As they watched the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ground the Yomiuri Giants into dust during the Japan Series, fans of the other five Pacific League teams might have been home asking themselves the same question: Could we have done this?
The answer is probably not. The Hawks are in a class of their own.
But it’s certainly not a stretch to imagine that the Chiba Lotte Marines or Seibu Lions wouldn’t have also beaten the Giants — just not as thoroughly. The Pacific League, once the little brother in NPB’s two-league hierarchy, is now head and shoulders above the Central League.