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Tokyo Yakult Swallows
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Japanese: 東京ヤクルトスワローズ, Hepburn: Tōkyō Yakuruto Suwarōzu) are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri Giants. They have won nine Central League championships and six Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they have played their home games at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, Yakult Honsha. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways (known as Kokutetsu (国鉄) in Japanese) and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei Shimbun from 1965 to 1968 and called the Sankei Atoms. Yakult purchased the team in 1970 and renamed it the Yakult Atoms, before renaming it again as the Yakult Swallows in 1974, and then the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2006.
The franchise was established for the first time in 1950 when the team was created by the owners of what was then Japanese National Railways (now the privatized Japan Railways Group). The team name was made the Kokutetsu Swallows. The team never finished with a winning record in their entire first decade of the 1950s. In 1961, the team ended up being third in the league for first time in their team history. Kokutetsu chose "Swallows" as JNR had an express railway, which at the time, was the fastest in Japan, which was named Tsubame (or 'swallow' in English). Other name ideas were railway themed, such as "Service" or "Whistles". Express was also considered, but was put out, due to fears within JNR of the team's name in headlines like "Express crashing" when the team was in a slump, or "Express explodes" when the team began winning a lot. (This similar issue would be the reason why Randy Bass would have his name lengthened in Japanese as Bāsu (バース; Japanese pronunciation: [baːsɯ]), due to Hanshin owning a bus line at the time, and bus in Japanese is known as basu (バス), which would similarly have a negative impact on Hanshin's bus line.)
Pitcher Masaichi Kaneda, nicknamed "The Emperor", starred for the team during this era and was the league's most dominant pitcher. Kaneda holds numerous career records in the Japanese leagues. For the Swallows, he went 14 straight seasons with at least 20 wins, led the league in strikeouts 10 times, wins three times, ERA three times, and won the Eiji Sawamura Award three times. Kaneda pitched for the Swallows from 1950 to 1964.
In 1965, the team was bought by Sankei Shimbun and Sankei retained the Swallows name for 1 year before switching their name to the Atoms, as they were one of the leading advocates of nuclear energy and because of Astro Boy, which is known as Mighty Atom in Japan, hence the name of the team. Astro Boy would then be part of the team's logo. Sankei, however, underestimated how costly running a baseball team was, and their ownership would only last 3 seasons.
In 1970, Sankei Shimbun offloaded the team to Yakult Honsha, and Yakult kept the Atoms name for 3 seasons before changing the name, as by 1973, Mushi Production, the creators of Astro Boy, went bankrupt. Originally, Yakult ran a poll to determine the new name, and announced the winning name, Jaguars, at the 1973 All Star break, and the name was supposed to take effect starting the 1974 season. However, amidst fan pressure, Yakult dropped the idea, and reverted to the Swallows name. Sankei kept a minority stake in the team, negotiating a deal that broadcasts all Swallows home games on Fuji TV ONE.
The team won its first Japan Series championship in 1978.
In 1990, Katsuya Nomura became the new manager of Swallows, making drastic changes in the team. Although his first year with the Swallows resulted in them finishing in fifth place, the Swallows improved to third in the league the next year for the first time since 1980. From 1992 to 2001, the team won five Central League championships, prevailing in the Japan Series in 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2001. (Nomura managed the team to the first three of those championships.)
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Tokyo Yakult Swallows
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Japanese: 東京ヤクルトスワローズ, Hepburn: Tōkyō Yakuruto Suwarōzu) are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri Giants. They have won nine Central League championships and six Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they have played their home games at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, Yakult Honsha. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways (known as Kokutetsu (国鉄) in Japanese) and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei Shimbun from 1965 to 1968 and called the Sankei Atoms. Yakult purchased the team in 1970 and renamed it the Yakult Atoms, before renaming it again as the Yakult Swallows in 1974, and then the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2006.
The franchise was established for the first time in 1950 when the team was created by the owners of what was then Japanese National Railways (now the privatized Japan Railways Group). The team name was made the Kokutetsu Swallows. The team never finished with a winning record in their entire first decade of the 1950s. In 1961, the team ended up being third in the league for first time in their team history. Kokutetsu chose "Swallows" as JNR had an express railway, which at the time, was the fastest in Japan, which was named Tsubame (or 'swallow' in English). Other name ideas were railway themed, such as "Service" or "Whistles". Express was also considered, but was put out, due to fears within JNR of the team's name in headlines like "Express crashing" when the team was in a slump, or "Express explodes" when the team began winning a lot. (This similar issue would be the reason why Randy Bass would have his name lengthened in Japanese as Bāsu (バース; Japanese pronunciation: [baːsɯ]), due to Hanshin owning a bus line at the time, and bus in Japanese is known as basu (バス), which would similarly have a negative impact on Hanshin's bus line.)
Pitcher Masaichi Kaneda, nicknamed "The Emperor", starred for the team during this era and was the league's most dominant pitcher. Kaneda holds numerous career records in the Japanese leagues. For the Swallows, he went 14 straight seasons with at least 20 wins, led the league in strikeouts 10 times, wins three times, ERA three times, and won the Eiji Sawamura Award three times. Kaneda pitched for the Swallows from 1950 to 1964.
In 1965, the team was bought by Sankei Shimbun and Sankei retained the Swallows name for 1 year before switching their name to the Atoms, as they were one of the leading advocates of nuclear energy and because of Astro Boy, which is known as Mighty Atom in Japan, hence the name of the team. Astro Boy would then be part of the team's logo. Sankei, however, underestimated how costly running a baseball team was, and their ownership would only last 3 seasons.
In 1970, Sankei Shimbun offloaded the team to Yakult Honsha, and Yakult kept the Atoms name for 3 seasons before changing the name, as by 1973, Mushi Production, the creators of Astro Boy, went bankrupt. Originally, Yakult ran a poll to determine the new name, and announced the winning name, Jaguars, at the 1973 All Star break, and the name was supposed to take effect starting the 1974 season. However, amidst fan pressure, Yakult dropped the idea, and reverted to the Swallows name. Sankei kept a minority stake in the team, negotiating a deal that broadcasts all Swallows home games on Fuji TV ONE.
The team won its first Japan Series championship in 1978.
In 1990, Katsuya Nomura became the new manager of Swallows, making drastic changes in the team. Although his first year with the Swallows resulted in them finishing in fifth place, the Swallows improved to third in the league the next year for the first time since 1980. From 1992 to 2001, the team won five Central League championships, prevailing in the Japan Series in 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2001. (Nomura managed the team to the first three of those championships.)
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