Despite their strong mound staff, the Lions sat within a whisker of first place because of their batting and base running. Though Lions batters only hit 59 home runs (fifth in the league) before the break, the Seibu offense batted .287. Scoring more often than any other team, the Lions compiled 74 more runs than they allowed, far better than the BlueWave's 35 run surplus.

Keeping up the same pace while the Orix pitching staff fell apart, the Lions went 32-22 after the break, taking over first place on August 27. By the end of the season, the Lions took the PL flag with a 76-56 record and three ties, five games above second-place Orix. Accordingly, Seibu gathered a 102 run surplus, far exceeding the BlueWave's 38.

Going into the Japan Series, many critics gave the edge to the Lions. Despite a team 3.63 ERA (second in the league) and a .287 average (first) with 200 stolen bases (first) during the regular season, Seibu fell to the Swallows in five games. A young team without much post-season experience, the Lions batted .229 with three steals and Seibu pitchers compiled a 3.14 ERA during the series.

Pitching: The Lions have a good pitching staff, though not quite as dominant as most critics seem to believe. Their strength lies in the core of their starting rotation, with Fumiya Nishiguchi, Kiyoshi Toyoda and Tetsuya Shiozaki earning three of the league's seven lowest ERAs. Nishiguchi took the 1997 Sawamura and MVP awards with a 15-5 record while posting a 3.12 ERA and leading the circuit in strikeouts (192).

Though only earning 86 strikeouts, Kiyoshi Toyoda compiled a 2.93 ERA while earning a 10-6 record. Rounding out the top three with a 12-7 record, Tetsuya Shiozaki led the team with a 2.90 ERA. With these three hurlers compiling twenty-one complete games, it's not surprising that the Lions held the Pacific League's second lowest team ERA, 3.63, a very slim margin behind the Orix mound staff.

In 1998, these hurlers will be joined by Nippon Ham ace Yukihiro Nishizaki and Yakult's Terry Bross. Both have just come off mediocre years, but the Lions are apparently hoping to squeeze about twenty wins out of the pair. On one sports program, Swallows manager Katsuya Nomura claimed that Bross was let go because he had a terrible pick-off throw and was lousy at scooping up bunted balls. Nearly all of the players the Lions picked up in the annual draft were pitchers, so the team apparently wants to strengthen its mound staff.

One of the problems with the Lions bullpen is only one member, Takehiro Hashimoto, compiled an ERA lower than the three main starters. No wonder that manager Higashio let Nishiguchi, Toyoda and Shiozaki combine for twenty-one complete games.

Earning seventeen save points, more than any other Lions pitcher, Takashi Ishii posted an 8-8 record with nine saves and a 3.99 ERA in 88 innings of relief. Runner-up with fifteen save points, rookie Shinji Mori saved nine games while going 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA.

Manager Higashio has been accused of not knowing what to do with his pitching staff. There hardly seems to be any well-defined roles. Ishii and Mori bounced between starting and relieving and even starter Nishiguchi earned three save points. A master of bad-timing, Higashio sent washed-up starter Hisanobu Watanabe into game three of the Japan Series, whereupon the fading all-star allowed four hits and two earned runs in one inning. One has to wonder if the Seibu manager has any idea how to use his bullpen.

The Lions may have one of the top starting rotations in Japan, but their bullpen is very inconsistent. Perhaps with the addition of Yukihiro Nishizaki to the Lions rotation, Seibu will have a more complete starting rotation and can concentrate more on who will relieve. But if Higashio plans on using the same strategy (or lack of) in 1998, the Lions' luck may run out.

Offense: The Seibu team that took the 1997 PL pennant differs radically from the team that dominated the Pacific League in the 1980s. Gone are the power hitters like Koji Akiyama, Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Orestes Destrade that gave the Lions an explosive punch. Collecting only 110 home runs, the fourth lowest total of any Japanese team, today's Lions rely far more on speed.

Led by shortstop Kazuo Matsui, the Lions swiped 200 bases in 1997, far surpassing that of any other team. Seibu also topped the Pacific League in team hits (1,293), doubles (231), triples (31), total bases (1,940) and RBIs. With the best team batting average in Japan (.281), Seibu got runners in scoring position more often than any other team.

Four players batted over .300, with Ken Suzuki leading the pack while batting .312 with 34 doubles, nineteen home runs and 94 RBIs. The third baseman also has a good eye, collecting ninety walks (against 74 strikeouts) to boost his on-base percentage to .431. Though best known for stealing 62 bases, Kazuo Matsui batted .309 with thirteen triples. Perhaps because he has been forced to bat from both sides of the plate, the swift shortstop also struck out 89 times.

Only imported slugger Domingo Martinez whiffed more often (103). Still, the portly DH from the Dominican Republic clubbed 31 home runs with 108 RBIs and a .549 slugging percentage while batting .304. Rounding out the top four, right fielder Makoto Sasaki, who has seen most of his offensive numbers decline in recent years, batted .304 with 57 RBIs.

The Lions also got good offensive support from catcher Tsutomu Ito (.282 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs), Taisei Takagi (.295 with 24 stolen bases and 64 RBIs) and Susumu Otomo (.278 with 31 stolen bases).

During the Japan Series, the Lions offense fell flat while the team earned a dismal .229 post-season batting average. A young and inexperienced team, the Lions wilted under the pressure while the Swallows remained confident.

Look for Ito and Sasaki to decline in 1998 while youngsters Takagi and Otomo pick up the slack. In 1997 both young and old Seibu players had an outstanding season at the plate. It's going to be hard to keep up that momentum in 1998.

Top Player: Kazuo Matsui. Stealing 62 bases while clubbing thirteen triples and batting .309, Matsui remains Japan's most lethal base-runner. Some have argued that allowing Matsui on base is like giving up a home run because the Lions will find a way to make him score.

Surprise Player: Taisei Takagi. While 35 year old catcher Tsutomu Ito played well in 1997, reserve backstop Takagi shifted to first base. Batting .295 with 24 stolen bases, the twenty-four year old player should remain at first base for the next few years.

Biggest Disappointment: Tetsuya Kakiuchi. The Lions regular left-fielder, twenty-seven year old Kakiuchi slammed 28 home runs in 1996 while stealing sixteen bases and batting .253. Injured for most of the 1997 season, the right-handed slugger batted .225 with three home runs.

Most over-rated: Futoshi Nishiguchi. Definitely a strong pitcher and certainly one of the best on the Seibu staff, 1997 Pacific League MVP and Sawamura award-winner Nishiguchi still got more recognition than he really deserved. Several pitchers in both leagues put up better numbers than the lanky right-hander, but no others played for a pennant winner, the fact that likely tilted the highly subjective Sawamura award in Nishiguchi's favor.

New Faces: Yukihiro Nishizaki pitched poorly for the Fighters in 1997 but has compiled a career 117-97 record with a 3.24 ERA in eleven seasons. Free agent catcher Satoshi Nakajima thought he could jump to the major leagues but reality bounced him back to Japan. Terry Bross pitched great in 1995 but after two less successful outings, the Swallows released him. Pitcher Brian Raabe and infielder Giovanni Carrara are newcomers to Japan.

Strongest area: Speed and batting. Unlike the power-hitting Lions dynasty of the 1980s and early '90s, today's Seibu team relies far more on base hits and stolen bases. The team hit .281 in 1997 (first in the PL) while four of the league's top eight batters wore Seibu uniforms. Lions base runners stole more bases (200) than any other team, while shortstop Kazuo Matsui swiped 62 bags, Taisei Takagi earned 24 steals and Susumu Otomo stole 31.

Weakest area: Second base. Seibu's weakest infield position, the Lions tried out several players at second base in 1997. Hiroyuki Takagi apparently had the most success, batting .278 without much power or speed in 107 games and 255 at bats. Most other replacement players did much worse. The Lions also had a tough time finding a strong utility player to fill in for injured left fielder Tetsuya Kakiuchi. During the Japan series, first baseman and eventual-catcher Taisei Takagi took the vacant outfield position and misjudged several balls.

Biggest question mark: Tsutomu Ito. Rumored to have been on his way out before the 1997 season, Ito silenced critics with a good offensive year (.280 with 13 home runs) while remaining arguably the best defensive backstop in the league. Since Ito received more first place votes for MVP than eventual winner Fumiya Nishiguchi, many credit the comeback catcher with helping turn Seibu into a contender. But at thirty-five, can the old knees withstand another full season? If not, the Lions could be in trouble.

Secret weapon: Denney Tomori. No doubt the Lions have more reliable relievers, and teammate Takehiro Hashimoto probably ranks first among the team's middle-men. But Denney, as he prefers to be called, deserves special attention. A pitcher who rotted away in the BayStars bullpen until joining the Lions in 1997, the thirty-year old hurler earned four save points with a 4-0 record, a 3.38 ERA, nine walks and 32 strikeouts.

Hoping that his Japan Series performance would lead his estranged father to make contact with him, Denney posted a 0.00 ERA in four post-season relief appearances, striking out three and walking three. Denney may not have been the Lions strongest weapon, but he is certainly their most secret.

Fading star: Since Hisanobu Watanabe was released after the end of the 1997 season (and has since signed with the Yakult Swallows), the fading star distinction falls to Tsutomu Ito. Though a runner up for the league's MVP award in 1997, Ito has had health problems in the past. At 35, it's unclear how much longer he will remain effective as the Lions backstop.