Chiba Lotte Marines
The Marines, led by charismatic manager Bobby Valentine, pulled off an incredible season, finishing 2nd in the Pacific League, qualifying for the newly-created Pacific League Climax Series. They defeated the defending Japan Series champion Seibu Lions, then squeaked by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 3 games to 2, in a series where they were just one out away from sweeping the heavily-favored Hawks.
Naoyuki Shimizu and submariner Shunsuke Watanabe led the Marines pitching staff, one that allowed the fewest runs in Nippon Professional Baseball. Masahide Kobayashi was the team's closer, although he did blow his fair share of saves over the season.
The Marines offense scored the most runs in the league with a hard-hitting lineup featuring Benny Agbayani, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Toshiaki Imae, and star Korean import Lee Seung-Yeop, who led the team in home runs.
Read more about this topic: 2005 Japan Series