Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス, Tōhoku Rakuten Gōruden Īgurusu), often shortened as the Rakuten Eagles (楽天イーグルス), are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Contents [hide]

1 Profile

2 Introduction

3 The only Japan Series Title

4 Related Tags

Profile

Affiliation	Pacific League
Ballpark	Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi
Japan Series Title	1 (2013)
PL Pennant	1 (2013)

Introduction

It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping company Rakuten.

The only Japan Series Title

Before the start of the 2013 season, the Eagles signed former MLB players Casey McGehee and Andruw Jones. The Eagles finished April in fifth place, however, the next two months saw Tanaka winning consecutive PL MVP of the month awards, helping the club to finish June in second. The team took sole possession of first place in the Pacific League in early July and never relinquished it, winning the Eagles' their first PL pennant. Over the remaining three months of the season, Tanaka continued to win games and finished the season with 24 wins and no losses. He was awarded a record-setting five consecutive monthly MVPs from May to September. As league champions, the Eagles advanced directly to the Final Stage of the Climax Series Final where they defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines to advance to their first Japan Series. Rakuten defeated the Yomiuri Giants at home in the final game of a seven-game series to win the franchise's first and only Japan Series championship. Game 6 of that Japan Series would also mark the only loss, including postseason games, that Tanaka would be given, after pitching a 160 pitch complete game in Game 6, but he followed it up in what would be his final game before being posted to the Yankees, a save in Game 7. Starting pitcher Manabu Mima was named the Japan Series MVP after the series, and at the end of the season, Tanaka was presented with the PL MVP and Eiji Sawamura Awards, Norimoto was named the PL Rookie of the Year, and Senichi Hoshino was given the Matsutaro Shoriki Award. After the increased ticket demand during the 2013 season, an expansion project that increased Miyagi Stadium's maximum seating capacity above 28,000 was completed the next year.