By Jim Allen, KYODO NEWS - Nov 5, 2017 - 14:12 | Sports, All

Rather than looking downcast, most players of the upstart DeNA BayStars looked upbeat as they left Yafuoku Dome on Saturday after failing to beat the powerhouse SoftBank Hawks in the Japan Series.

"I told the players what a wonderful year it was for us," second-year skipper Alex Ramirez told reporters after the game.

"We gained so much from being here. I kept telling the players, we walk through the main door, we walk out through the main door. And that's exactly what we did. I feel proud of my players and I want them to feel proud of themselves."

Having had to play their hearts out to beat the Central League's top two teams in two road series to advance to Nippon Professional Baseball's season finale, few expected the BayStars to have a chance.

The BayStars franchise had won both of the Japan Series it had played, in 1960 and 1998, but for most of the past 15 years, the Yokohama-based team had been the CL's doormat.

A year ago, the BayStars also finished third, and reached the final stage of the CL's Climax Series, where the league champs only need to tie a six-game series that is played at their home park and which they begin with a one-win advantage. Last year, they scraped out one game, but last month DeNA bounced back from a Game 1 defeat by winning four straight to earn their Japan Series berth.

And Ramirez likes to believe that his team can make use of this year's disappointment to brace themselves for ultimate success a year from now.

"I feel we gained a lot by being here," Ramirez said. "Last year, we experienced the second stage of the Climax Series, and this year we were able to pass that. That's the same way I feel this year, that we've got to prepare ourselves to win the Central League and the Nippon Series next year."

Although the Japan Series ended on a mistake, when a decent throw to the plate was not caught, allowing the winning run to score in the 11th inning of Game 6, Ramirez was pointing no fingers.

"That happens," he said. "We cannot say, 'If this guy would have done this or if that would have happened.' We fought till the end. We did our best that we could, but we came up short."

"You cannot take anything for granted. You always have to be prepared for every situation. We prepared ourselves pretty good. There were a couple of mistakes here and there, but that happens. That's part of the game. That's how we learn. We are human. We make mistakes. I think I have learned so much."

"The most important thing about these games is to not regret anything. We came up short, but we played our cards right, and did everything we needed to do to win the game."

Ramirez knew his team had a tough challenge. Unlike his guys, the Hawks are Japan Series regulars, having won two of the previous three seasons.

"You have to give them credit," he said. "They won 94 (regular season) games."