Did the Hanshin Tigers deserve to play in this year's Japan Series? The team finished second in the Central League pennant race, seven games behind the league champion Yomiuri Giants, but the Tigers advanced to the CL Climax Series Final Stage with a controversial victory over the Hiroshima Carp in the Climax Series First Stage.
Hanshin then knocked off the Giants in four straight games to earn a Japan Series slot opposite the Pacific League pennant-winning Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
American reader Mike Cantor of W. Bloomfield, Michigan, wrote to say: "In my chat group, I posted a topic with a title that the NPB was minor league for the rule which gave Hanshin its victory in the Climax Series first stage with a walk-off tie. I backed off my 'minor league' crack, since I have watched several games the last few years and know how high the caliber of play is in the NPB.