Throughout the Climax Series final stage, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks manager Koji Akiyama maintained a blunt attitude when asked how he would compare this year's team with last year's squad, saying, "last year was last year. This year is this year."
It wasn't necessarily a bluff. Indeed, the team, which swept the Seibu Lions to clinch a place in the Japan Series on Saturday after missing out last year, is different in 2011.
First off, Softbank added newcomers Seiichi Uchikawa and Toru Hosokawa to the squad through free agency. Those fresh faces weren't a part of the team's recent miserable postseason history, and brought a breath of fresh air to the Kyushu club.