List of Chunichi Dragons seasons

The Chunichi Dragons are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They began play as Nagoya Club in 1936. The team went through a variety of short-lived names: Sangyo Club (1944), Chubu Nippon (1946), Chubu Nippon Dragons (1947), Chunichi Dragons (1948–1950), Nagoya Dragons (1951–1953) before rebranding permanently to the Chunichi Dragons in 1954.

The Dragons have won the Japan Series two times (1954, 2007), tenth most among all current twelve NPB teams. They have won the Central League pennant nine times, most recently in 2011. Since the Climax Series era began for the Central League in 2007, the Dragons have appeared in the playoffs six times.

Table key

Key to symbols and terms in season table
W Number of regular season wins
L Number of regular season losses
T Number of regular season ties
GB Games behind from league's first-place team[a]
ROY Central League Rookie of the Year Award
MVP Central League Most Valuable Player Award
ESA Eiji Sawamura Award
MSA Matsutaro Shoriki Award
Series MVP Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award
FSA Fighting Spirit Award

Season-by-season records

Japan Series Champions
(1950–present) †
Central League Pennant
(1950–present)
Central League Regular Season Champions
(1950–present) ^
Climax Series Berth
(2007–present) ¤
Season[1] League Finish Wins Losses Ties Win% GB Playoffs Awards
Chunichi Dragons
1936 JBL [B] 7 9 0 .438
Autumn 1936 JBL [B] 12 14 0 .462
Spring 1937 JBL 7th 21 35 0 .375 21
Autumn 1937 JBL 8th 13 33 3 .283 25
Spring 1938 JBL 7th 11 24 0 .314 18
Autumn 1938 JBL 4th 19 18 3 .514 10
1939 JBL 6th 38 53 5 .418 27.5
1940 JBL 5th 58 41 5 .586 15.5
1941 JBL 6th 37 47 0 .440 25
1942 JBL 7th 39 60 6 .394 33.5
1943 JBL 2nd 48 29 7 .623 4
1944 JBL 4th 13 21 1 .382 14.5
1945 No league play because of World War II
1946 JBL 7th 42 60 3 .412 22.5
1947 JBL 2nd 67 50 2 .573 12.5
1948 JBL 8th 52 83 5 .385 34.5
1949 JBL 5th 66 68 3 .493 19.5
1950 Central 2nd 89 44 4 .669 9
1951 Central 2nd 62 48 3 .564 18 Shigeru Sugishita (ESA)
1952 Central 3rd 75 43 2 .636 7 Shigeru Sugishita (ESA)
1953 Central 3rd 70 57 3 .551 18.5
1954 Central 1st 86 40 4 .683 Won Japan Series (Lions) 4–3 Shigeru Sugishita (MVP)
Shigeru Sugishita (Series MVP)
Shigeru Sugishita (ESA)
1955 Central 2nd 71 57 2 .597 15
1956 Central 3rd 74 56 0 .569 10
1957 Central 3rd 70 57 3 .550 4
1958 Central 3rd 66 59 5 .527 9
1959 Central 2nd 64 61 5 .512 13
1960 Central 5th 63 67 0 .485 9
1961 Central 2nd 72 56 2 .562 1 Hiroshi Gondo (ROY)
Hiroshi Gondo (ESA)
1962 Central 3rd 70 60 3 .538 5
1963 Central 2nd 80 57 3 .584 2.5
1964 Central 6th 57 83 0 .407 25
1965 Central 2nd 77 59 4 .566 13
1966 Central 2nd 76 54 2 .585 13
1967 Central 2nd 72 58 4 .554 12 Kentaro Ogawa (ESA)
1968 Central 6th 50 80 4 .385 27
1969 Central 4th 59 65 6 .476 14
1970 Central 5th 55 70 5 .440 23.5 Kenichi Yazawa (ROY)
1971 Central 2nd 65 60 5 .520 6.5
1972 Central 3rd 67 59 4 .532 7
1973 Central 3rd 64 61 5 .512 1.5
1974 Central 1st 70 49 11 .588 Lost Japan Series (Orions) 4–2 Yukio Fujinami (ROY)
Senichi Hoshino (ESA)
1975 Central 2nd 69 53 8 .566 4.5
1976 Central 4th 54 66 10 .450 21.5 Yasushi Tao (ROY)
1977 Central 3rd 64 61 5 .512 15.5
1978 Central 5th 53 71 6 .427 20
1979 Central 3rd 59 57 14 .509 7.5 Kimiya Fujisawa (ROY)
1980 Central 6th 45 76 9 .372 30
1981 Central 5th 58 65 7 .472 16
1982 Central 1st 64 47 19 .577 Lost Japan Series (Lions) 4–2 Takayoshi Nakao (MVP)
1983 Central 5th 54 69 7 .439 18.5
1984 Central 2nd 73 49 8 .598 3
1985 Central 5th 56 61 13 .479 15 Tatsuo Komatsu (ESA)
1986 Central 5th 54 67 9 .446 20
1987 Central 2nd 68 51 11 .571 8
1988 Central 1st 79 46 5 .632 Lost Japan Series (Lions) 4–1 Genji Kaku (MVP)
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami (ROY)
1989 Central 3rd 68 59 3 .535 15.5
1990 Central 4th 62 68 1 .477 26 Tsuyoshi Yoda (ROY)
1991 Central 2nd 74 56 2 .546 3 Koichi Morita (ROY)
1992 Central 6th 60 70 0 .462 9
1993 Central 2nd 73 57 2 .562 7 Shinji Imanaka (ESA)
1994 Central 2nd 69 61 0 .531 1 [D] Masahiro Yamamoto (ESA)
1995 Central 5th 50 80 0 .385 32
1996 Central 2nd 72 58 0 .554 5
1997 Central 6th 59 76 1 .437 24
1998 Central 2nd 75 60 1 .556 4 Kenshin Kawakami (ROY)
1999 Central 1st 81 54 0 .600 Lost Japan Series (Hawks) 4–1 Shigeki Noguchi (MVP)
2000 Central 2nd 70 65 0 .519 8
2001 Central 5th 62 74 4 .456 15
2002 Central 3rd 69 66 5 .511 15.5
2003 Central 2nd 73 66 1 .525 14.5
2004 Central 1st 79 56 3 .585 Lost Japan Series (Lions) 4–3 Kenshin Kawakami (MVP)
Kenshin Kawakami (ESA)
2005 Central 2nd 79 66 1 .545 10
2006 Central 1st 87 54 5 .617 Lost Japan Series (Fighters) 4–1 Kosuke Fukudome (MVP)
2007 Central 2nd 78 64 2 .549 1.5 Won Climax Series First Stage (Tigers) 2–0
Won Climax Series Final Stage (Giants) 3–0D
Won Japan Series (Fighters) 4–1
Norihiro Nakamura (Series MVP)
Hiromitsu Ochiai (MSA)
2008 Central 3rd 71 68 5 .511 12 Won Climax Series First Stage (Tigers) 2–1
Lost Climax Series Final Stage (Giants) 3–1e
2009 Central 2nd 81 62 1 .566 12 Won Climax Series First Stage (Swallows) 2–1
Lost Climax Series Final Stage (Giants) 4–1e
2010 Central 1st 79 62 3 .560 Won Climax Series Final Stage (Giants) 4–1e
Lost Japan Series (Marines) 4–2–1
Kazuhiro Wada (MVP)
2011 Central 1st 75 59 10 .560 Won Climax Series Final Stage (Swallows) 4–2
Lost Japan Series (Hawks) 4–3e
Takuya Asao (MVP)
2012 Central 2nd 75 53 16 .586 10.5 Won Climax Series First Stage (Swallows) 2–1
Lost Climax Series Final Stage (Giants) 4–3e
2013 Central 4th 64 77 3 .454 22
2014 Central 4th 67 73 4 .479 13.5
2015 Central 5th 62 77 4 .446 13
2016 Central 6th 58 82 3 .414 30.5
2017 Central 5th 59 79 5 .428 28.5 Yota Kyoda (ROY)
2018 Central 5th 63 78 2 .447 19
2019 Central 5th 68 73 2 .482 9
2020 Central 3rd 60 55 5 .522 8.5 [F] Yūdai Ōno (ESA)
2021 Central 5th 55 71 17 .437 18.5
2022 Central 6th 66 75 2 .468 15
2023 Central 6th 56 82 5 .406 29
2024 Central 6th 60 75 8 .444 16.5
2025 Central 4th 63 78 2 .447 23

References

  1. ^ "Chunichi Dragons Annual Results (1936-2025)". npb.jp.

Notes

a This is determined by calculating the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two.
B Records for 1936 seasons are incomplete.
C Both the Dragons and the Yomiuri Giants were 69–60 before the 130th and final game of the season. In the 1994 Central League tie-breaker game, otherwise known as the "10.8 deciding match", the Giants won 6–3.

  • D The 2007 Central Climax Series Final Stage was the first and only time the regular season champion did not have a one-win advantage.
  • e Beginning in 2008, the final stage of the Climax Series awards the regular season champion an automatic one-win advantage that meant they only had to win three games on the field to advance to the Japan Series.

F Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central League decided to send the regular season champion to the Japan Series directly with no Climax Series playoff.