The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were born after the 2004 league restructuring crisis. From the entry of owner Hiroshi Mikitani, the struggle of a 38-win, 97-loss first season and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake to the first Japan Series title in 2013, this article follows the Tohoku team through its first nine years.
Masahiro Tanaka's unprecedented 24-0 season in 2013 that led Rakuten to their first championship, followed by seven Yankees seasons and his NPB return.
In 2004, the merger of Kintetsu and Orix made Pacific League dissolution and single-league transition a real possibility.
DeNA and Rakuten own NPB franchises while running primary businesses in IT and internet services, a rare combination. The strategic advantages this parentage delivers concentrate in the digital domain: viewing apps, ticketing, fan management, and data services. We analyze the digital revenue architecture that IT parent companies command in NPB by comparing the two against franchises with non-IT parents.
Senichi Hoshino, the 'Fighting General' who led three different teams to pennants: his 146-win playing career, the 2003 Hanshin miracle, and Rakuten's first championship in 2013.
Rakuten's 2013 championship, powered by Tanaka's unprecedented 24-0 season, culminated in his iconic Game 7 relief appearance one day after throwing 160 pitches.
Hideto Asamura emerged as a hitter-second baseman with Seibu and continued as a cleanup-caliber bat with Tohoku Rakuten after signing as a free agent. In NPB, second basemen are valued for bat control and base running, and players who combine that with power hitting are scarce. Through the path Asamura traveled from Seibu to Rakuten and a comparison of his records at both franchises, we analyze the rare value of a power-hitting second baseman.