1953 in Japanese Baseball

1953 in baseball
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1953 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

The first television broadcast of games occurs. Leo Kiely, who pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 1951, becomes the first former major league player to appear in NPB when he plays for the Mainichi Orions while performing his military service in Japan. He will return to the major leagues in 1954.

Standings

Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner
From 1950 to 1979, the official name of the Pacific League was the Taiheiyo Baseball Union.

Central League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Yomiuri Giants	125	87	37	1	0.700	0.0	667	392	0.283	2.48	Shigeru Mizuhara
Osaka Tigers	130	74	56	0	0.569	16.0	607	474	0.270	3.15	Kenjiro Matsuki
Nagoya Dragons	130	70	57	3	0.550	18.5	524	508	0.251	3.24	Michinori Tsubouchi
Hiroshima Carp	130	53	75	2	0.415	36.0	507	634	0.242	4.00	Shuichi Ishimoto, Katsumi Shiraishi
Taiyo Shochiku Robins	130	52	77	1	0.404	37.5	467	622	0.246	4.10	Tokuro Konishi
Kokutetsu Swallows	125	45	79	1	0.364	42.0	380	525	0.235	3.36	Norio Nishigaki

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Nankai Hawks	120	71	48	1	0.596	0.0	541	433	0.265	3.02	Kazuto Tsuruoka
Hankyu Braves	120	67	52	1	0.563	4.0	488	403	0.258	2.68	Shinji Hamazaki
Daiei Stars	120	63	53	4	0.542	6.5	405	392	0.237	2.67	Sadayoshi Fujimoto
Nishitetsu Lions	120	57	61	2	0.483	13.5	487	477	0.253	3.05	Osamu Mihara
Mainichi Orions	120	56	62	2	0.475	14.5	455	459	0.252	3.13	Tadashi Wakabayashi
Tokyu Flyers	120	50	67	3	0.429	20.0	360	480	0.220	3.26	Toshiharu Inokawa
Kintetsu Pearls	120	48	69	3	0.413	22.0	369	461	0.246	2.93	Takeo Akuta

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants	.347		Isami Okamoto	Nankai Hawks	.318
Runs		Saburo Hirai	Yomiuri Giants	97		Futoshi Nakanishi Larry Raines	Nishitetsu Lions Hankyu Braves	92
Hits		Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants	162		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	146
Doubles		Makoto Kozuru Takao Sato	Taiyo-Shochiku Robins Kokutetsu Swallows	32		Tokuji Iida	Nankai Hawks	36
Triples		Masayasu Kaneda	Osaka Tigers	11		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	16
Home Runs		Fumio Fujimura	Osaka Tigers	27		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	36
Runs Batted In		Fumio Fujimura	Osaka Tigers	98		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	86
Stolen Bases		Jiro Kanayama	Taiyo-Shochiku Robins	58		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	61
Walks		Masayasu Kaneda	Osaka Tigers	87		Kazuo Kageyama	Nankai Hawks	70

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants	1.85		Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions	1.98
Wins		Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants	27		Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions	24
Winning Percentage		Takumi Otomo Katsuhiko Ishikawa	Yomiuri Giants Nagoya Dragons	.818		Taketoshi Ogami	Nankai Hawks	.704
Losses		Yoshiaki Inoue	Kokutetsu Swallows	26		Yasuo Yonekawa	Tokyu Flyers	21
Innings Pitched		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	303.2		Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions	294.1
Appearances		Shozo Watanabe	Osaka Tigers	54		Atsushi Aramaki	Mainichi Orions	50
Hits Allowed		Yoshio Bizen	Hiroshima Carp	282		Giichi Hayashi	Daiei Stars	260
Home Runs Allowed		Tadayoshi Kajioka Hiroyoshi Takano	Osaka Tigers Taiyo Whales	19		Giichi Hayashi	Daiei Stars	13
Strikeouts		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	229		Yasuo Yonekawa	Tokyu Flyers	180
Base-on-Balls		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	135		Taketoshi Ogami	Nankai Hawks	101

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured three games and was won by the Pacific League two games to one. The first game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 2 - 0. The second game was played at Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 2 - 0. The third game was played at Chunichi Stadium and was won by the PL, 3 - 0.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yomiuri Giants (CL) defeated the Nankai Hawks (PL), 4 games to 2 with one tie. It was the Giants' third consecutive title, with all three being won over the Hawks. The winning manager was Shigeru Mizuhara and the series MVP was Tetsuharu Kawakami.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1953 Sawamura Award was Takumi Otomo of the Yomiuri Giants. He had a 27 - 6 win-loss record, 173 strikeouts, and a 1.85 ERA in 281.1 innings.

Award	League	Player	Team	Position	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	W - L	SV	IP	HA	HRA	BB	SO	ERA
Most Valuable Player	CL	Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants	P	102	15	26	0	6	0	.255	.262	.314	27 - 6		281.1	199	13	63	173	1.85
	PL	Isami Okamoto	Nankai Hawks	2B	450	71	143	19	77	30	.318	.372	.502	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Masatoshi Gondo	Taiyo Shochiku Robins	P	73	4	17	0	3	0	.233	.233	.260	15 - 12		220.2	179	12	105	170	2.77
	PL	Yasumitsu Toyoda	Nishitetsu Lions	SS	402	64	113	27	59	25	.281	.337	.537	Did not pitch

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1953 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants		P		Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions
Jun Hirota	Yomiuri Giants		C		Jun Matsui	Nankai Hawks
Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Tokuji Iida	Nankai Hawks
Shigeru Chiba	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Isami Okamoto	Nankai Hawks
Alan Yogi	Osaka Tigers		3B		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions
Saburo Hirai	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Chusuke Kizuka	Nankai Hawks
Masayasu Kaneda	Osaka Tigers		OF		Kaoru Betto	Mainichi Orions
Yuko Minamimura	Yomiuri Giants				Kazuo Horii	Nankai Hawks
Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants				Hiroshi Oshita	Nishitetsu Lions

High School Baseball

The 35th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 1701 schools competing for 23 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Matsuyama Shogyo High School (Ehime) defeated Tosa High School (Kochi) by a score of 3 - 2.

The 25th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 19 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Sumoto High School (Hyogo) defeated Naniwa Shogyo High School (Osaka) by a score of 4 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1953 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 9 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Rikkyo University defeated Chuo University by a score of 6 - 2.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Rikkio	Waseda	Keio	Meiji	Hosei	Tokyo
Fall	Meiji	Rikkio	Waseda	Keio	Hosei	Tokyo

Tohto University Base Ball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Chuo	Nihon	Senshu	Tokyo Agriculture	Gakushuin	Komazawa
Fall	Nihon	Senshu	Chuo	Gakushuin	Tokyo Agriculture	Komazawa

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Kwansei Gakuin	Kansai	Ritsumeikan	Doshisha	Kobe	Kyoto
Fall	Kansai	Kwansei Gakuin	Kobe	Doshisha	Ritsumeikan	Kyoto

International Baseball

The Eddie Lopat All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1953. The touring team went 11 - 1 - 0 against Japanese competition. The New York Giants toured Japan in the fall of 1953. The touring team went 12 - 1 - 1 against Japanese competition