The Chiba Lotte Marines (Japanese: 千葉ロッテマリーンズ) is a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League. Baseball is a team sport in which a player on one team (the pitcher) attempts to throw a hard, fist-sized ball past a player on the other team (the batter), who attempts to hit the baseball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical stick called a bat. ... The Pacific League (パシフィック・リーグ Pashifikku Riigu) is one of Japans two major professional baseball leagues (the other is the Central League). ...

Founded: 1950

Formerly known as: Mainichi Orions (1950-1957), Mainichi Daiei Orions (1958-1963), Tokyo Orions (1964-1968), Lotte Orions (1969-1991), Chiba Lotte Marines (1992-)

Home ballpark: Chiba Marine Stadium (1992-)

Nickname: Lotte (ロッテ), Marines (マリーンズ), Kamome (鴎, meaning to gull)

League championships won (5): 1950, 1960, 1970, 1974, 2005

Japan Series championships won (3): 1950, 1974, 2005

1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Chiba Marine Stadium is a stadium in Chiba, Japan. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Genera Pagophila Larus Rissa Creagus Xema Rhodostethia Gulls are seabirds in the family Laridae. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Yomiuri Giants have won twenty Japan Series, more than any other team. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

The Chiba Lotte Marines began their franchise in 1950, with the birth of the Pacific League. The Marines were then known as the Mainichi Orions and won the inaugural Japan Series in 1950. In 1958, they became the Daimai Orions, then the Tokyo Orions in 1964. In 1969, they became the Lotte Orions. Since 1992, they have been the Chiba Lotte Marines. They have not duplicated their initial success - they made the Japan Series in 1960 and 1970, only to lose both years. In '74, they beat the Chunichi Dragons; they were the first Pacific League team in 10 years to win the Series as the Yomiuri Giants had claimed the prior nine titles behind the Oh-Nagashima attack. The Pacific League (パシフィック・リーグ Pashifikku Riigu) is one of Japans two major professional baseball leagues (the other is the Central League). ... The Yomiuri Giants have won twenty Japan Series, more than any other team. ... The Chiba Lotte Marines (Japanese: ) is a professional baseball team in Japans Pacific League. ... The Chunichi Dragons (in Kanji: 中日ドラゴンズ; Chūnichi-doragonzu) is a popular baseball team based in Nagoya, Japan. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: , Hepburn romanization: Ō Sadaharu, Wade-Giles:Wang Chen-chih, pinyin: Wáng Zhēnzhì, born May 20, 1940, in Tokyo, Japan), is a former player and manager for Japanese baseballs most storied team, the Yomiuri Giants. ... Shigeo Nagashima (長嶋茂雄 Nagashima Shigeo, born February 20, 1936) is a famous Japanese baseball player in Japan. ...

After that the team failed to go to the Japan Series again till 2005. They had started the '05 season in first, fell behind the Softbank Hawks as the year progressed but then beat Softbank 3 games to 2 in the Pacific League championship. In the final game, they trailed 2-1 entering the 8th but Hatsushiba singled and Fukuura singled. Saburo Omura popped up but Tomoya Satozaki doubled off of closer Takahiro Mahara, scoring both runs to take the lead for good. After a 31-year absence, the team returned to the Japan Series, the first time as the Chiba Lotte Marines in 14 seasons with that name. In a one-sided series the Marines beat the more popular Hanshin Tigers in a four game sweep, scoring exactly ten runs in the first three games. The apparent ease with which the Marines defeated the Tigers has added fuel to the ongoing debate concerning the need for a playoff system in the Central League. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (福岡ソフトバンクホークス) is a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. ... The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: ) are a popular Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, which are in the Central League. ... A playoff in sports (North American professional sports in particular) is a game or series of games played after the regular season is over with the goal of determining a league champion. ... See also: Central League (football) The Central League (セントラル・リーグ Sentoraru Riigu) is one of Japans two major professional baseball leagues (the other is the Pacific League). ...

Players of note

Current stars

• Masahide Kobayashi
• Benny Agbayani
• Matt Franco
• Shunsuke Watanabe
• Toshiaki Imae
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka
• Lee Seung-Yeop

Benny Agbayani (born December 28, 1971) is a professional baseball player. ...

Former players

• Hideki Irabu
• Isao Harimoto
• Leon Lee
• Julio Franco
• Mel Hall
• Hiromitsu Ochiai (Present manager of Chunichi Dragons)

Hideki Irabu (Japanese: 伊良部秀輝), born in Hyogo, Japan on May 15, 1969, is a former professional baseball player. ... Julio Franco NY Mets Julio César Robles Franco (born August 23, 1958 in Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball player with the New York Mets. ... Melvin Hall Jr. ... The Chunichi Dragons (in Kanji: 中日ドラゴンズ; Chūnichi-doragonzu) is a popular baseball team based in Nagoya, Japan. ...

Retired numbers

• 26 - This number is considered the number of the fan, the 'twentysixth player' on the bench.

The team is currently managed by Bobby Valentine. Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Benches Bench may refer to several things: A long backless seat, typically used for sitting at an outdoor table for casual eating. ... Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950 in Stamford, Connecticut) is a former player and manager in Major League Baseball and current manager in Japan. ...

See also

• Lotte Group

Lotte Group is a large international conglomerate founded in June 1948 (Shōwa 23) in Tokyo, Japan by Shin Kyuk-Ho (신격호, 辛格浩), a South Korean national living in South Korea(odd months) and Japan(even months) who is alternatively known by his Japanese name Shigemitsu Takeo (重光 武雄). After the normalization of diplomatic...

External link

• Chiba Lotte Marines official web site