Thirteen Japan Series championships — the most in Pacific League history. The Saitama Seibu Lions built dynasties in the 1980s and 1990s and still fly the lion flag north of Tokyo.
The club
The Saitama Seibu Lions play at Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama — a domed stadium opened in 1979 (roof added in 1998–99; formerly Seibu Dome and MetLife Dome). The team is owned by Seibu Railway and moved from Fukuoka to Tokorozawa in 1979.
Thirteen titles
The Lions have won the Japan Series 13 times — 1956, 1957, 1958, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2008 — and have taken 23 Pacific League pennants. No Pacific League club has more Japan Series titles.
The dynasties
The Lions won three straight championships twice: 1986–1988 and 1990–1992. The 2004 title featured Daisuke Matsuzaka, whose 2006 posting to the Boston Red Sox set a record fee, and Kazuo Matsui, who in 2004 became the first Japanese infielder to play in MLB.
2008: the latest crown
The Lions' most recent title came in the 2008 Japan Series, a seven-game win over the Yomiuri Giants — Game 7 in Tokyo Dome decided by a go-ahead run in the eighth.
Thirteen banners hang under the dome — more than any Pacific League club.
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.