TOKYO–The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes are still the only one of Japan’s 12 major league teams to have never won a Japan Series. The Yakult Swallows defeated the Buffaloes four games to one in the 2001 Series.

The Swallows, managed by Tsutomu Wakamatsu, won their fifth title and first since 1997.

The teams split Games One and Two at Osaka Dome. Yakult took the opener 7-0 as ace lefthander Kazuhisa Ishii threw a masterful one-hitter and outfielder Alex Ramirez hit a three-run homer. Kintetsu came back to win 9-6, with the big blow a three-run homer by outfielder Tuffy Rhodes.

The Swallows then took the next three games at their park in Tokyo, winning 9-2, 2-1 and 4-2. American lefthander Alan Newman was the winning pitcher in Game Four, and his batterymate Atsuya Furuta was named MVP for the Series after hitting an even .500.

–WAYNE GRACZYK

Doosan Wins In Korea

SEOUL, Korea–Doosan Bears first baseman Tyrone Woods had been waiting a long time for this night, but was forced to wait a bit more than expected. A partial power outage delayed the final out as the Bears beat the Samsung Lions four games to two in the Korean Series.

The score was 6-5 and the Lions had two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, with star slugger Lee Seung-yeop advancing to the plate. A hit would likely tie the game, and an out would give the Bears their third Korean championship.

Doosan closer Jin Pil-jung had been a rock throughout the series, and Lee had been his usual clutch-hitting self. The next few pitches promised considerable drama.

But as Lee stepped to the plate, the outfield lights went out and the game was delayed about 15 minutes until they were brought back on. Lee singled without a run scoring, and the next batter ended the game with a ground ball.

Woods came up huge in the Korean Series. He batted .391-4-10 and was the backbone of a team that showed it was hungrier than Samsung despite finishing 131Ž2 games behind the Lions in the regular season. Woods, in his fourth year in Korea, set a new career postseason record with 13 homers.

He also became the first player to win the MVP awards for the regular season, the all-star game and the Korean Series. His final playoff homer was measured at more than 450 feet, easily sailing out of the Olympic Baseball Stadium in Seoul.

"We have worked so hard for this all season," Woods said. "We deserved this and it feels so good to be on top."

The series was odd in that both teams’ pitching was slaughtered, especially in games 3-5 with a record 67 combined runs scored. Doosan broke the record for runs in an inning with 12 in Game Four. All pitchers were hit hard except lefthander Lee Hye-chun, 21, who picked up Doosan’s first two wins.

–THOMAS ST. JOHN

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

• Rhodes was named the Pacific League MVP. He tied the Japan record with 55 home runs, and had 131 RBIs, 137 runs and batted .327 in leading the Buffaloes from last place in 2000 to the pennant this season. Yakult’s Venezuelan first baseman Roberto Petagine (.322-39-127) won MVP honors in the Central League. It’s the second time in Japanese history that foreign players won both league MVP awards in the same year. In 1989, Ralph Bryant of the Buffaloes and Warren Cromartie of the Yomiuri Giants won the awards.

• Japanese players with nine years’ service time began filing for free agency, with at least three indicating they would like to jump to the North American major leagues. Orix BlueWave outfielder So Taguchi wants to follow ex-teammate Ichiro Suzuki to North America. Yokohama BayStars catcher Motonobu Tanishige has said he would like to play for the Seattle Mariners, joining Ichiro and his own ex-batterymate, closer Kazuhiro Sasaki. Also, BayStars righthander Satoru Komiyama, 36, says he desires a shot at the big leagues. Taguchi this season batted .280-8-42. Tanishige, an excellent defensive catcher, batted .262-20-70, while Komiyama went 12-9 and finished third in the Central League in ERA at 3.03.

• Ishii may not be available to North American teams under the posting system after all. It had been expected the Swallows would post his name for bidding by major league clubs in November, but Ishii said after his victory in Game One of the Japan Series he would probably now like to stay in Japan. He cited the impending birth of his first child in January, and concerns about the safety of his family in the wake of Sept. 11. The Yakult club is said to be confused and disappointed, having expected in excess of $10 million for the rights to negotiate with Ishii. If he isn’t posted and plays a ninth season for Yakult in 2002, he could then file for free agency, sell himself to a major league team and the Swallows would get nothing.

• Pro baseball continues in Japan during the winter, sort of. The newly formed, five-team Masters League consists of retired players from the eras of the 1960s through the 1990s, including two-time Central League triple-crown winner Randy Bass, 47.