1956 in Japanese Baseball

1956 in baseball
Japanese baseball
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1956 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)
Yomiuri Giants	130	82	44	4	0.646	0.0	568	351	0.258	2.08	Shigeru Mizuhara
Osaka Tigers	130	79	50	1	0.612	4.5	386	283	0.224	1.77	Fumio Fujimura
Chunichi Dragons	130	74	56	0	0.569	10.0	369	319	0.228	2.03	Akira Noguchi
Kokutetsu Swallows	130	61	65	4	0.485	21.0	346	405	0.218	2.64	Mitsuo Uno
Hiroshima Carp	130	45	82	3	0.358	37.5	344	491	0.213	3.04	Katsumi Shiraishi
Taiyo Whales	130	43	87	0	0.331	41.0	319	483	0.208	3.15	Masami Sakohata

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Nishitetsu Lions	154	96	51	7	0.646	0.0	611	372	0.254	1.87	Osamu Mihara
Nankai Hawks	154	96	52	6	0.643	0.5	612	457	0.250	2.23	Kazuto Tsuruoka
Hankyu Braves	154	88	64	2	0.578	10.5	581	459	0.238	2.38	Masao Nishimura
Mainichi Orions	154	84	66	4	0.558	13.5	530	477	0.235	2.40	Kaoru Betto
Kintetsu Pearls	154	68	82	4	0.455	29.5	495	583	0.226	3.17	Takeo Akuta
Toei Flyers	154	58	92	4	0.390	39.5	411	558	0.216	2.86	Yoshiyuki Iwamoto
Daiei Stars	154	57	94	3	0.380	41.0	433	559	0.227	2.89	Sadayoshi Fujimoto, Kenjiro Matsuki
Takahashi Unions	154	52	98	4	0.351	45.5	403	611	0.214	3.26	Kazuo Kasahara

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	.338		Yasumitsu Toyoda	Nishitetsu Lions	.325
Runs		Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants	86		Roberto Barbon	Hankyu Braves	94
Hits		Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants	160		Shinya Sasaki	Takahashi Unions	180
Doubles		Kenjiro Tamiya	Osaka Tigers	33		Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Mainichi Orions	47
Triples		Jun Hakota	Kokutetsu Swallows	13		Seiji Sekiguchi	Nishitetsu Lions	13
Home Runs		Noboru Aota	Taiyo Whales	25		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	29
Runs Batted In		Toshio Miyamoto	Yomiuri Giants	69		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	95
Stolen Bases		Yoshio Yoshida	Osaka Tigers	50		Akiteru Kono	Hankyu Braves	85
Walks		Toshiichi Kodama	Chunichi Dragons	73		Kihachi Enomoto	Mainichi Orions	95

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Shozo Watanabe	Osaka Tigers	1.45		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	1.06
Wins		Takehiko Bessho	Yomiuri Giants	27		Masayoshi Miura	Daiei Stars	29
Winning Percentage		Sho Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	.778		Yoshinobu Uemura	Mainichi Orions	.792
Losses		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	25		Yasuo Yonekawa	Toei Flyers	21
Innings Pitched		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	379.2		Yukio Shimabara	Nishitetsu Lions	373.2
Appearances		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	68		Yukio Shimabara	Nishitetsu Lions	74
Hits Allowed		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	290		Takao Kajimoto	Hankyu Braves	284
Home Runs Allowed		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	24		Takao Nakano	Takahashi Unions	17
Strikeouts		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	316		Takao Kajimoto	Hankyu Braves	327
Base-on-Balls		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	136		Takao Kajimoto	Hankyu Braves	118

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was a tie one games to one. The first game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 8 - 0. The second game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 2 - 0.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Nishitetsu Lions (PL) defeated the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 games to 2. The winning manager was Osamu Mihara and the series MVP was Yasumitsu Toyoda.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1956 Sawamura Award was Masaichi Kaneda of the Kokutetsu Swallows. He had a 25 - 20 win-loss record, 316 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA in 367.1 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	Takehiko Bessho	Yomiuri Giants	P	115	12	28	1	10	0	.243	.252	.296	27 - 15		340.1	282	11	60	185	1.93
	PL	Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	3B	462	74	150	29	95	15	.325	.393	.593	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	P	129	9	15	3	9	0	.116	.135	.217	25 - 25		379.2	290	24	136	266	2.39
	PL	Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	P	89	6	20	0	8	0	.225	.250	.292	21 - 6		262.1	153	2	73	182	1.06

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1956 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Takehiko Bessho	Yomiuri Giants		P		Takao Kajimoto	Hankyu Braves
Shigeru Fujio	Yomiuri Giants		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Kihachi Enomoto	Mainichi Orions
Noboru Inoue	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Shinya Sasaki	Takahashi Unions
Riichi Kodama	Chunichi Dragons		3B		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions
Yoshio Yoshida	Osaka Tigers		SS		Yasumitsu Toyoda	Nishitetsu Lions
Noboru Aota	Taiyo Whales		OF		Kohei Sugiyama	Nankai Hawks
Kenjiro Tamiya	Osaka Tigers				Katsuki Tokura	Hankyu Braves
Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants				Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Mainichi Orions

High School Baseball

The 38th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 1739 schools competing for 23 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Heian High School (Kyoto) defeated Gifu Shogyo High School (Gifu) by a score of 3 - 2.

The 28th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 20 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Chukyo University Senior High School (Aichi) defeated Gifu Shogyo High School (Gifu) by a score of 4 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1956 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 10 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Kansai University defeated Nihon University by a score of 2 - 1.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

Season	League	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	1	Nihon	Chuo	Senshu	Tokyo Agriculture	Komazawa	Gakushuin
	2	Shibaura Tech	Meiji Gakuin	Aoyama Gakuin	Kokugakuin	Seikei	Toyo
Fall	1	Nihon	Chuo	Senshu	Gakushuin	Tokyo Agriculture	Komazawa
	2	Aoyama Gakuin	Kokugakuin	Shibaura Tech	Seikei	Meiji Gakuin	Toyo

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Brooklyn Dodgers toured Japan in the fall of 1956. The touring team went 14 - 4 - 1 against Japanese competition.