12 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at +31 Days in first place: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (106 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks stood at 76.5% in this model.

Eventual champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks bottomed out at 1.1% in this model (as of Jun 28, 2020).

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 .5002020 seasonnpbc.media−20±0+20JunJulAugSepOctNovG +22T +7D +5DB −2C −4S −28G best balance +30SG
Central League Games over .5002020 seasonnpbc.media−20±0+20JunAugSepOctNovG +22T +7D +5DB −2C −4S −28G best balance +30SG
Pacific League Games over .5002020 seasonnpbc.media−20±0+20JunJulAugSepOctNovH +31M +3L ±0E −2F −9B −23H best balance +31MEHEHMH
Pacific League Games over .5002020 seasonnpbc.media−20±0+20JunAugSepOctNovH +31M +3L ±0E −2F −9B −23H best balance +31MEHEHMH

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 time2020 seasonnpbc.media123456JunJulAugSepOctNovG #1T #2D #3DB #4C #5S #6
Central League Standings over time2020 seasonnpbc.media123456JunJulAugSepOctNovG #1T #2D #3DB #4C #5S #6
Pacific League Standings over time2020 seasonnpbc.media123456JunJulAugSepOctNovH #1M #2L #3E #4F #5B #6
Pacific League Standings over time2020 seasonnpbc.media123456JunJulAugSepOctNovH #1M #2L #3E #4F #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 calendar2020 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieYomiuri Giants67 - 45 - 8Hanshin Tigers60 - 53 - 7Chunichi Dragons60 - 55 - 5Yokohama DeNA BayStars56 - 58 - 6Hiroshima Toyo Carp52 - 56 - 12Tokyo Yakult Swallows41 - 69 - 10JunJulAugSepOctNov

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Pacific League Win-loss calendar2020 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieFukuoka SoftBank Hawks73 - 42 - 5Chiba Lotte Marines60 - 57 - 3Saitama Seibu Lions58 - 58 - 4Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles55 - 57 - 8Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters53 - 62 - 5ORIX Buffaloes45 - 68 - 7JunJulAugSepOctNov

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 time2020 seasonnpbc.media0%20%40%60%80%100%JunJulAugSepOctNovG 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%S 0%T 0%
Central League Pennant odds over time2020 seasonnpbc.media0%20%40%60%80%100%JunAugSepOctNovG 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%S 0%T 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2020 seasonnpbc.media0%20%40%60%80%100%JunJulAugSepOctNovH 100%B 0%E 0%F 0%L 0%M 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2020 seasonnpbc.media0%20%40%60%80%100%JunAugSepOctNovH 100%B 0%E 0%F 0%L 0%M 0%

Season rules and notes

  • Rows follow the official final standings (not necessarily in order of winning percentage).
  • Beyond the league schedule, "クライマックスS" (Climax Series) was held this season (2 games, 2020-11-14 to 2020-11-15). 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 (4 games, 2020-11-21 to 2020-11-25). The standings and charts on this page cover the league schedule only.
  • There is no interleague record for this season.

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