A look back at 1997: With Ichiro Suzuki hitting near .400 through the opening month of the season, fans may not have noticed the BlueWave stumbling before reaching first place in early May. Though the team briefly surrendered the PL lead to the Lions in July, Orix held the top spot until late August. For the remainder of the season, the BlueWave continued to recede from the pennant race, almost surrendering second place to the revitalized Buffaloes.

The lead Orix enjoyed for most of the season couldn't have been more fragile. At a few points, the Lions had pulled into a virtual tie for first place, only to stall. By the all star break, with the two teams again deadlocked, the BlueWave had compiled a 35 run surplus (316 runs scored minus 281 runs scored) while the Lions tallied a 74 run surplus (403 minus 329). Though they didn't have the wins to prove it, Seibu was overpowering the league. But with a lot of luck, good timing and pitching, Orix stayed in the hunt a lot longer than they had any business to.

In the final standings, Orix placed second with a 71-61 record (plus three ties), five games behind Seibu. Accordingly, the Lions held a 102 run surplus. The BlueWave, who had gone 29-29 with one tie in the final stretch, had only scored 38 more runs than they allowed in the entire season. Perhaps the only consolation prize for the BlueWave, other than superstar outfielder Ichiro Suzuki winning his fourth straight batting title, was that they had compiled a winning record against Orix (14-12, one tie).

Pitching: At first glance, the BlueWave's pitching might seem an improvement over their 1996 season. In 1997, their pitching ranked first in the league, whereas the Fighters held that distinction a year earlier. However, their 3.61 ERA in 1997 was actually worse than their 3.55 team ERA a year before.

Except for walks, by most other measures, the Orix pitching staff clearly declined. In 1997 the Orix mound crew allowed 1172 hits (1120 in 1996), 120 home runs (95), 39 hit batters (32), and 484 earned runs (468) while only striking out 788 batters (847).

While the team pitched very well in the first half of the 1997 season, compiling a fantastic 3.18 ERA going into the all-star break, the Orix pitching staff fell apart in the final two months. Finishing with a 3.61 ERA offers a big clue as to why the BlueWave couldn't hold on to first place. When the pennant race heated up, Orix hurlers went cold.

Against other teams in 1997, the BlueWave compiled the league's lowest ERA by giving up the fewest runs and earned runs while allowing the lowest number of hits. But Orix allowed more home runs than four other teams and posted the second lowest team strikeout total. With the low amount of hits and average number of walks and deadballs (hit batters), maybe the team didn't give up many home runs with runners on base. If so, perhaps the long balls they served up didn't do much damage.

Willie Fraser had a strong first season in Japan (3.07 ERA, 10-2), but went south a year later (4.39 ERA, 10-9). In addition, both Nobuyuki Hoshino and Koji Noda saw their ERAs go up slightly in 1997. Also a mystery is how much the musical chairs going on in the Orix bullpen (involving Masafumi Hirai, Taira Suzuki, Takahito Nomura, Hiroshi Kobayashi) for the closing role has affected the team's pitching.

Manager Akira Ogi likes to shift people around. Since he has a very talented staff to work with, there's a good chance he'll find the right combination in 1998.

Offense: Backed by Ichiro Suzuki, the BlueWave offense performed well for most of the season. But not good enough, and not as well as they did in 1996. Although Ichiro got off to a good start, batting around .400 for the opening months, he started to falter after May. In early June, his average stood at .379. By the all-star break, he'd fallen to .368 and at the end of the season the Orix superstar finished with a .345 mark. As Ichiro's hitting fell off, so did the BlueWave's.

Batting .268 at the all-star break, Orix finished with a team .263 average (fifth in the league), a drop from their first-place .271 average a year before. Aside from So Taguchi and Ichiro Suzuki (and newcomers Chris Donnels and Yoshitomo Tani) virtually the team's entire line-up saw their averages fall.

In most other offensive categories, the BlueWave fell behind most other teams in the league: 1110 hits (fifth), 208 doubles (fourth), 21 triples (tied for fourth), 111 home runs (fourth), 1774 total bases (fifth), 70 steals (fifth) and 582 runs (fourth). While striking out (848) more often than four other teams, the BlueWave led the league with 523 walks.

Though most of their numbers were down from their pennant-winning 1996 season, Orix did compile more doubles (+31), triples (+3), and steals (+7) in 1997. The increase in doubles is largely due to So Taguchi and Ichiro who together hit fifteen more than they did in 1996, and newcomer Chris Donnels who ten more doubles than the man he replaced, Doug Jennings.

Though the team got great performances from Ichiro and Donnels, both of whom posted nearly identical slugging and on base percentages, they'll need a lot more support from the rest of the batting order if they plan on winning the 1998 Pacific League Pennant.

Top Player: Ichiro Suzuki. With a .348 average over five seasons, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki already holds the records for most hits in a season (210 in 1994), highest Pacific League season average (.385 in 1995), and most consecutive at bats without a strikeout (216 in 1997). Ichiro, as he prefers to be called, is the only player to ever win four straight batting crowns, and joins former Hankyu Braves pitcher Hisashi Yamada as the only player to win the MVP in three straight seasons.

In 1997 Ichiro hit nearly .400 in the opening months of the season before slumping during the summer. Finishing with a disappointing .345 average, the lanky outfielder earned his fourth batting crown while also hitting seventeen home runs, stealing 39 bases and compiling 91 RBIs.

Surprise Player: Chris Donnels. Dumped by the Kintetsu Buffaloes after one reasonably good season (.281 average, 20 home runs), Donnels joined the BlueWave in early April. While batting .302 with seventeen home runs, the 31 year old slugger compiled a team-best .423 on-base percentage while hitting 25 doubles and earning 67 RBIs. Aside from Ichiro, Donnels was the team's most productive batter.

Biggest Disappointment: Willie Fraser. Though several successful players from 1996 flopped a year later, Fraser probably fell the farthest. After going 10-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 1996, Fraser fizzled a year later, earning a 10-9 record while giving up a lot of home runs and posting a 4.39 ERA.

Most over-rated: So Taguchi. Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza became a celebrity in Japan because he shares the television screen with Hideo Nomo. Likewise, So Taguchi's popularity probably has more to do with him sharing Ichiro's outfield than his playing ability.

New Faces: 19-year old rookie Tomoya Kawaguchi. Leading Heian high school to a runner-up finish at the summer high school baseball tournament at Koshien, Kawaguchi brings a strong fastball and tough-to-hit breaking ball with him to Orix. Harvey Pulliam, a 31-year old outfielder, batted .284 with the Colorado Rockies in 1997 and has compiled a career .262 average in six Major League seasons.

Wanting a crack at the Major Leagues, Orix lefty Takahito Nomura demanded to be traded to a North American team. When those plans fell through, he insisted that the BlueWave trade him to another Japanese team. The Giants worked out a deal that sent Masao Kida to the BlueWave in return for Nomura.

An erratic hurler who easily loses his concentration, Kida suffered arm trouble in 1997 and may not be in the best shape for 1998. Considering Nomura's reliability, the Giants apparently got the better part of the deal (though Nomura will likely bolt for the Major Leagues as soon as he becomes a free agent).

Strongest area: Led by Ichiro Suzuki, the BlueWave have a generally strong offense, though nearly everyone slumped in 1997. The team has a lot of depth in both defense and pitching.

Weakest area: The BlueWave still haven't found a reliable catcher they can stick with. Though the team is generally sound the loss of pitchers Shigetoshi Hasegawa (to the Anaheim Angels) and Takahito Nomura may weaken the Orix pitching staff. When Ichiro's batting cools, as it did in after the 1997 all-star break, the entire team appears to follow.

Biggest question mark: Pitching. Although the team's offense had been consistently below their 1996 pace, the BlueWave held on to first place until late August and were still in the pennant race until the end of September. But in the last two months of the season, their pitching went to hell and the team began faltering. Their ERA jumped from 3.18 in late July to 3.61 at the end of the season. Orix will need hot bats to get into the pennant race and good pitching to stay there. If their starters can stay consistent through the entire season, the BlueWave will have a good shot at reclaiming the PL flag.

Secret weapon: Yoshitomo Tani. A 25 year old rookie, Tani batted .272 with 21 doubles and four triples in his 101 games. Though not demonstrating much power and only compiling a .326 on base percentage, Tani should improve.

Fading star: Yoshinori Sato. After a twenty year career and over 160 wins, Sato is near the end of his twenty-year career. Though he pitched a no-hitter in 1995, the last two seasons he has struggled. The oldest Japanese active Japanese player at age 43, Sato and the BlueWave agreed to a contract extension for the 1998 season.