u/bigchungusultras

As many of you know, the Giants have been eliminated from the postseason. I stood up all night (I am on EST, so this was 1AM-4AM for me) to watch it, only for my heart to be broken. As a son of the New York Yankees, this heartbreak is nothing new, especially watching your favorite team not be able to make it every year. The Giants have been eliminated from playoff contention by the BayStars for the third consecutive season, and it really frustrates me but I haven’t given up hope yet. This very franchise gave me hope, and I’m proud to be part of the Giants Army for better or worse.

As a teenager in 2019, I first picked up Nippon Professional Baseball after watching a clip of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes clinch the PL Pennant in 2001 on a walk-off grand slam. This moment, for me as a shortstop on my secondary school team, made me eager to want to play harder and to help my team. The events of the pandemic ran its course, and ran me out of the game. It was around this time someone very close to me gave me a New York Yankees bobblehead of Hideki Matsui. I had heard of Matsui previously, as he was MVP of the 2009 World Series, but I paid no mind of his past, having mistakenly thought he only played MLB Baseball.

Fast-forward to 2023, I had a good friend who was Japanese tell me about NPB, and being that I was tired of seeing the Yankees lose, I watched some highlights with him. He is a huge BayStars fan, but it just so happened the team they were playing were none other than… the Yomiuri Giants! The game ended in a tie, but that name “Giants” stuck with me. Life would take its course, and in about 2026, things changed forever.

I picked up the team again at a very lonely time in my life. Things weren’t going well for me personally, and I looked for something that would distract me from the events unfolding around me. I had been following them on Instagram since 2024, but I only knew of them as “the folks who play in the Tokyo Dome.”

Then it happened. I discovered IPTV in the late winter of 2026, and it gave me a gateway to watch any NPB team I wanted. I settled on the Giants after watching the deposed manager Shinnosuke Abe’s highlights during the 2009 Japan Series, and seeing his power, alongside a young Hayato Sakamoto made me fall in love with the team. Nittele G+ frequently re-runs a program called “Giants Time Machine”, and thats where I learned about greats such as Hara, Nakahata, Makihara, Takahashi, Matsui as well as Sadaharu Oh, and the man who came to be my favorite all-time Giant, Shigeo Nagashima.

This love and passion for the team, as well as seeing the atmosphere the fans brought across Japan on TV gave me the idea for a subreddit. I had little redditing experience at the time, as I only read things on reddit, rather than posted. I saw the r/npb existed, but wanted a place I could go to get only Giants content. And thus, r/Tokyo_YomiuriGiants was born. It’s a true pleasure to cover the team for you guys daily, and I hope to keep doing so next season. We started off small, and now here we are with almost 300 members— wow!

Despite all that happened, we saw great moments like Sakamoto’s 300th Home Run, Maru’s go ahead Grand Slam on Nagashima Day, the tightest pennant race in a while, and the rise of Shunsuke Urata as a dominant defensive force. Even with Abe’s resignation mid season, the Giants still managed to overcome under Hashigami, finishing second in the regular season, putting pressure on Hanshin. We may have not had the post season we wanted to have, but theres a lot to look forward to. This is a very transitional point in Giants history, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2027.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have supported this subreddit for all of this time. I’m glad to have spoken with many of you, and made new friends. This community is continuing to grow and its all because of your support for the team. Don’t give up on them just because they lost or have done this multiple times in the past few years. Support and fight hard for them and believe in them. There’s some issues that need to be ironed out, and things will be better. There’s going to be a huge management shakeup, so lets pray for the best. Thank you everyone for a memorable season, can’t wait to keep speaking to everyone and hope for a better season. VIVA GIANTS!

— Gav (u/bigchungusultras)

TOKYO DOME - It was a tough final game for the 2026 Yomiuri Giants. The offense gave it everything they had, getting on base multiple times. They just could not bring any runs across. Bobby Dalbec blasted a huge solo home run in the 4th to no avail. The BayStars found the weakness of the team and took advantage. Takemaru was shaky, giving up a lead off home run, and only striking out 3. The bullpen surrendered 2 more runs for a combined 4. The Giants have been eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive year by DeNA. We need to come back stronger in 2027. I believe in you boys! Thank you for such a memorable season! LET'S GO GIANTS!

More to come later today, including my “Thank you, fans!” message.

MEIJI JINGU STADIUM, TOKYO - Tough loss today as the Giants fell to the Swallows 1-5. It started off good as Richard blasted a solo shot (Give my king more play time!). Yamazaki struck out 4 in 4 innings, only giving up one run until Shunya Morita and Hirauchi combined to give up 4. Cannot happen with the Climax Series coming soon. Tighten it up, guys! GO GIANTS!

TOKYO DOME - BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN FOLKS! Shogo found his form again, with 8 strikeouts in 8 innings, only giving up 1 run. Richard came up with a huge 2-run blast in the 4th for the lead. The Giants are still struggling offensively though, so I worry whether this will be an issue in the Climax Series.

THE TABLE:

TOKYO DOME - The Giants came through today with a great offensive showing. Ogasawara pitched a good 5 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. The offense came alive behind Izuguchi, Maru, Masuda and others for 11 runs. It's looking highly unlikely we win the pennant, as the Tigers have 7 games left to play, and we only have 4. We need to lock in for the Climax Series against the BayStars. Let's get it done! Go Giants!

Mazda Stadium - There's isnt much to say about this except that the Giants look scared when they have runners in scoring position. I've never seen a tea- (wait the Yankees do this). It's looking very unlikely we can overtake the Tigers for the pennant. GG. Final: Giants 2 - Toyo Carp 3.

(My graphics get worse everytime they lose in a crucial spot, just a joke dw.)

MAZDA STADIUM - I'm honestly bewildered by this game. Takemaru did okay, only giving up 1 run through 5 innings with 8 strikeouts. The offense is what will cost this team moving forward. The only scoring they did was on a catcher's error, so there were no RBI's. The offense has to wake up tomorrow. Go Giants!

Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium, Hiroshima - We got walked off. This can't happen with the pennant race on the line. Clean it up.

Oh man, where do I even begin? Today I just received a Yoshinobu Takahashi jersey from the 2010s era of Giants history (this was the style they wore during their last Japan Series victory in 2012) and when I talk about quality, this one checks every box. Take a look! This jersey is really beautiful and I’m glad I snagged it, especially since Takahashi was one of my favorite Giants!

TOKYO DOME - The Giants are really shaping up! Ogasawara could have had a better outting, as he gave up 2 runs and went 5 innings with 7 strikeouts. Bobby Dalbec got the scoring started with an RBI and late on Izuguchi gave us back the lead with an RBI double. We're .005% behind the Tigers right now. Let's keep winning. GO GIANTS!

YOKOHAMA STADIUM, YOKOHAMA - In the opening match in 2007 against the the Yokohama Baystars, the fans were ready for the season. Yoshinobu Takahashi had other plans, though. The umpire gave the signal to play ball and Takahashi absolutely ripped the pitch into the right field stands, giving an iconic thumbs up as he ran the bases.

TOKYO DOME - The Giants won a decisive 14-1 victory today against Chunichi. Masahiro Tanaka had a decent outing, going 7 innings with 3 strikeouts and 1 earned run. THe offense really showed up as Yoshikawa, Oshiro, Izuguchi and a 2-run blast by Sasaki carried us to 14 runs. Tonight was the Dragons final regular season match at the Tokyo Dome and versus the Giants for the 2026 season. Thanks for a good competitive season! It was fun! The Giants will face Yakult tomorrow. NOW IS THE TIME TO WIN, BOYS! LET'S GO GIANTS!

https://preview.redd.it/y5h3t2althqh1.png?width=831&format=png&auto=webp&s=8219c52a492e9f5c1e759215930009ae0e4bed20

1. Isao Harimoto 3085 (Toei/Nittaku/Nippon-Ham 1959-75, Yomiuri 1976-79, Lotte 1980-81)

2. Katsuya Nomura 2901 (Nankai 1954-77, Lotte 1978, Seibu 1979-80)

3. Sadaharu Oh 2786 (Yomiuri 1959-80)

4. Hiromitsu Kadota 2566 (Nankai 1970-88, Orix 1989-90, Daiei 1991-92)

5. Sachio Kinugasa 2543 (Hiroshima 1965-87)

6. Yutaka Fukumoto 2543 (Hankyu 1969-88)

7. Tomoaki Kanemoto 2539 (Hiroshima 1992-02, Hanshin 2003-12)

8. Kazuyoshi Tatsunami 2480 (Chunichi 1988-09)

9. Hayato Sakamoto 2472 (Yomiuri 2007-present)

10. Shigeo Nagashima 2471 (Yomiuri 1958-74)

TOKYO DOME - THE GIANTS HAVE WON A GAME! Haruto Inoue established dominance in his appearance today as he went 8 innings with 7 strikeouts and no earned runs. It was a pitchers duel with Yomiuri having less hits than the Dragons initally. But in the 9th, with a runner on base, Yuta Izuguchi belted a huge walk off home run for his 8th of the year. We gotta keep the wins coming! Softbank has taken the Pacific pennant, and the race for the Central pennant is close! Let's go Giants!

TOKYO DOME (1992) - In the top of the 9th inning in this tight game at the Dome, Hanshin fans became irritated as the Giants had a 1-0 lead over the Tigers. Fans began throwing cheering sticks, bottles, and anything they could find including a bottle of whiskey and a stereo boombox. The Giants won the game as the reliever Ishige got out of it, and the Tigers retreated to the dugout.

YOKOHAMA STADIUM, YOKOHAMA - I think Abe snuck into the club house and started scaring people. Hashigami got body-snatched and so did the team. Shosei Togo got obliterated and the bullpen could not stop the bleeding. I can’t even blame the offense this time. How the hell does one come back from a 10+ point deficit. Really horrendous and pathetic play from this team. Tighten it up. We need to at least stand a chance against them in the CL Climax Series.