Catcher Shinnosuke Abe homered and drove in two runs but had to postpone his own celebration due to an injury after helping his team clinch its second consecutive Central League title with a 3-1 victory over the Yakult Swallows on Oct. 10.

The Yomiuri Giants, which had a magic number of two with a half-game lead over the Hanshin Tigers before the game, clinched the league pennant with its win over Yakult, coupled with Hanshin's 4-3 defeat to the Yokohama BayStars.

"What an incredible bunch of players!" said Giants manager Tatsunori Hara (pictured) after hearing the news of Hanshin's defeat later Oct. 10. "Hanshin was really strong and had a huge lead on us in the first half of the season, but none of these players ever gave up," he said.