The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are NPB's youngest club — and one of its most meaningful. Born in 2005, champions in 2013, and now entering a bold new era in Sendai.
A club with a purpose
The Eagles were founded in 2005, in part to help the Tohoku region rebuild its pride after the 2011 disaster. The 2013 Japan Series title — a first for the franchise — became a landmark moment for Sendai and the whole region, proof that a young club could win the biggest prize.
The 2026 rebuild
This offseason the Eagles made a statement: the acquisition of former Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda, and a renamed home — the Rakuten Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi ("Saikyo" means "strongest"), effective January 1, 2026. The message is unmistakable: the Eagles are building to contend for their second title.
The youngest club in NPB now has the loudest ambitions.
The region behind them
Sendai is a baseball city that loves its Eagles with a devotion that fills the park on cold spring nights. The club's crimson-and-gold colors and eagle mascots are fixtures of Tohoku life, and the team's success is treated as the region's success.
2026: a hard reset
The rebuild needed time: despite the Maeda signing and the rebranded "strongest" park, the Eagles finished sixth (58–84–1), 34 games back. Sendai's new-era park, the region's devotion and a marquee rotation piece give the club a real base to climb from in 2027.