Card Of The Week November 7

The Chiba Lotte Marines wrapped up their improbable drive to the Nippon Series championship today by beating the Dragons 8-7 in 12 innings. It was improbable in that not only are they the first third place team to win the championship, but they only barely squeaked into third (and the playoffs) the last week or so of the regular season.

And so much for the Central League's plan to schedule their Final Stage of the playoffs closer to the start of the Nippon Series to keep their champion sharp. Doesn't look like the two weeks the Marines had off before the Series started caused them any problems.

Toshiaki Imae was the MVP of the Series, as he was the last time the Marines won the Series back in 2005. Here's his rookie card from the 2002 BBM 1st Version (#326):