| Prefecture | Chiba |
|---|---|
| Stadium/Arena | ZOZO Marine Stadium |
Before moving to its current location in Chiba in 1992, the Lotte had a history of shifting home bases.
There was even a season between 1973 and 1977 when they did not have a home base.
A few years after the move to Chiba, in 1998.
In 1998, a few years after moving to Chiba, Lotte suffered a "nightmare 18-game losing streak. Although there were a few draws in between, the 18 consecutive losses became a disgraceful record in professional baseball.
At that time, there were still not many fans at the stadium, but in the 2000s, the outfield seats became filled with enthusiastic fans, and the stadium was enlivened with unique soccer-like cheering.
After a long period of stagnation, the Lotte team won the league championship in 2005 by defeating SoftBank in the playoffs, and then dominated the Hanshin Tigers in the Japan Series.
In the Japan Series, they dominated the Hanshin Tigers, winning four games in a row to win their third Japan championship in 31 years.
The team went on to win the Japan championship in 2010.
Team Information
Team: Chiba Lotte Marines
Location: Chiba
Ballpark: Zozo Marine Stadium
Year founded: 1949
Management: Lotte Holdings
Titles:Japan Series(4), Pacific League(5)
Retired numbers: none
Former players related to MLB:
Hideki Irabu (to New York Yankees)
Tsuyoshi Nishioka (to Minnesota Twins)
Masahide Kobayashi (to Cleveland Indians)
Yasuhiko Yabuta (to Kansas City Royals)
Satoru Komiyama (to New York Mets)
Julio Franco (Cleveland Indians etc)
Benny Agbayani (New York Mets etc)