The press called it the ON series because of the managers on both sides: Sadaharu Oh for the Hawks and Shigeo Nagashima for the Giants.
The defending Japan Series Champions were largely the same team that had taken the field in 1999, with one major exception: left-handed starter Kimiyasu Kudoh had departed as a free agent over the winter and signed with the Giants.
The core of the team was still intact, with Kenji Johjima anchoring a strong lineup that also featured stars Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Hiroki Kokubo.
Pitching-wise, the Hawks saw the big-stage debut of future right-handed ace Kazumi Saitoh, who would make three appearances in relief without giving up a run.
A lot had changed in the six years since they had won, but the plethora of stars that they had been building since the mid-1990s was finally enough to get back to the Japan Series.