It’s all over for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks’ 2013 season. They finished this year’s Pacific League ranking fourth overall – the first time in five years they didn’t make it through to the Climax Series. It’s not all bad news for the team, however, with Hawks outfielder Yuya Hasegawa setting a personal record of 198 hits this season. Although he was just two hits shy of the 200 hit per season record (set by only five players in the history of Japanese professional baseball), his admirable 198 hits earn him 3rd place in Pacific League history. And although the Hawks couldn’t claim Pacific League victory this year, the second-tier Softbank Hawks farm team ranked 1st in the Western League- their second time in five years! They took the championship title yesterday in Miyazaki – beating the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4-3. Source Nishinippon Shimbun 10/6
