The Central League race was mostly a bore last season.
The Yomiuri Giants ran away with the pennant while the Chunichi Dragons finished second with a comfortable 10-game cushion over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
The only real competition was for third, where the Swallows edged the Hanshin Tigers by 2 1/2 games.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.