Machine Gun Offense Revived

The date was March 9, 1997. In a pre-season game against the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, Ohya-kantoku's Yokohama BayStars knocked out 24 hits, 19 of which were singles, defeating the Hawks 13-4. Ohya-kantoku commented about how much damage could be done with just a string of hits. And that's how the "Machine Gun Offense" begun.

The Machine Gun Offense carried on for two more years, with key members of the 1998 Japan champions being:

1. SS Ishii Takuro (.314, 7 HR, 48 RBI)
2. CF Haru Toshio (.273, 2 HR, 39 RBI)
3. LF Suzuki Takanori (.337, 16 HR, 87 RBI)
4. 2B Bobby Rose (.325, 19 HR, 96 RBI)
5. 1B Komada Norihiro (.281, 9 HR, 81 RBI)
6. RF Saeki Takahiro (.289, 9 HR, 55 RBI)
7. C Tanishige Motonobu (.254, 14 HR, 55 RBI)
8. 3B Shindoh Tatsuya (.241, 14 HR, 54 RBI)
9. Pitcher

In that championship year, the team batted a league top .277 while tying for third in the league in home runs with 100, and topping the mighty Giants in RBIs by 2 with 607 (the Giants hitting 148 round trippers).

This lineup went on to set a new Central League batting average in 1999, hitting .294 (pitchers included). At one point near the end of the season they managed to get over the .300 mark. The BayStars relied on the one big inning, and the opposition seemed to just fall apart after just a couple of hits in a row came out of that machine gun.

It's now been 10 years since that championship season of 1998, 11 years since the Machine Gun Offense was born. While many of the names have changed, it looked like a revival of that Sprint 1997 team as the BayStars knocked Rakuten's Asai up for 6 runs on 8 hits, 6 hits in a row, in the second inning of a practice game yesterday (February 26, 2008).

4. 3B Murata Shuichi leads off with a single to center.
5. 1B Saeki Takahiro follows with a single to lef.
6. RF Yoshimura Yuki singles in a run with a hit up the middle.
7. DH Larry Bigbie singles in a run with another base hit to center.
8. SS Ishii Takuro makes it 3-0 with a single to right.
9. C Tsuruoka Kazunari singles to right to load the bases.
1. 2B [Out]
2. LF Ozeki Tatsuya singles up the middle, driving in one.
3. CF Kinjoh Tatsuhiko drives in two more with a single up the middle.

Rakuten pitcher Asai commented that he was following the theme of keeping the ball on the ground, which he did very well. But he was a bit dazed at how many somehow evaded his fielders.

I realize that this is an old thread, but I just need to add this.
I love this approach to Baseball , a missing element in the USA

How I wish this were true in this season.......

I would love to see the famous "マシンガン打線" that my Japanese friends tell me about almost every game I go to.

They have flashes of it every now and then. But nothing like it was in 1997-'99. Back then, down by 8 runs in the 8th inning was no problem. And they'd come back with all singles and doubles. Their pennant winning 1998 season was full of come from behind victories, scoring most of their runs in the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings.

I need to put together an inning-by-inning summation for this season. The only impression that I have is that they give up runs like they used to score them in the 7th inning on.

The loss to Hanshin a couple days ago is more indicative of the season this year. Up by three runs with one strike to go - and they blow it with closing ace Terahara on the mound. The Tigers had a good imitation of the Machine Gun Offense there. But pitching is off topic.

The lineup in 1998 was typically:

1. SS Ishii Takuro (.314 Avg., 7 HR, 48 RBI)
2. CF Haru (.273, 2, 39)
3. LF Suzuki Takanori (.337, 16, 87)
4. 2B Bobby Rose (.325, 19, 96)
5. 1B Komada (.281, 9, 81)
6. RF Nakane (.301, 4, 31) or Saeki (.289, 9, 55)
7. C Tanishige (.254, 14, 55)
8. 3B Shindoh (.241, 14, 54)
9. Pitcher

With this lineup, the BayStars led the league in batting average (.277 - pitchers included), at bats (4,706), runs scored(642), hits (1,304), doubles (245), triples (23), total bases (1,895), RBIs (607), hit into double plays (114), LOB (1,037), and OBP (.345). 100 home runs was tied for 3rd in the league.

In the 5th game of the Nippon Series that year against the Seibu Lions, the BayStars set the NS record of 20 hits in a game (breaking the previous record of 19). They also hit 9 doubles, exceeding the previous record of 5 by a good margin. In fact, the most extra base hits in a NS game was 7 before that, and when the 2 triples and 1 home run are added in, that's 12 extra base hits for the BayStars.

Ah, you know you're getting old when you start to reminisce too much about the "Good ol' days."

Source for detailed stats: 1999 Record Book by Baseball Magazine Sha, ISBN 4-583-04541-7 (any errors were my data entry problem)

Wouldn't really say that Terahara is a closing ace but I still think it's unbelievable that the baystars were capable of that at one time