1954 in Japanese Baseball

1954 in baseball
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1954 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

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)
Chunichi Dragons	130	86	40	4	0.677	0.0	570	376	0.256	2.32	Shunichi Amachi
Taiyo Whales	130	32	96	2	0.254	55.0	385	613	0.227	4.13	Takeo Nagasawa
Osaka Tigers	130	71	57	2	0.554	16.0	569	425	0.266	2.78	Kenjiro Matsuki
Hiroshima Carp	130	56	69	5	0.450	29.5	419	581	0.245	3.81	Katsumi Shiraishi
Kokutetsu Swallows	130	55	73	2	0.431	32.0	434	518	0.258	3.34	Soichi Fujita
Yomiuri Giants	130	82	47	1	0.635	5.5	625	365	0.271	2.38	Shigeru Mizuhara

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Nishitetsu Lions	140	90	47	3	0.654	0.0	560	379	0.256	2.17	Osamu Mihara
Nankai Hawks	140	91	49	0	0.650	0.5	529	417	0.250	2.50	Kazuto Tsuruoka
Mainichi Orions	140	79	57	4	0.579	10.5	550	467	0.236	2.69	Kaoru Betto
Kintetsu Pearls	140	74	63	3	0.539	16.0	530	473	0.247	2.66	Takeo Akuta
Hankyu Braves	140	66	70	4	0.486	23.5	572	547	0.260	3.23	Masao Nishimura
Takahashi Unions	140	53	84	3	0.389	37.0	440	594	0.229	3.43	Shinji Hamazaki
Toei Flyers	140	52	86	2	0.379	38.5	472	619	0.234	3.73	Toshiharu Inokawa
Daiei Stars	140	43	92	5	0.325	46.0	402	589	0.222	3.53	Sadayoshi Fujimoto

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants	.361		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	.337
Runs		Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants	93		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	96
Hits		Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants	172		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	184
Doubles		Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants	40		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	38
Triples		Masayasu Kaneda	Osaka Tigers	10		Kazuo Kageyama	Nankai Hawks	12
Home Runs		Noboru Aota	Taiyo Whales	31		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	31
Runs Batted In		Hiroyuki Watanabe Satoru Sugiyama	Osaka Tigers Chunichi Dragons	91		Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Mainichi Orions	97
Stolen Bases		Yoshio Yoshida	Osaka Tigers	51		Takeshi Suzuki	Kintetsu Pearls	71
Walks		Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants	69		Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Hankyu Braves	80

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	1.39		Motoshi Takuwa	Nankai Hawks	1.58
Wins		Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	32		Motoshi Takuwa Fumio Tanaka	Nankai Hawks Kintetsu Pearls	26
Winning Percentage		Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	.722		Sadaaki Nishimura	Nishitetsu Lions	.815
Losses		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	23		Takeshi Nomura	Takahashi Unions	23
Innings Pitched		Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	395.1		Motoji Takuwa	Nankai Hawks	329.2
Appearances		Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	63		Hisafumi Kawamura	Nishitetsu Lions	61
Hits Allowed		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	290		Takeshi Nomura	Takahashi Unions	314
Home Runs Allowed		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	19		Junzo Sekine	Kintetsu Pearls	20
Strikeouts		Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	273		Motoshi Takuwa	Nankai Hawks	274
Base-on-Balls		Masatoshi Gondo	Taiyo Whales	143		Takao Kajimoto	Hankyu Braves	118

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was won by the Pacific League two games to none. The first game was played at Nishinomiya Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 5 - 2. The second game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 1 - 2.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Chunichi Dragons (CL) defeated the Nishitetsu Lions (PL), 4 games to 3. The winning manager was Shunichi Amachi and the series MVP was Shigeru Sugishita.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1954 Sawamura Award was Shigeru Sugishita of the Chunichi Dragons. He had a 32 - 12 win-loss record, 273 strikeouts, and a 1.39 ERA in 395.1 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	Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons	P	135	12	29	0	14	0	.215	.250	.267	32 - 12		395.1	265	9	103	273	1.39
	PL	Hiroshi Oshita	Nishitetsu Lions	OF	514	76	165	22	88	11	.321	.384	.537	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Tatsuro Hirooka	Yomiuri Giants	SS	341	58	107	15	67	9	.314	.409	.513	Did not pitch
	PL	Motoji Takuwa	Nankai Hawks	P	104	5	11	1	5	0	.106	.162	.163	26 - 9		329.2	207	9	105	275	1.58

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1954 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Shigeru Sugishita	Chunichi Dragons		P		Sadao Nishimura	Nishitetsu Lions
Jun Hirota	Yomiuri Giants		C		Charlie Luis	Mainichi Orions
Michio Nishizawa	Chunichi Dragons		1B		Kozo Kawai	Hankyu Braves
Jun Hakota	Kokutetsu Swallows		2B		Nobushige Morishita	Nankai Hawks
Mitsuo Uno	Kokutetsu Swallows		3B		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions
Tatsuro Hirooka	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves
Satoru Sugiyama	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Hiroshi Oshita	Nishitetsu Lions
Hiroyuki Watanabe	Osaka Tigers				Seiji Sekiguchi	Nishitetsu Lions
Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants				Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Mainichi Orions

High School Baseball

The 36th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 1705 schools competing for 23 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Chukyo University Senior High School (Aichi) defeated Shizuoka Shogyo High School (Shizuoka) by a score of 3 - 0.

The 26th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 19 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Iida Osahime High School (Nagano) defeated Kokura High School (Fukuoka) by a score of 1 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1954 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 9 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Meiji University defeated Ritsumeikan University by a score of 7 - 1.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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