Card Of The Week October 16

The matchup for this year's Nippon Series is set with the Central League (and Climax Series) Champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp taking on the Pacific League (and Climax Series) Champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  Not sure who's the favorite but I will point out that the Pacific League has dominated the Central League in the Nippon Series recently.  Since 2003, the Pacific League team has beaten the Central League team in 10 of the 13 Series played.  What should give Carp fans hope however is that the Fighters were the team to lose those three Series - to the Dragons in 2007 and the Giants in 2009 and 2012.

This will be the first Nippon Series that the Carp appear in without Hall Of Famer Koji Yamamoto in uniform.  Yamamoto played outfield for the Carp in their first five Series (1975, 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1986) and was their manager in their sixth (1991).

Here's a card of Yamamoto from the 1975/76 Calbee set (#274) showing him in action in the 1975 Series.  I'm pretty sure this is from Game Three of the Series played on October 28, 1975 and shows him rounding the bases after homering off of Takashi Yamaguchi of the Hankyu Braves in the sixth inning.  The Carp would lose that game and the Series but Yamamoto would win the "Fighting Spirit" award - basically the MVP of the losing team.

Here's a card of him managing the Carp in the 1991 Series.  They would lose that one as well, this time to the Seibu Lions:

1991 BBM Nippon Series #S29