Chunichi Dragons
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The is a popular baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chunichi ("Middle of Japan") region of Japan. The team is in the Central League.
- Founded: 1936
- Formerly known as: Nagoya Club (1936-1943), Sangyo (1944), Chubu Nihon (1946), Chunichi Dragons (1947-1950), Nagoya Dragons (1951-1953), Chunichi Dragons (1954-)
- Home ballpark: Nagoya Dome
- Uniform colors: Blue and White
- Logo design: "Dragons" written in blue with a "C" interlocking with the letter D.
- Nickname: Chunichi (中日), Dragons (ドラゴンズ), Ryu (竜, meaning dragon)
- League championships won (6): 1954, 1974, 1982, 1988, 1999, 2004
- Japan Series championships won (1): 1954
It is said that the Dragons are difficult team to score runs against because of the strong throwing arms of outfielders Kosuke Fukudome and Alex Ochoa, and an excellent closer Hitoki Iwase. In the 2004 season they reached the Japan Series once again, but lost to the Seibu Lions, the Pacific League Champions.
Players of note
Current stars
- 1 Kosuke Fukudome (福留孝介)
- 2 Masahiro Araki (荒木雅博)
- 3 Kazuyoshi Tatsunami (立浪和義)
- 4 Alex Ochoa
- 6 Hirokazu Ibata (井端弘和)
- 7 Masahiro Kawai (川相昌弘)
- 11 Kenshin Kawakami (川上憲伸)
- 13 Hitoki Iwase (岩瀬仁紀)
- 27 Motonobu Tanishige (谷繁元信)
- 34 Masahiro Yamamoto (山本昌広)
- 42 Domingo Guzman
- 66 Hiromitsu Ochiai (落合博満)
Former famous stars
Retired numbers
- 10 Tsuguhiro Hattori (服部受弘)
- 15 Michio Nishizawa (西澤道夫)
Trivia
The Dragons were featured in the 1992 movie Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck. Their logo at the time, which they used for many years, was "Dragons" written in script which resembled the logo of the Los Angeles Dodgers.External links
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