Carp favorites in 2016 Climax Series
Shota Dobayashi (堂林 翔太)
The 2016 Climax Series (the equivalent of the World Series for Japan Professional Baseball) features the Hiroshima Carp and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. The series is even at 2 games each, with home teams winning every game thus far. Today’s game is in Hokkaido followed by the final two games in Hiroshima. The Carp last won the series in 1984.
Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kris Johnson, from California, was the 2016 Sawamura Award winner (equivalent to the Cy Young Award in MLB), becoming the first foreign player to earn the honor since 1964. Johnson was 15-7 with a 2.15 ERA in 26 starts for the Carp this season. He struck out 141 over 180⅓ innings and threw three complete games.
