It may be difficult to believe, but arguably the two worst franchises in Japanese pro baseball, in terms of both player talent and attractiveness to their respective fan bases, are the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Yokohama BayStars.
Twenty years ago, a Central League team in the Kanto area — even if it was not the Yomiuri Giants — was a hot ticket. The Swallows, playing at Jingu Stadium smack dab in the center of the capital, could always expect a crowd in excess of 45,000 against the crosstown-rival Giants, regardless of their standing in the league or when during the season each game was played.
The same could be said for the BayStars club and its predecessor, the Taiyo Whales, going back to the days when the Whales were based in bandbox Kawasaki Stadium between Tokyo and Yokohama. The only difference is a capacity crowd at either place would be 30,000.