From Ichiro Suzuki's BlueWave to Yoshinobu Yamamoto's three straight Triple Crowns, the Orix Buffaloes are Osaka's dome team — and one of the most decorated clubs in the Pacific League.
The club
The Orix Buffaloes play at Kyocera Dome Osaka, splitting home games with Hotto Motto Field Kobe. The franchise was founded in 1936 as the Hankyu club, became the Orix BlueWave, and merged with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2005. Colors: dark navy and gold; mascots: Buffalo Bull and Buffalo Bell.
Five Japan Series
Orix has won the Japan Series five times: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1996 and 2022, plus 15 Pacific League pennants. The 1996 title was built around Ichiro Suzuki, who left for MLB in 2001 and became one of baseball's all-time greats.
The Yamamoto era
Ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the Eiji Sawamura Award and the Pacific League MVP in three consecutive seasons (2021–2023), including three straight Triple Crowns — a run no other NPB pitcher has matched.
2022: the return
After losing the 2021 Japan Series to the Yakult Swallows, Orix came back to win the 2022 Japan Series 4–2–1 — the first championship under the Buffaloes name in 26 years. Yutaro Sugimoto was named MVP.
Three straight pennants, three straight Triple Crowns, one ace.
How to experience it
Tickets for dome and stadium games are covered in our ticket guide, and watching from abroad in our overseas viewing guide. New to NPB? Start with what NPB is.