View source for Tokyo Yakult Swallows

{{Expand Japanese|東京ヤクルトスワローズ|date=February 2022}}
{{single source |date=December 2021}}
{{Short description|Professional baseball team in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League}}
{{Infobox baseball team
| name                = Tokyo Yakult Swallows
| logo = Tokyo_Yakult_Swallows_logo_vector.svg
| cap_logo            = Tokyo Yakult Swallows insignia.svg
| league = '''[[Nippon Professional Baseball]]'''
:{{nowrap|'''[[Central League]] (1950–present)'''}}
| location = [[Shinjuku]], [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| stadium = [[Meiji Jingu Stadium]]
| founded = {{start date and age|1950|01|12}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://npb.jp/cl/history.html | script-title=ja:リーグ略史 {{!}} セントラル・リーグ |trans-title=League History {{!}} Central League |website=[[Nippon Professional Baseball|Nippon Professional Baseball Organization]] |lang=ja}}</ref>
| nickname = {{nihongo3|'swallows'|つばめ|Tsubame}}
| former_names        = {{plainlist|
*Yakult Swallows (1974–2005)
*Yakult Atoms (1970–1973)
*Atoms (1969)
*Sankei Atoms (1966–1968)
*Sankei Swallows (1965)
*Kokutetsu Swallows (1950–1965)
}}
| league_champ_type  = CL pennants
| league_champs       = '''9''' ([[1978 Nippon Professional Baseball season|1978]], [[1992 Nippon Professional Baseball season|1992]], [[1993 Nippon Professional Baseball season|1993]], [[1995 Nippon Professional Baseball season|1995]], [[1997 Nippon Professional Baseball season|1997]], [[2001 Nippon Professional Baseball season|2001]], [[2015 Nippon Professional Baseball season|2015]], [[2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season|2021]], [[2022 Nippon Professional Baseball season|2022]])
| series = [[Japan Series]]
| series_champs = '''6''' ([[1978 Japan Series|1978]], [[1993 Japan Series|1993]], [[1995 Japan Series|1995]], [[1997 Japan Series|1997]], [[2001 Japan Series|2001]], [[2021 Japan Series|2021]])
| former_ballparks = {{plainlist|
*[[Korakuen Stadium]] (1950–1963)
}}
| colors = Navy, Red, Green<br>{{color box|#05294d}} {{color box|#de1019}} {{color box|#abcd05}}
| mascot = Tsubakuro, Tsubami, and Torkuya
| manager = [[Shingo Takatsu]]
| berths = '''7''' ([[2009 Central League Climax Series|2009]], [[2011 Central League Climax Series|2011]], [[2012 Central League Climax Series|2012]], [[2015 Central League Climax Series|2015]], [[2018 Central League Climax Series|2018]], [[2021 Central League Climax Series|2021]], [[2022 Central League Climax Series|2022]])
| retired_numbers = 
| owner = Takashige Negishi
| management = [[Yakult Honsha]]
| uniform             = [[File:Tokyo_Yakult_Swallows_uniforms.png|center|175px]]
|native_name=東京ヤクルトスワローズ|native_name_lang=ja}}

The {{nihongo|'''Tokyo Yakult Swallows'''|東京ヤクルトスワローズ|Tōkyō Yakuruto Suwarōzu|lead=yes}} are a Japanese professional [[baseball]] team competing in [[Nippon Professional Baseball]]'s [[Central League]]. Based in [[Shinjuku]], Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the [[Yomiuri Giants]]. They have won nine Central League championships and six Japan Series championships. Since 1964, they have played their home games at [[Meiji Jingu Stadium]].

The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, [[Yakult Honsha]]. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former [[Japanese National Railways]] (known as {{nihongo||国鉄|Kokutetsu}} in Japanese) and called the '''Kokutetsu Swallows'''; the team was then owned by the newspaper ''[[Sankei Shimbun]]'' from 1965 to 1968 and called the '''Sankei Atoms.''' Yakult purchased the team in 1970 and renamed it the '''Yakult Atoms''', before renaming it again as the '''Yakult Swallows''' in 1974, and then the '''Tokyo Yakult Swallows''' in 2006.

==Kokutetsu and Sankei era (1950–1969)==
The franchise was established for the first time in 1950 when the team was created by the owners of what was then [[Japanese National Railways]] (now the privatized [[Japan Railways Group]]). The team name was made the '''Kokutetsu Swallows'''. The team never finished with a winning record in their entire first decade of the 1950s. In 1961, the team ended up being third in the league for first time in their team history. Kokutetsu chose "Swallows" as JNR had an express railway, which at the time, was the fastest in Japan, which was named Tsubame (or '[[swallow]]' in English). Other name ideas were railway themed, such as "Service" or "Whistles".<ref name=":0" /> Express was also considered, but was put out, due to fears within JNR of the team's name in headlines like "Express crashing" when the team was in a slump, or "Express explodes" when the team began winning a lot. (This similar issue would be the reason why [[Randy Bass]] would have his name lengthened in Japanese as {{nihongo||バース|Bāsu|{{IPA|ja|baːsɯ}}}}, due to Hanshin owning a bus line at the time, and bus in Japanese is known as {{nihongo||バス|basu}}, which would similarly have a negative impact on Hanshin's bus line.)

Pitcher [[Masaichi Kaneda]], nicknamed "The Emperor", starred for the team during this era and was the league's most dominant pitcher. Kaneda holds numerous career records in the Japanese leagues. For the Swallows, he went 14 straight seasons with at least 20 wins, led the league in strikeouts 10 times, wins three times, ERA three times, and won the [[Eiji Sawamura Award]] three times. Kaneda pitched for the Swallows from 1950 to 1964.

In 1965, the team was bought by [[Sankei Shimbun]] and Sankei retained the Swallows name for 1 year before switching their name to the Atoms, as they were one of the leading advocates of nuclear energy and because of [[Astro Boy]], which is known as Mighty Atom in Japan, hence the name of the team. Astro Boy would then be part of the team's logo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEo-bj2n8YQ |title=Ballad of the Yogurt Birds - A Brief History of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows |date=2022-12-20 |last=Gaijin Baseball |access-date=2025-01-11 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Sankei, however, underestimated how costly running a baseball team was, and their ownership would only last 3 seasons.

==Yakult era (1970–2005)==
In 1970, Sankei Shimbun offloaded the team to [[Yakult Honsha]], and Yakult kept the Atoms name for 3 seasons before changing the name, as by 1973, [[Mushi Production]], the creators of Astro Boy, went bankrupt. Originally, Yakult ran a poll to determine the new name, and announced the winning name, Jaguars, at the 1973 All Star break, and the name was supposed to take effect starting the 1974 season. However, amidst fan pressure, Yakult dropped the idea, and reverted to the Swallows name.<ref name=":0" /> Sankei kept a minority stake in the team, negotiating a deal that broadcasts all Swallows home games on [[Fuji TV]] ONE.

The team won its first [[Japan Series]] championship in [[1978 Japan Series|1978]].

In 1990, [[Katsuya Nomura]] became the new manager of Swallows, making drastic changes in the team. Although his first year with the Swallows resulted in them finishing in fifth place, the Swallows improved to third in the league the next year for the first time since 1980. From 1992 to 2001, the team won five Central League championships, prevailing in the Japan Series in 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2001. (Nomura managed the team to the first three of those championships.)

==Tokyo Yakult era (2006–present)==
[[File:Swallows Hall of Fame.jpg|alt=Swallows Hall of Fame display|thumb|Tokyo Yakult Swallows team display at the [[Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame]], featuring the Swallows' current home uniform and players' equipment]]
In 2006, "Tokyo" was added to the team name, resulting in the team name of Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and the logo of [[Tokyo]] was added to the uniform for the first time since the Kokutetsu era. The team maintained a [[winning percentage]] of .500, and ended up in third place in the league.

The Swallows entered the [[Climax Series]] in 2009, and faced the [[Yomiuri Giants]] for the stage 1, which ultimately resulted in a 2–1 victory. Swallows advanced for their first time into stage 2 and faced the defending [[Central League]] champions, the [[Chunichi Dragons]]. The Swallows eventually lost against the Dragons by 2–4, ending their postseason. At the end of season, [[Hirotoshi Ishii]] retired from the team.

2011 was an impressive year for the Swallows. In April, the Swallows topped the [[Central League]] and kept 1st place until September when the [[Chunichi Dragons]] climbed to win in the pennant race, ultimately leaving the Swallows in 2nd place in the [[Central League]].

In 2012, [[Norichika Aoki]] was posted to the [[Milwaukee Brewers]]. On 19 March 2012, the main office was moved to Kita-[[Aoyama, Tokyo|Aoyama]] which is located close to the [[Meiji Jingu Stadium]] from Higashi-[[Shinbashi]].

In 2013, Swallows outfielder [[Wladimir Balentien]] broke the NPB single-season home run record, finishing the season with 60 home runs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130915&content_id=60680808&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb|title=Balentien breaks Oh's Japanese home run record|last=Berry|first=Adam|work=MLB.com|date=September 15, 2013|access-date=September 15, 2013}}</ref> This was majorly due to the league secretly introducing a more juiced ball that allowed more home runs to be scored, which caused three-term NPB commissioner [[Ryōzō Katō|Ryozo Kato]] to resign when the juiced ball was found about.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-09-19|title=Japan commissioner resigns over juiced ball|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/9692461/japanese-commissioner-ryozo-kato-resigns-juiced-ball|access-date=2022-01-26|website=ESPN.com|language=en}}</ref>

The Swallows finished the 2015 regular season with the Central League's best record and defeated the Yomiuri Giants in the Climax Series to advance to the [[2015 Japan Series|Japan Series]], where they lost to the [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]] in five games.

The Swallows clinched the 2021 Central League pennant on 26 October 2021 with a 5–1 victory over Yokohama DeNA BayStars, coupled with Hanshin Tigers losing 4-0 to Chunichi Dragons on the same night. The victory clinched the pennant with two games to spare in the regular season. This allowed them to advance to the final stage of the Climax Series, sweeping the Yomiuri Giants, 3-0, to advance to the Japan Series. They eventually won the series against the [[Orix Buffaloes]] in six games to win the Japan Series, their first since 2001. They backed it up in 2022 with an 80-59-4 record, winning the 2022 Central League pennant and returning to the [[2022 Japan Series|Japan Series]] by sweeping the Hanshin Tigers in the [[2022 Central League Climax Series]], once again facing the Orix Buffaloes. This time however, the Buffaloes would exact revenge on the Swallows, beating them in the Japan Series in seven games, 4–2–1. Third baseman [[Munetaka Murakami]] broke the Japanese-born single season [[home run]] record in 2022 with 56 home runs, surpassing [[Sadaharu Oh]]'s record of 55 set in 1964.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:2019 神宮 (46809466734).jpg|View of Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows's home ballpark
File:Meiji Jingu Stadium.JPG|Swallows fans holding umbrellas in 2006
File:Gk ryoDSC 93972.jpg|[[Tetsuto Yamada]] (2011–present) in 2018
File:Gk ryoIMG 5603.jpg|[[Munetaka Murakami]] in 2018
</gallery>

==Current roster==
{{Tokyo Yakult Swallows roster}}

===Honoured numbers===
*1: {{nihongo|[[Tsutomu Wakamatsu]]|若松 勉}}
*6: {{nihongo|[[Shinya Miyamoto]]|宮本 慎也}}
*8: {{nihongo|[[Katsuo Osugi]]|大杉 勝男}}
*27: {{nihongo|[[Atsuya Furuta]]|古田 敦也}} – Player manager in 2006–2007

==Former players==
{{player||Japan|[[Masaichi Kaneda]]}} (1950–1964)
{{player||Japan|[[Yukihiko Machida]]}} (1952–1964)
{{player||Japan|[[Yasumitsu Toyoda]]}} (1963–1969)
{{player||Japan|[[Hiromu Matsuoka]]}} (1968–1985)
{{player||Japan|[[Akihiko Ohya]]}} (1970–1985) 
{{player||Japan|[[Yukio Yaegashi]]}} (1970–1993) 
{{player||Japan|[[Takeshi Yasuda (baseball)|Takeshi Yasuda]]}} (1971–1981)
{{player||Japan|[[Tsutomu Wakamatsu]]}} (1972–1989)
{{player||USA|[[Joe Pepitone]]}} (1973)
{{player||USA|[[Roger Repoz]]}} (1974–1977)
{{player||USA|[[Charlie Manuel]]}} (1976–1978, 1981)
{{player||USA|[[Dave Hilton (baseball)|Dave Hilton]]}} (1978–1979) 
{{player||Japan|[[Daisuke Araki]]}} (1983–1995) 
{{player||Japan|[[Hideki Kuriyama]]}} (1984–1990) 
{{player||Japan|[[Takahiro Ikeyama]]}} (1984–2002) 
{{player||Japan|[[Katsumi Hirosawa]]}} (1985–1994)
{{player||USA|[[Bob Horner]]}} (1987) 
{{player||Japan|[[Tetsuya Iida]]}} (1987–2004) 
{{player||Japan|[[Katsuyuki Dobashi]]}} (1987–2006)
{{player||Japan|[[Kenji Tomashino]]}} (1989–1997) 
{{player||USA|[[Larry Parrish]]}} (1989) 
{{player||USA|[[Floyd Bannister]]}} (1990) 
{{player||Japan|[[Atsuya Furuta]]}} (1990–2007) 
{{player||Japan|[[Tatsuji Nishimura]]}} (1990–1994)
{{player||USA|[[Johnny Ray (second baseman)|Johnny Ray]]}} (1991–1992) 
{{player||Japan|[[Yōichi Okabayashi]]}} (1991–2000) 
{{player||USA|[[Jack Howell (baseball)|Jack Howell]]}} (1992–1994)
{{player||USA|[[Rex Hudler]]}} (1993) 
{{player||Japan|[[Mitsuru Manaka]]}} (1993–2008)  
{{player||Japan|[[Futoshi Yamabe]]}} (1994–2006) 
{{player||NED|[[Hensley Meulens]]}} (1995–1996) 
{{player||USA|[[Tom O'Malley]]}} (1995–1996) 
{{player||USA|[[Terry Bross]]}} (1995–1997) 
{{player||Japan|[[Susumu Aoyagi]]}} (1995–2002)
{{player||Japan|[[Atsunori Inaba]]}} (1995–2004)
{{player||Japan|[[Shinya Miyamoto]]}} (1995–2013) 
{{player||Japan|[[Hatsuhiko Tsuji]]}} (1996–1999) 
{{player||Japan|[[Shinichi Sato (baseball)|Shinichi Sato]]}} (1996–2005)
{{player||USA|[[Dwayne Hosey]]}} (1997–1998) 
{{player||Japan|[[Ryota Igarashi]]}} (1998–2009, 2019–2020)
{{player||USA|[[Jason Jacome]]}} (1999–2000)
{{player||Venezuela|[[Roberto Petagine]]}} (1999–2002) 
{{player||Venezuela|[[Alex Ramírez]]}} (2001–2007) 
{{player||Japan|[[Ken Suzuki]]}} (2003–2007) 
{{player||Japan|[[Yuhei Takai]]}} (2003–2021)
{{player||Canada|[[Aaron Guiel]]}} (2007–2011) 
{{player||South Korea|[[Lim Chang-yong]]}} (2008–2012)  
{{player||Japan|[[Kazuki Fukuchi]]}} (2008–2012)
{{player||Japan|[[Yoshinori Sato|Yoshinori]]}} (2008–2018) 
{{player||USA|[[Tony Barnette]]}} (2010-2015) 
{{Player||Netherlands|[[Wladimir Balentien]]}} (2011–2019) 
{{player||Japan|[[Naomichi Nishiura]]}} (2014–2023) 
{{player||South Korea|[[Ha Jae-hoon (baseball)|Ha Jae-hoon]]}} (2016) 
{{player||Japan|[[Tomotaka Sakaguchi]]}} (2016–2022) 
{{player||USA|[[Scott McGough]]}} (2019–2022)
{{player||Japan|[[Seiichi Uchikawa]]}} (2021–2022) 
{{player||Japan|[[Takahiro Araki]]}} (2010–2023)
{{player||Japan|[[Nori Aoki|Norichika Aoki]]}} (2004–2011, 2018–2024) 
{{player||USA|[[Cy Sneed]]}} (2021–2024)

==MLB players==
*[[Masato Yoshii]] (1998–2002)
*[[Kazuhisa Ishii]] (2002–2005)
*[[Shingo Takatsu]] (2004–2005)
*[[Akinori Iwamura]] (2007–2010)
*[[Ryota Igarashi]] (2010–2012)
*[[Norichika Aoki]] (2012–2017)
*[[Tony Barnette]] (2016–2019)
*[[Domingo Santana]] (2014-2020)
*[[Jose Osuna]] (2017-2020)

==Managers==
*{{player||Japan|[[Tokuo Nishigaki]]}} (1950–1953)
*{{player||Japan|[[Soichi Fujita (Outfielder)|Soichi Fujita]]}} (1954–1955)
*{{player||Japan|[[Mitsuo Uno]]}} (1956–1960)
*{{player||Japan|[[Kuninobu Sunaoshi]]}} (1961–1962)
*{{player||Japan|[[Shinji Hamazaki]]}} (1963)
*{{player||Japan|[[Giichi Hayashi]]}} (1964–1965)
*{{player||Japan|[[Tokuji Iida]]}} (1966–1967)
*{{player||Japan|[[Takehiko Bessho]]}} (1968–1970) 
*{{player||Japan|[[Osamu Mihara]]}} (1971–1973)
*{{player||Japan|[[Hiroshi Arakawa]]}} (1974–1976)
*{{player||Japan|[[Tatsuro Hirooka]]}} (1976–1979)
*{{player||Japan|[[Shiro Takegami]]}} (1980–1984)
*{{player||Japan|[[Masayuki Dobashi]]}} (1984–1986)
*{{player||Japan|[[Junzo Sekine]]}} (1987–1989)
*{{player||Japan|[[Katsuya Nomura]]}} (1990–1998)
*{{player||Japan|[[Tsutomu Wakamatsu]]}} (1999–2005)
*{{player||Japan|[[Atsuya Furuta]]}} (2006–2007) - Player Manager
*{{player||Japan|[[Shigeru Takada]]}} (2008–2010)
*{{player||Japan|[[Junji Ogawa]]}} (2011–2014, 2018–2019)
*{{player||Japan|[[Mitsuru Manaka]]}} (2015–2017)
*{{player||Japan|[[Shingo Takatsu]]}} (2020–present)

==Top starting pitchers==
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"  style="text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Player
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Years
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Games
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Win
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Lose
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Number of pitches
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|Strikeout
! scope="col" style="width:10%;"|ERA
|-
! scope="row"|[[Masaichi Kaneda]]
| 1950–1964
| 814
| 353
| 267
| 4920
| 4065
| 2.27 
|-
! scope="row"|[[Gen'ichi Murata]]
| 1957–1969
| 459
| 118
| 140
| 2154
| 991
| 3.05
|-
! scope="row"|[[Hiromu Matsuoka]]
| 1968–1985
| 660
| 191
| 190
| 3240
| 2008
| 3.33 
|-
! scope="row"|[[Takao Obana]]
| 1978–1991
| 425
| 112
| 135
| 2203
| 1225
| 3.82
|-
! scope="row"|'''[[Masanori Ishikawa]]'''
| 2002–ongoing
| 525
| 184
| 183
| 3061
| 1758
| 3.88
|}
{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Mascots==
The team's mascot is a black swallow with a red face named {{nihongo|Tsubakuro|つば九郎|Tsubakurō}}. He is known for his feuds with the [[Orix Buffaloes]]' mascots. He always wears a batting helmet. Whenever the Swallows wear special home uniforms, Tsubakuro also wears the same.

The number on the back of his uniform is "2896" as opposed to 111/222 used by [[Orix Buffaloes#Mascots|Buffalo Bull and Buffalo Bell]], the Buffaloes' mascots.

There is also a female swallow mascot named Tsubami. She wears a skirt and may be intended as Tsubakuro's little sister, just as Bell is Bull's little sister. Unlike her brother, she wears a sports visor.

Before Tsubakuro was created, the team's mascots were {{nihongo|Yabo|ヤー坊|Yābō}} and {{nihongo|Sue-chan|スーちゃん|Sū-chan}}, who were the team mascots from 1979 to 1994.

The team also had a third mascot named {{nihongo|Torcuya|トルクーヤ|Torukūya}}, a swallow who resembles a [[luchador]]. He always carries around a parasol and a bottle of Yakult that he carries on his back.

The team also had a former mascot named {{nihongo|Entaro|燕太郎|Entarō}}, a swallow who wore a jersey with the number 8960. He was replaced by Torcuya in 2014.
{{clear}}

== Minor League team==
The Swallows farm team plays in the [[Eastern League (Japanese baseball)|Eastern League]]. The team was founded in 1950.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tokyo Yakult Swallows}}
* [https://www.yakult-swallows.co.jp/ Official website] {{in lang|ja}}
* [http://www.yakult-swallows.co.jp/en/ Tokyo Yakult Swallows official English website]

{{Tokyo Yakult Swallows}}
{{Japanese Professional Baseball}}
{{Tokyo Yakult Swallows roster navbox}}
{{Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tokyo Yakult Swallows| ]]
[[Category:Nippon Professional Baseball teams]]
[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1950]]
[[Category:Baseball teams in Tokyo]]
[[Category:1950 establishments in Japan]]