1958 in Japanese Baseball

1958 in baseball
Japanese baseball
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1958 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	77	52	1	0.596	0.0	521	370	0.253	2.37	Shigeru Mizuhara
Osaka Tigers	130	72	58	0	0.554	5.5	444	387	0.239	2.55	Yoshio Tanaka
Chunichi Dragons	130	66	59	5	0.527	9.0	423	381	0.233	2.40	Shunichi Amachi
Kokutetsu Swallows	130	58	68	4	0.462	17.5	359	478	0.223	3.10	Mitsuo Uno
Hiroshima Carp	130	54	68	8	0.446	19.5	407	459	0.222	2.92	Katsumi Shiraishi
Taiyo Whales	130	51	73	6	0.415	23.5	357	436	0.215	2.75	Masami Sakohata

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Nishitetsu Lions	130	78	47	5	0.619	0.0	511	370	0.243	2.37	Osamu Mihara
Nankai Hawks	130	77	48	5	0.612	1.0	543	414	0.248	2.53	Kazuto Tsuruoka
Hankyu Braves	130	73	51	6	0.585	4.5	437	392	0.234	2.54	Sadayoshi Fujimoto
Daimai Orions	130	62	63	5	0.496	16.0	435	440	0.240	2.79	Kaoru Betto
Toei Flyers	130	57	70	3	0.450	22.0	419	442	0.237	2.70	Yoshiyuki Iwamoto
Kintetsu Pearls	130	29	97	4	0.238	49.5	326	613	0.215	4.04	Hisayuki Kato

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Kenjiro Tamiya	Osaka Tigers	.320		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	.314
Runs		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	89		Yoshinori Hirose	Nankai Hawks	82
Hits		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	153		Takao Katsuragi	Daimai Orions	147
Doubles		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	34		Yoshinori Hirose	Nankai Hawks	36
Triples		Kenjiro Tamiya	Osaka Tigers	9		Roberto Barbon Kingo Motoyashiki	Hankyu Braves Hankyu Braves	10
Home Runs		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	22		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	23
Runs Batted In		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	92		Takao Katsuragi	Daimai Orions	85
Stolen Bases		Hiroji Okajima	Chunichi Dragons	47		Roberto Barbon	Hankyu Braves	38
Walks		Hiroji Okajima	Chunichi Dragons	84		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	60

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	1.30		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	1.42
Wins		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	31		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	33
Winning Percentage		Motoshi Fujita	Yomiuri Giants	.690		Yusaku Akimoto	Hankyu Braves	.778
Losses		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	23		Mamoru Otsu	Kintetsu Pearls	22
Innings Pitched		Motoshi Fujita Noboru Akiyama	Yomiuri Giants Taiyo Whales	359.0		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	373.0
Appearances		Genichi Murata Noboru Akiyama	Kokutetsu Swallows Taiyo Whales	58		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	72
Hits Allowed		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	287		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	269
Home Runs Allowed		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	30		Takao Kajimoto Masayuki Dobashi	Hankyu Braves Toei Flyers	18
Strikeouts		Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	311		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	334
Base-on-Balls		Motoshi Fujita	Yomiuri Giants	114		Takao Kajimoto	Hankyu Braves	79

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 Heiwadai Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 5 - 2. The second game was played at Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 8 - 3.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Nishitetsu Lions (PL) defeated the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 games to 3. The Lions rallied back from on 0-3 deficit to take the title. It was the Lions' third consecutive title, with all three being won over the Giants. The winning manager was Osamu Mihara and the series MVP was Kazuhisa Inao.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1958 Sawamura Award was Masaichi Kaneda of the Kokutetsu Swallows. He had a 31 - 14 win-loss record, 311 strikeouts, and a 1.30 ERA in 332.1 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	Motoshi Fujita	Yomiuri Giants	P	110	6	14	0	4	0	.127	.165	.173	29 - 13		359.0	251	11	114	199	1.53
	PL	Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	P	148	14	35	4	14	1	.236	.250	.365	33 - 10		373.0	269	8	76	334	1.42
Rookie of the Year	CL	Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	3B	502	89	153	28	92	37	.305	.353	.572	Did not pitch
	PL	Tadashi Sugiura	Nankai Hawks	P	110	6	15	0	11	0	.136	.158	.164	27 - 12		299.0	235	11	72	215	2.05

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1958 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows		P		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions
Shigeru Fujio	Yomiuri Giants		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Stanley Hashimoto	Toei Flyers
Noboru Inoue	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Chico Barbon	Hankyu Braves
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions
Yoshio Yoshida	Osaka Tigers		SS		Takao Katsuragi	Daimai Orions
Toru Mori	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Shoichi Busujima	Toei Flyers
Kenjiro Tamiya	Osaka Tigers				Seiji Sekiguchi	Nishitetsu Lions
Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants				Kohei Sugiyama	Nankai Hawks

High School Baseball

The 40th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 1807 schools competing for 47 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Yanai High School (Yamaguchi) defeated Tokushima Commercial High School (Tokushima) by a score of 7 - 0.

The 30th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 23 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Seiseiko High School (Kumamoto) defeated Chukyo University Senior High School (Aichi) by a score of 7 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1958 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 10 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Rikkyo University defeated Chuo University by a score of 4 - 3.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The St. Louis Cardinals toured Japan in the fall of 1958. The touring team went 12 - 2 - 0 against Japanese competition.