The 2023 Pennant Race

Central League

Champion Hanshin Tigers

Pacific League

Champion ORIX Buffaloes

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

Final standings (official)

Central League

Scroll right for more

RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1Hanshin Tigers Champion14385535.616—
2Hiroshima Toyo Carp14374654.53211.5
3Yokohama DeNA BayStars14374663.52912.0
4Yomiuri Giants14371702.50415.5
5Tokyo Yakult Swallows14357833.40729.0
6Chunichi Dragons14356825.40629.0

Pacific League

Scroll right for more

RankTeamGWLTPCTGB
1ORIX Buffaloes Champion14386534.619—
2Chiba Lotte Marines14370685.507215.5
3Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks14371693.507115.5
4Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles14370712.49617.0
5Saitama Seibu Lions14365771.45822.5
6Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters14360821.42327.5

Season highlights

Central League Longest win streak: Hanshin Tigers, 11 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): Hanshin Tigers at +36 Days in first place: Hanshin Tigers (142 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion Hanshin Tigers stood at 96.9% in this model.

Eventual champion Hanshin Tigers bottomed out at 13.1% in this model (as of Apr 26, 2023).

Pacific League Longest win streak: ORIX Buffaloes, 8 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): ORIX Buffaloes at +35 Days in first place: ORIX Buffaloes (112 days)

At the end of August, eventual champion ORIX Buffaloes stood at 99.8% in this model.

Eventual champion ORIX Buffaloes bottomed out at 5.3% in this model (as of Apr 9, 2023).

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 .5002023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctT +32C +9DB +8G +1D −26S −26T best balance +36TCTSTDBTCT
Central League Games over .5002023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctT +32C +9DB +8G +1D −26S −26T best balance +36TCTDBTCT
Pacific League Games over .5002023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctB +33H +2M +2E −1L −12F −22B best balance +35HMBMBMBHMBHBB
Pacific League Games over .5002023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague−20±0+20+40AprMayJunJulAugSepOctB +33H +2M +2E −1L −12F −22B best balance +35HMBMBMBHHB

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 time2023 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctT #1C #2DB #3G #4S #5D #6
Central League Standings over time2023 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctT #1C #2DB #3G #4S #5D #6
Pacific League Standings over time2023 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctB #1M #2H #3E #4L #5F #6
Pacific League Standings over time2023 seasonnpbc.media123456AprMayJunJulAugSepOctB #1M #2H #3E #4L #5F #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.

Scroll right for more

Central League Win-loss calendar2023 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieHanshin Tigers85 - 53 - 5Hiroshima Toyo Carp74 - 65 - 4Yokohama DeNA BayStars74 - 66 - 3Yomiuri Giants71 - 70 - 2Tokyo Yakult Swallows57 - 83 - 3Chunichi Dragons56 - 82 - 5AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

Scroll right for more

Pacific League Win-loss calendar2023 seasonnpbc.mediaWinLossTieORIX Buffaloes86 - 53 - 4Chiba Lotte Marines70 - 68 - 5Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks71 - 69 - 3Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles70 - 71 - 2Saitama Seibu Lions65 - 77 - 1Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters60 - 82 - 1AprMayJunJulAugSepOct

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 time2023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctT 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%G 0%S 0%
Central League Pennant odds over time2023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctT 100%C 0%D 0%DB 0%G 0%S 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctB 100%E 0%F 0%H 0%L 0%M 0%
Pacific League Pennant odds over time2023 seasonnpbc.mediaInterleague0%20%40%60%80%100%AprMayJunJulAugSepOctB 100%E 0%F 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
Hanshin Tigers7 - 10 - 1
Hiroshima Toyo Carp9 - 9 - 0
Yokohama DeNA BayStars11 - 7 - 0
Yomiuri Giants11 - 7 - 0
Tokyo Yakult Swallows7 - 11 - 0
Chunichi Dragons7 - 10 - 1

Pacific League

TeamW - L - T
ORIX Buffaloes11 - 7 - 0
Chiba Lotte Marines7 - 9 - 2
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks11 - 7 - 0
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles9 - 9 - 0
Saitama Seibu Lions6 - 12 - 0
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters10 - 8 - 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, 2023-07-19 to 2023-07-20). 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 (5 games, 2023-10-14 to 2023-10-16). 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 (7 games, 2023-10-18 to 2023-10-21). 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 (7 games, 2023-10-28 to 2023-11-05). 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.