At this time two years ago, the Hiroshima Carp were the toast of the Central League. They were hitting well, pitching even better and at 27-15 had the best record in the CL. It looked, early on, like the team might be on track for the type of success not seen since the halcyon days of the Aka-heru era of 1975-91, when the "Red Helmets" had 15 A-Class finishes and won six pennants and three Japan Series titles.
That was before the 2014 interleague campaign. After mostly taking a beating over 24 games against Pacific League teams, going 9-15, the shell-shocked Carp were just happy to have bounced back in time to finish third in the CL and at least reach the Climax Series.
This year gives the Carp a chance to right that wrong. After Sunday's victory over the Yokohama BayStars, Hiroshima is 29-23-1 and ahead of the second-place Chunichi Dragons by 2½ games. It's still early, but how Hiroshima fares against PL clubs this year could be a clue to the team's staying power, or possible lack thereof. Plus, while the CL isn't quite the dumpster fire it was last year (all six teams dropped under .500 at one point), there are no standout clubs, and the driver's seat is still ripe for the taking.