# 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions season

The 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions season was the 59th season of the Saitama Seibu Lions franchise. The Lions played their home games at Seibu Dome in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Hisanobu Watanabe on his first season as team manager.
Seibu finished the season in first place with a record of 76–64–4, winning the team its 21st PL pennant and qualifying them for the Climax Series. In the 2008 Pacific League Climax Series, the Lions defeated the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Second Stage and went on to win the 2008 Japan Series, its thirteenth, as well as the 2008 Asia Series.

## Regular season
### Standings

Pacific League regular season standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GB | PCT | Home | Away |
| 1 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 144 | 76 | 64 | 4 | — | .542 | 44–27–1 | 32–37–3 |
| 2 | Orix Buffaloes | 144 | 75 | 68 | 1 | 5.5 | .524 | 41–31–0 | 34–37–1 |
| 3 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 144 | 73 | 69 | 2 | 6 | .514 | 41–30–1 | 32–39–1 |
| 4 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 144 | 73 | 70 | 1 | 7.5 | .510 | 41–30–1 | 32–40–0 |
| 5 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 144 | 65 | 76 | 3 | 12.5 | .462 | 37–34–1 | 28–42–2 |
| 6 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 144 | 64 | 77 | 3 | 13.5 | .455 | 36–33–3 | 28–44–0 |

### Interleague

| Teamvte | Pld | HW | HL | AW | AL | GB | PCT |
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 24 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | — | .625 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 24 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | — | .625 |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 24 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | .583 |
| Yomiuri Giants | 24 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 1 | .583 |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 24 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .542 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 24 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .542 |
| Chunichi Dragons | 24 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3 | .500 |
| Orix Buffaloes | 24 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | .458 |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 24 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | .458 |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 24 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 5 | .417 |
| Saitama Seibu Lions | 24 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 5 | .417 |
| Yokohama BayStars | 24 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 9 | .250 |

### Record vs. opponents

2008 record vs. opponents :
| Team | Central League opponents | Central League opponents | Central League opponents | Central League opponents | Central League opponents | Central League opponents | Pacific League opponents | Pacific League opponents | Pacific League opponents | Pacific League opponents | Pacific League opponents | Pacific League opponents |
| Team | BayStars | Carp | Dragons | Giants | Swallows | Tigers | Buffaloes | Eagles | Fighters | Hawks | Lions | Marines |
| BayStars | — | 11–13 | 7–17 | 5–18–1 | 9–15 | 10–13–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Carp | 13–11 | — | 9–13–2 | 12–10–2 | 12–11–1 | 10–14 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Dragons | 17–7 | 13–9–2 | — | 14–10 | 9–13–2 | 6–17–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Giants | 18–5–1 | 10–12–2 | 10–14 | — | 18–6 | 14–10 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–0 |
| Swallows | 15–9 | 11–12–1 | 13–9–2 | 6–18 | — | 10–13–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Tigers | 13–10–1 | 14–10 | 17–6–1 | 10–14 | 13–10–1 | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 |
| Buffaloes | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | — | 13–10–1 | 13–11 | 14–10 | 10–14 | 14–10 |
| Eagles | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 10–13–1 | — | 13–10–1 | 12–12 | 10–14 | 7–16–1 |
| Fighters | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 11–13 | 10–13–1 | — | 17–7 | 9–14–1 | 12–12 |
| Hawks | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 10–14 | 12–12 | 7–17 | — | 10–11–3 | 10–14 |
| Lions | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 14–10 | 14–10 | 14–9–1 | 11–10–3 | — | 13–11 |
| Marines | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 10–14 | 16–7–1 | 12–12 | 14–10 | 11–13 | — |

### Opening Day roster

Thursday, March 20, 2008 vs. Orix Buffaloes
| Order | Player | Pos. |
| 1 | Yasuyuki Kataoka | 2B |
| 2 | Takumi Kuriyama | DH |
| 3 | Hiroyuki Nakajima | SS |
| 4 | Craig Brazell | 1B |
| 5 | G. G. Sato | RF |
| 6 | Takeya Nakamura | 3B |
| 7 | Hiram Bocachica | CF |
| 8 | Toru Hosokawa | C |
| 9 | Kenta Matsusaka | LF |
| — | Hideaki Wakui | P |

### Game log

2008 game log: 76–64–4 (Home: 44–27–1; Away: 32–37–3) :
March: 4–5–0 (Home: 3–3–0; Away: 1–2–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
1March 20Buffaloes1–2Kaneko (1–0)Wakui (0–1)Kato (1)Seibu Dome27,1370–1–0L1
2March 22Buffaloes6–0Ishii (1–0)Nakayama (0–1)—Seibu Dome12,2881–1–0W1
3March 23Buffaloes1–2Kondo (1–0)Kinney (0–1)Kato (2)Seibu Dome12,6321–2–0L1
4March 25@ Fighters1–9Takeda (1–0)Nishiguchi (0–1)—Sapporo Dome16,4101–3–0L2
5March 26@ Fighters8–0Kishi (1–0)Yoshikawa (0–1)—Sapporo Dome19,2062–3–0W1
6March 27@ Fighters0–1 (10)Takeda (1–0)Wakui (0–2)—Sapporo Dome25,0112–4–0L1
7March 28Hawks2–3Sugiuchi (1–0)Onodera (0–1)Nitkowski (1)Seibu Dome9,1842–5–0L2
8March 29Hawks10–4Ishii (2–0)Standridge (0–1)—Seibu Dome16,0443–5–0W1
9March 30Hawks5–1Kinney (1–1)Oba (1–1)—Seibu Dome18,0594–5–0W2 :
April: 14–7–1 (Home: 10–2–1; Away: 4–5–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
10April 1@ Buffaloes6–10Yamamoto (1–0)Nishiguchi (0–2)—Skymark Stadium10,7514–6–0L1
11April 2@ Buffaloes5–1Kishi (2–0)Takagi (1–1)—Kyocera Dome8,6165–6–0W1
12April 3@ Buffaloes4–3Hoshino (1–0)Motoyanagi (0–1)Graman (1)Kyocera Dome9,1636–6–0W2
13April 4Eagles4–2Hoashi (1–0)Lin (0–1)Graman (2)Shikishima Stadium17,5997–6–0W3
14April 5Eagles4–2Ishii (3–0)Tanaka (1–1)Onuma (1)Seibu Dome23,9028-6-0W4
15April 6Eagles4–3Kinney (2–1)Asai (1–2)Graman (3)Seibu Dome18,2139–6–0W5
16April 8Marines4–3Onodera (1–1)Ogino (1–1)—Seibu Dome8,81810–6–0W6
17April 9Marines1–10Shimizu (1–2)Kishi (2–1)—Seibu Dome10,54110–7–0L1
18April 10Marines15–5Wakui (1–2)Kubo (1–2)—Seibu Dome7,70211–7–0W1
19April 11@ Hawks8–3Onuma (1–0)Sugiuchi (1–1)Graman (4)Yahoo Dome28,72112–7–0W2
20April 12@ Hawks5–8Ogura (1–0)Onodera (1–2)Houlton (1)Yahoo Dome29,69212–8–0L1
21April 13@ Hawks4–5Kume (3–0)Onuma (1–1)—Yahoo Dome29,54512–9–0L2
22April 15Fighters3–3 (12)Game tied after 12 inningsSeibu Dome8,39712–9–1T1
23April 16Fighters4–2Wakui (2–2)Yoshikawa (1–3)Graman (5)Seibu Dome11,26313–9–1W1
—April 19@ EaglesPostponed (rain) – Makeup date: October 4Kleenex Stadium———
24April 20@ Eagles4–3 (10)Iwasaki (1–0)Aoyama (1–1)Graman (6)Kleenex Stadium19,60114–9–1W2
25April 22@ Marines1–8Watanabe (3–1)Ishii (3–1)—Chiba Marine Stadium16,85614–10–1L1
26April 23@ Marines1–2Ono (2–0)Wakui (2–3)Ogino (5)Chiba Marine Stadium16,05914–11–1L2
—April 24@ MarinesPostponed (rain) – Makeup date: October 1Chiba Marine Stadium———
27April 25Buffaloes9–5 (11)Graman (1–0)Junge (0–1)—Seibu Dome7,41715–11–1W1
28April 26Buffaloes10–8Mitsui (1–0)Yoshino (0–1)Graman (7)Seibu Dome20,13016–11–1W2
29April 27Buffaloes10–3Hoashi (2–0)Kondo (2–3)—Seibu Dome16,47217–11–1W3
30April 29Hawks7–10 (12)Houlton (1–0)Mitsui (1–1)—Seibu Dome26,61917–12–1L1
31April 30Hawks6–2Ishii (4–1)Otonari (2–4)—Seibu Dome12,49718–12–1W1 :
May: 15–9–0 (Home: 7–2–0; Away: 8–7–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
32May 1Hawks5–4Wakui (3–3)Houlton (1–1)—Seibu Dome14,65919–12–1W2
33May 2@ Marines5–0Kishi (3–1)Shimizu (3–3)—Chiba Marine Stadium9,65920–12–1W3
34May 3@ Marines1–10Karakawa (2–0)Nishiguchi (0–3)—Chiba Marine Stadium30,01420–13–1L1
35May 4@ Marines4–0Hoashi (3–0)Kobayashi (1–5)—Chiba Marine Stadium30,02321–13–1W1
36May 5Fighters8–6Onodera (2–2)Takeda (2–2)Graman (8)Seibu Dome34,78322–13–1W2
37May 6Fighters3–1Ishii (5–1)Miyanishi (0–2)—Seibu Dome27,34023–13–1W3
38May 7Fighters4–3Hoshino (2–0)Darvish (5–1)—Seibu Dome15,57424–13–1W4
39May 9@ Buffaloes3–2Kishi (4–1)Ortiz (0–2)Graman (9)Kyocera Dome14,67025–13–1W5
—May 10@ BuffaloesPostponed (rain) – Makeup date: September 5Skymark Stadium———
40May 11@ Buffaloes9–0Hoashi (4–0)Kaneko (2–4)—Skymark Stadium12,67826–13–1W6
41May 13@ Hawks2–4Wada (4–0)Ishii (5–2)Houlton (5)Sun Marine Stadium20,60626–14–1L1
42May 14@ Hawks11–4Wakui (4–3)Guttormson (1–2)—Yahoo Dome33,62927–14–1W1
43May 15@ Hawks10–3Nishiguchi (1–3)Powell (1–2)—Yahoo Dome31,79328–14–1W2
44May 16@ Eagles2–8Iwakuma (6–2)Kishi (4–2)—Kleenex Stadium12,05728–15–1L1
45May 17@ Eagles2–3 (12)Kawagishi (1–1)Okamoto (0–1)—Kleenex Stadium14,26528–16–1L2
46May 18@ Eagles7–3Hsu (1–0)Tanaka (4–3)—Kleenex Stadium20,25329–16–1W1
47May 21Swallows4–5Rios (2–5)Onodera (2–3)Lim (13)Seibu Dome15,68329–17–1L1
48May 22Swallows7–2Wakui (5–3)Muranaka (3–5)—Seibu Dome14,23630–17–1W1
49May 23Giants10–1Kishi (5–2)Greisinger (5–2)—Seibu Dome24,13731–17–1W2
50May 24Giants4–2Hoashi (5–0)Nomaguchi (1–2)Graman (10)Seibu Dome34,43232–17–1W3
51May 25@ Tigers1–5Kubota (2–1)Onodera (2–4)—Koshien Stadium43,51632–18–1L1
52May 26@ Tigers1–2 (11)Watanabe (2–0)Graman (1–1)—Koshien Stadium41,97032–19–1L2
53May 28@ Carp5–3Ishii (6–2)Oshima (0–2)Graman (11)Fukuyama Stadium7,04133–19–1W1
54May 29@ Carp1–3Lewis (7–4)Wakui (5–4)Nagakawa (6)Hiroshima Stadium15,26733–20–1L1
55May 31Dragons3–4Kawakami (3–3)Onuma (1–2)Iwase (16)Seibu Dome32,78833–21–1L2 :
June: 8–10–0 (Home: 6–4–0; Away: 2–6–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
56June 1Dragons10–3Hoashi (6–0)Nakata (4–4)—Seibu Dome33,15734–21–1W1
57June 3BayStars7–3Nishiguchi (2–3)Oyamada (1–3)—Seibu Dome11,47735–21–1W2
58June 4BayStars2–1Ishii (7–2)Kuwahara (0–1)Graman (12)Seibu Dome13,41636–21–1W3
59June 6@ Swallows1–7Tateyama (5–1)Wakui (5–5)—Iwaki Green Stadium7,73336–22–1L1
60June 7@ Swallows5–3Kishi (6–2)Kawashima (1–2)Graman (13)Hitachinaka Stadium11,23237–22–1W1
61June 8@ Giants0–4Utsumi (4–4)Hsu (1–1)—Tokyo Dome43,05137–23–1L1
62June 9@ Giants9–3Nishiguchi (3–3)Greisinger (6–4)—Tokyo Dome44,28438–23–1W1
63June 11Tigers4–6Uezono (2–0)Ishii (7–3)Fujikawa (23)Seibu Dome32,38338–24–1L1
64June 12Tigers6–3Wakui (6–5)Iwata (5–3)—Seibu Dome28,45639–24–1W1
65June 14Carp1–8Hasegawa (3–5)Kishi (6–3)—Seibu Dome30,37439–25–1L1
66June 15Carp2–4Lewis (10–4)Hoashi (6–1)Nagakawa (11)Seibu Dome28,65739–26–1L2
67June 17@ Dragons4–5Iwase (2–2)Okamoto (0–1)—Ishikawa Stadium10,94439–27–1L3
68June 18@ Dragons2–3Ogasawara (7–4)Wakui (6–6)Iwase (21)Alpen Stadium13,63239–28–1L4
69June 21@ BayStars4–5 (10)Terahara (3–5)Graman (1–2)—Yokohama Stadium14,16539–29–1L5
—June 22@ BayStarsPostponed (rain) – Makeup date: June 23Yokohama Stadium———
70June 23@ BayStars5–10Wood (1–6)Ishii (7–4)—Yokohama Stadium8,25139–30–1L6
71June 27Marines4–1Hoashi (7–1)Naruse (4–4)Graman (14)Omiya Stadium20,28940–30–1W1
72June 28Marines3–11Watanabe (6–4)Kishi (6–4)—Seibu Dome29,50740–31–1L1
73June 29Marines9–5Nishiguchi (4–3)Kobayashi (2–8)—Seibu Dome25,66641–31–1W1 :
July: 13–10–0 (Home: 5–4–0; Away: 8–6–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
74July 1@ Fighters12–7Onodera (3–4)Miyanishi (2–3)—Sapporo Dome22,12542–31–1W2
75July 2@ Fighters8–6Wakui (7–6)Glynn (3–11)Graman (15)Sapporo Dome17,68243–31–1W3
76July 3@ Fighters4–6Darvish (9–3)Hoashi (7–2)Nakamura (14)Sapporo Dome24,42043–32–1L1
77July 5Eagles3–2Kishi (7–4)Tanaka (6–5)Graman (16)Seibu Dome29,71944–32–1W1
78July 6Eagles5–7Aoyama (2–2)Hsu (1–2)Kawagishi (1)Seibu Dome25,65444–33–1L1
79July 8Hawks2–5Sugiuchi (7–5)Ishii (7–5)—Seibu Dome13,48644–34–1L2
80July 9Hawks2–7Guttormson (4–4)Wakui (7–7)—Seibu Dome15,67444–35–1L3
81July 11@ Buffaloes12–4Hoashi (8–2)Ortiz (3–6)—Skymark Stadium15,29645–35–1W1
82July 12@ Buffaloes4–2Shotsu (1–0)Kato (1–3)Graman (17)Skymark Stadium13,32146–35–1W2
83July 13@ Buffaloes1–4Kaneko (5–6)Nishiguchi (4–4)Kato (19)Kyocera Dome13,31246–36–1L1
84July 15@ Hawks4–13Sugiuchi (8–5)Ishii (7–6)—Yahoo Dome35,70646–37–1L2
85July 16@ Hawks5–6 (12)Mise (2–0)Hoshino (2–1)—Yahoo Dome35,67446–38–1L3
86July 18@ Marines8–6Hoashi (9–2)Karakawa (5–2)Graman (18)Chiba Marine Stadium17,39447–38–1W1
87July 19@ Marines17–10Hoshino (3–1)Naruse (6–5)Onodera (1)Chiba Marine Stadium25,82348–38–1W2
88July 20@ Marines0–16Watanabe (8–4)Nishiguchi (4–5)—Chiba Marine Stadium26,36548–39–1L1
89July 21Eagles6 - 4Shotsu (2-0)Koyama (2-5)Graman (19)Seibu Dome25,43149–39–1W1
90July 22Eagles14–2Wakui (8–7)Hasebe (0–2)—Seibu Dome16,10350–39–1W2
91July 23Eagles14–5Hirano (1–0)Guzmán (2–6)—Seibu Dome17,02851–39–1W3
92July 25@ Fighters1–2Tadano (6–3)Hoashi (9–3)Nakamura (18)Sapporo Dome23,32351–40–1L1
93July 26@ Fighters6–3Iwasaki (2–0)Kanamori (0–1)Graman (20)Sapporo Dome33,53852–40–1W1
94July 27@ Fighters3–2 (10)Graman (2–2)Takeda (3–4)—Sapporo Dome36,06453–40–1W2
95July 28Buffaloes2–6Komatsu (7–3)Wakui (8–8)—Seibu Dome14,76853–41–1L1
96July 29Buffaloes4–2Ishii (8–6)Yoshino (1–3)Graman (21)Seibu Dome17,01654–41–1W1
All-Star Break: CL and PL split series, 1–1 :
August: 12–7–3 (Home: 10–4–0; Away: 2–3–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
97August 3Marines3–4Watanabe (9–4)Hirano (1–1)Ogino (16)Nagano Olympic14,13454–42–1L1
98August 4Marines16 –2Kishi (8–4)Shimizu (8–7)—Nagano Olympic11,35555–42–1W1
99August 10Fighters11–2Hoashi (10–3)Tadano (6–5)—Seibu Dome30,02456–42–1W2
100August 11Fighters3–0Kishi (9–4)Takeda (6–4)Graman (22)Seibu Dome19,26057–42–1W3
101August 12Fighters8–4Onodera (4–4)Takeda (3–5)—Seibu Dome19,05558–42–1W4
102August 13@ Eagles7–11Nagai (6–6)Ishii (8–7)—Kleenex Stadium20,40558–43–1L1
103August 14@ Eagles8–2Nishiguchi (5–5)Aoyama (2–6)—Kleenex Stadium19,22759–43–1W1
104August 15@ Eagles4–9Asai (8–7)Hirano (1–2)—Kleenex Stadium19,98159–44–1L1
105August 16Buffaloes8–7 (10)Graman (3–2)Shimizu (4–1)—Seibu Dome27,36360–44–1W1
106August 17Buffaloes4–1Kishi (10–4)Yamamoto (8–3)—Seibu Dome19,02761–44–1W2
107August 18Buffaloes4–7Katsuki (2–0)Okamoto (0–2)Kato (26)Seibu Dome12,16061–45–1L1
108August 19Hawks12–3Ishii (9–7)Houlton (4–4)—Seibu Dome16,16162–45–1W1
109August 20Hawks7–1Nishiguchi (6–5)Arakaki (0–4)—Seibu Dome17,51363–45–1W2
110August 21Hawks5–9Powell (2–6)Okamoto (0–2)—Seibu Dome18,19563–46–1L1
111August 24@ Fighters3–9Tadano (7–5)Hoashi (10–4)—Starffin Stadium22,58363–47–1L2
112August 25@ Fighters4–3Onodera (5–4)Takeda (3–7)Graman (23)Sapporo Dome21,84064–47–1W1
113August 26Eagles2–7Iwakuma (17–3)Kinney (2–2)—Seibu Dome13,49164–48–1L1
114August 27Eagles7–2Ishii (10–7)Asai (8–8)Graman (24)Seibu Dome17,76065–48–1W1
115August 28Eagles5–4Nishiguchi (7–5)Kitani (0–1)Graman (25)Seibu Dome16,55566–48–1W2
116August 29@ Hawks4–4 (12)Game tied after 12 inningsYahoo Dome32,99866–48–2T1
117August 30@ Hawks2–2 (12)Game tied after 12 inningsYahoo Dome33,05166–48–3T2
118August 31@ Hawks0–0 (12)Game tied after 12 inningsYahoo Dome33,28866–48–4T3 :
September: 9–15–0 (Home: 3–8–0; Away: 6–7–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
119September 2@ Marines5–8Watanabe (12–5)Ishii (10–8)—Chiba Marine Stadium14,26966–49–4L1
120September 3@ Marines2–0Nishiguchi (8–5)Kubo (2–7)Graman (26)Chiba Marine Stadium17,36167–49–4W1
121September 4@ Marines3–4Kawasaki (2–4)Wakui (8–9)Ogino (22)Chiba Marine Stadium16,53467–50–4L1
122September 5@ Buffaloes3–8Kishida (3–0)Hoashi (10–5)—Skymark Stadium11,28467–51–4L2
123September 6@ Buffaloes7–1Kishi (11–4)Yamamoto (9–5)—Kyocera Dome16,38568–51–4W1
124September 7@ Buffaloes2–6Kaneko (10–8)Kinney (2–3)—Kyocera Dome18,43168–52–4L1
125September 9Fighters1–4Darvish (13–4)Ishii (10–9)Nakamura (24)Seibu Dome14,55468–53–4L2
126September 10Fighters5–6Sakamoto (4–1)Nishiguchi (8–6)Nakamura (25)Seibu Dome14,29268–54–4L3
127September 11Fighters5–3Wakui (9–9)Sweeney (11–4)Graman (27)Seibu Dome14,01669–54–4W1
128September 13@ Eagles12–0Hoashi (11–5)Katayama (2–6)—Kleenex Stadium17,90970–54–4W2
129September 14@ Eagles4–5Arime (2–2)Onodera (5–5)Gwyn (3)Kleenex Stadium19,95670–55–4L1
130September 15@ Eagles6–5Shotsu (3–0)Gwyn (1–1)Graman (28)Kleenex Stadium17,18871–55–4W1
131September 16Marines4–3Ishii (11–9)Watanabe (12–7)Graman (29)Seibu Dome14,25072–55–4W2
132September 17Marines5–4 (10)Onuma (2–2)Kawasaki (2–5)—Seibu Dome14,49373–55–4W3
133September 18Marines3–6Shimizu (12–9)Wakui (9–10)Ogino (26)Seibu Dome14,07573–56–4L1
134September 20@ Hawks1–0 (10)Hoshino (4–1)Wada (8–6)Graman (30)Yahoo Dome29,78874–56–4W1
135September 21@ Hawks10–5Kishi (12–4)Guttormson (4–7)Graman (31)Yahoo Dome32,10875–56–4W2
136September 22Eagles1–6Iwakuma (20–3)Ishii (11–10)—Seibu Dome26,36175–57–4L1
137September 23Eagles7–10Kawagishi (3–3)Graman (3–3)—Seibu Dome33,22975–58–4L2
138September 24Marines1–9Kubo (3–7)Wakui (9–11)—Seibu Dome28,61375–59–4L3
139September 26@ Fighters0–2Sweeney (12–5)Hoashi (11–6)Tateyama (2)Sapporo Dome28,33175–60–4L4
140September 27@ Fighters4–5Glynn (7–14)Hsu (1–3)Nakamura (28)Sapporo Dome35,46075–61–4L5
141September 28Buffaloes2–7Komatsu (5–3)Kinney (2–4)—Seibu Dome33,22975–62–4L6
142September 29Buffaloes3–4 (10)Katsuki (4–0)Onuma (2–3)—Seibu Dome27,61175–63–4L7 :
October: 1–1–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Away: 1–1–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
143October 1@ Marines9–5Wakui (10–11)Watanabe (13–8)—Chiba Marine Stadium24,75276–63–4W1
144October 4@ Eagles3–4 (10)Kawagishi (4–3)Onuma (2–4)—Kleenex Stadium14,06376–64–4L1 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie        = Postponement Bold = Lions team member :

## Postseason
### Game log

2008 postseason game log: 4–3–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Away: 4–3–0) :
Climax Series Second Stage: 3–2–0 (Home: 3–2–0; Away: 0–0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
1October 17Fighters10–3Wakui (1–0)Glynn (0–1)—Omiya Stadium20,5001–0–0W1
2October 18Fighters0–5Darvish (1–0)Kishi (0–1)—Seibu Dome30,9181–1–0L1
3October 19Fighters4–7Takeda (1–0)Hoashi (0–1)—Seibu Dome33,0781–2–0L2
4October 21Fighters9–4Ishii (1–0)Sweeney (0–1)—Seibu Dome18,7042–2–0W1
5October 22Fighters9–4Wakui (2–0)Glynn (0–2)—Seibu Dome21,7313–2–0W2 :
Japan Series: 4–3–0 (Home: 1–2–0; Away: 3–1–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
1November 1@ Giants2–1Wakui (1–0)Uehara (0–1)Graman (1)Tokyo Dome44,7571–0–0W1
2November 2@ Giants2–3Ochi (1–0)Okamoto (0–1)—Tokyo Dome44,8141–1–0L1
3November 4Giants4–6Utsumi (1–0)Ishii (0–1)Kroon (1)Seibu Dome24,4951–2–0L2
4November 5Giants5–0Kishi (1–0)Greisinger (0–1)—Seibu Dome27,9302–2–0W1
5November 6Giants3–7Nishimura (1–0)Wakui (1–1)—Seibu Dome28,7632–3–0L1
6November 8@ Giants4–1Kishi (2–0)Takahashi (0–1)—Tokyo Dome44,7493–3–0W1
7November 9@ Giants3–2Hoshino (1–0)Ochi (1–1)Graman (2)Tokyo Dome44,7374–3–0W2 :
Asia Series: 3–1–0 (Home: 2–0–0; Away: 1–1–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
1November 13@ Wyverns3–4Lee (1–0)Hoashi (0–1)—Tokyo Dome9,2770–1–0L1
2November 14Lions2–1Kishi (1–0)Pan (0–1)Onodera (1)Tokyo Dome8,4431–1–0W1
3November 15@ Lions16–2 (7)Onuma (1–0)Wei (0–2)—Tokyo Dome8,4782–1–0W2
4November 16Lions1–0Okamoto (1–0)Pan (0–2)—Tokyo Dome18,3703–1–0W3 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie        = Postponement Bold = Lions team member :

## Player statistics
### Batting

2008 Saitama Seibu Lions batting statistics :
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG | TB |
| Shogo Akada | 68 | 160 | 29 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 14 | 37 | .244 | .305 | .338 | 54 |
| Hiram Bocachica | 78 | 239 | 43 | 60 | 13 | 0 | 20 | 47 | 3 | 24 | 76 | .251 | .344 | .556 | 133 |
| Craig Brazell | 130 | 471 | 59 | 110 | 19 | 0 | 27 | 87 | 0 | 30 | 139 | .234 | .294 | .446 | 210 |
| Akira Eto | 42 | 97 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 21 | .206 | .297 | .433 | 42 |
| Taketoshi Goto | 49 | 166 | 34 | 50 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 16 | 31 | .301 | .370 | .602 | 100 |
| Takuya Hara | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .500 | .571 | .667 | 4 |
| Hiroshi Hirao | 55 | 93 | 15 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 23 | .258 | .293 | .366 | 34 |
| Kazuyuki Hoashi | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Hidekazu Hoshi | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Toru Hosokawa | 133 | 404 | 42 | 96 | 20 | 1 | 16 | 58 | 0 | 12 | 129 | .238 | .263 | .411 | 166 |
| Hsu Ming-chieh | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Yoshihito Ishii | 108 | 306 | 31 | 85 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 25 | 53 | .278 | .328 | .392 | 120 |
| Yasuyuki Kataoka | 139 | 582 | 85 | 167 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 50 | 24 | 57 | .287 | .322 | .371 | 216 |
| Takayuki Kishi | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Takumi Kuriyama | 138 | 527 | 76 | 167 | 31 | 3 | 11 | 72 | 17 | 49 | 61 | .317 | .376 | .450 | 237 |
| Haruki Kurose | 18 | 38 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 5 | .211 | .302 | .342 | 13 |
| Kenta Matsusaka | 55 | 91 | 11 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 29 | .264 | .316 | .429 | 39 |
| Taka Miura | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .286 | .375 | .286 | 2 |
| Keisuke Mizuta | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1.00 | — | 0 |
| Hiroyuki Nakajima | 124 | 486 | 75 | 161 | 32 | 0 | 21 | 81 | 25 | 55 | 96 | .331 | .410 | .527 | 256 |
| Takeya Nakamura | 143 | 524 | 90 | 128 | 24 | 4 | 46 | 101 | 2 | 53 | 162 | .244 | .320 | .569 | 298 |
| Fumiya Nishiguchi | 22 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 | .400 | .250 | 1 |
| Kosuke Noda | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .111 | .111 | .111 | 1 |
| Koji Onuma | 52 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Yutaro Osaki | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .111 | .111 | .222 | 2 |
| Hiroyuki Oshima | 38 | 74 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 14 | .243 | .333 | .378 | 28 |
| G. G. Sato | 105 | 388 | 62 | 117 | 30 | 1 | 21 | 62 | 1 | 31 | 62 | .302 | .368 | .546 | 212 |
| Tomoaki Sato | 59 | 126 | 23 | 38 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 23 | .302 | .341 | .405 | 51 |
| Ginjiro Sumitani | 46 | 64 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 30 | .125 | .149 | .188 | 12 |
| Hiroyuki Takagi | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Hisashi Takayama | 25 | 42 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .238 | .256 | .286 | 12 |
| Tatsuyuki Uemoto | 17 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .071 | .071 | .143 | 2 |
| Hideaki Wakui | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Total：34 players | 1,810 | 4,952 | 715 | 1,339 | 270 | 21 | 198 | 693 | 107 | 378 | 1,093 | .270 | .330 | .453 | 2,245 |
    $^†$Denotes player joined the team mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Lions only.
    $^‡$Denotes player left the team mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Lions only.
    Bold/italics denotes best in the league

### Pitching

2008 Saitama Seibu Lions pitching statistics :
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Alex Graman | 3 | 3 | 1.42 | 55 | 0 | 31 | 57 | 47 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 42 |
| Masamitsu Hirano | 1 | 2 | 8.28 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 41 | 29 | 23 | 11 | 21 |
| Kazuyuki Hoashi | 11 | 6 | 2.63 | 27 | 26 | 0 | 174.2 | 169 | 59 | 51 | 38 | 115 |
| Tomoki Hoshino | 4 | 1 | 2.38 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 22 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 23 |
| Hsu Ming-chieh | 1 | 3 | 5.12 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 31.2 | 37 | 21 | 18 | 22 | 11 |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | 11 | 10 | 4.32 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 135.1 | 150 | 78 | 65 | 40 | 108 |
| Tetsuya Iwasaki | 2 | 0 | 5.57 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 32 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 10 |
| Matt Kinney | 2 | 4 | 4.48 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 80.1 | 87 | 47 | 40 | 35 | 64 |
| Takayuki Kishi | 12 | 4 | 3.42 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 168.1 | 151 | 65 | 64 | 48 | 138 |
| Koji Mitsui | 1 | 1 | 7.50 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 33 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 12 |
| Fumiya Nishiguchi | 8 | 6 | 5.03 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 116.1 | 125 | 69 | 65 | 48 | 92 |
| Atsushi Okamoto | 0 | 2 | 5.51 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 16.1 | 30 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Shinya Okamoto | 0 | 2 | 3.83 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 42.1 | 38 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 42 |
| Chikara Onodera | 5 | 5 | 3.56 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 55.2 | 54 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 38 |
| Koji Onuma | 2 | 4 | 3.69 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 83 | 79 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 64 |
| Shuichiro Osada | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Eiji Shotsu | 3 | 0 | 2.35 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 30.2 | 26 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 16 |
| Shinji Taninaka | 0 | 0 | 2.77 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Hideaki Wakui | 10 | 11 | 3.90 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 173 | 173 | 80 | 75 | 51 | 122 |
| Minoru Yamagishi | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Satoshi Yamazaki | 0 | 0 | 6.35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Total：21 players | 76 | 64 | 3.86 | 545 | 144 | 33 | 1,297 | 1,324 | 626 | 556 | 449 | 944 |
    $^†$Denotes player joined the team mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Lions only.
    $^‡$Denotes player left the team mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Lions only.
    Bold/italics denotes best in the league

## Awards and honors

Nippon Life Monthly MVP Award
* Takayuki Kishi - August (pitcher)
* G. G. Sato - May (batter)
* Craig Brazell - June (batter)
Best Nine Award
* Toru Hosokawa - catcher
* Yasuyuki Kataoka - second baseman
* Takeya Nakamura - third baseman
* Hiroyuki Nakajima - shortstop
* Takumi Kuriyama - outfielder
Climax Series Second Stage MVP
* Hideaki Wakui
Japan Series MVP
* Takayuki Kishi
Matsutaro Shoriki Award
* Hisanobu Watanabe
Mitsui Golden Glove Award
* Toru Hosokawa - catcher
* Hiroyuki Nakajima - shortstop
All-Star Series selections
* Kazuyuki Hoashi - pitcher
* Toru Hosokawa - catcher
* Yasuyuki Kataoka - second baseman
* Takeya Nakamura - third baseman
* Hiroyuki Nakajima - infielder
* G. G. Sato - outfielder
JA Zen-Noh Go-Go Awards
    Most Doubles and Triples Award (August)
   * Takumi Kuriyama
    Strong Shoulder Award (September)
   * G. G. Sato

## Farm team

Eastern League regular season standings :
| Team | G | W | L | T | Win% | GB | Home | Away |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 96 | 55 | 34 | 7 | .618 | — | 35–10–3 | 20–24–4 |
| Yomiuri Giants | 96 | 58 | 36 | 2 | .617 | — | 29–15–1 | 29–21–1 |
| Shonan Searex | 96 | 50 | 43 | 3 | .538 | 7 | 23–24–1 | 27–19–2 |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 96 | 46 | 45 | 5 | .505 | 10 | 24–21–3 | 22–24–2 |
| Saitama Seibu Lions | 96 | 42 | 51 | 3 | .452 | 15 | 23–25–2 | 19–26–1 |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 96 | 37 | 53 | 6 | .411 | 18½ | 21–24–3 | 16–29–3 |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 96 | 33 | 61 | 2 | .351 | 24½ | 22–26–1 | 11–35–1 |

## Nippon Professional Baseball draft

2008 Saitama Seibu Lions Draft selections :
| Round | Name | Position | Affiliation | Signed? |
| 1 | Yuta Nakazaki | Pitcher | Nichinan Gakuen High School | yes |
| 2 | Ryoma Nogami | Pitcher | Nissan | yes |
| 3 | Hideto Asamura | Infielder | Osaka Toin High School | yes |
| 4 | Ryo Sakata | Outfielder | Hakodate University | yes |
| 5 | Tatsuya Takeno | Catcher | Fukuoka University | yes |
| 6 | Kazuki Miyata | Pitcher | Koka Health and Medical College | yes |