The Seibu Lions clinched their first Pacific League pennant in 10 years on Sunday despite losing 4-1 to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
The Lions, who had won 12-straight games to lower their magic number to one before losing on Saturday, lost their second straight game, but clinched the pennant by virtue of the second-place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' 9-1 loss against the Chiba Lotte Marines in Fukuoka.
"We've been looking forward to this day," said second-year skipper Hatsuhiko Tsuji, who started turning the Lions around with a second-place finish a year ago. "The players made up for the mistakes I made as manager, and that made me so happy. I'm filled with gratitude.