1962 in Japanese Baseball

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1962 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)
Hanshin Tigers	133	75	55	3	0.575	0.0	386	330	0.223	2.03	Sadayoshi Fujimoto
Taiyo Whales	134	71	59	4	0.545	4.0	428	438	0.242	2.73	Osamu Mihara
Chunichi Dragons	133	70	60	3	0.538	5.0	469	407	0.249	2.68	Wataru Nonin
Yomiuri Giants	134	67	63	4	0.515	8.0	452	395	0.232	2.47	Tetsuharu Kawakami
Hiroshima Carp	134	56	74	4	0.433	19.0	436	493	0.239	3.30	Masato Monzen
Kokutetsu Swallows	134	51	79	4	0.396	24.0	313	421	0.201	2.61	Kuninobu Sunaoshi

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Toei Flyers	133	78	52	3	0.598	0.0	539	416	0.252	2.42	Shigeru Mizuhara
Nankai Hawks	133	73	57	3	0.560	5.0	580	510	0.253	3.27	Kazuto Tsuruoka
Nishitetsu Lions	136	62	68	6	0.478	16.0	483	489	0.245	3.00	Futoshi Nakanishi
Daimai Orions	132	60	70	2	0.462	18.0	552	571	0.268	3.71	Mitsuo Uno
Hankyu Braves	131	60	70	1	0.462	18.0	451	517	0.229	3.36	Katsuki Tokura
Kintetsu Buffaloes	131	57	73	1	0.439	21.0	464	566	0.252	3.40	Kaoru Betto

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Katsuya Morinaga	Hiroshima Carp	.307		Jack Bloomfield	Kintetsu Buffaloes	.374
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	79		Yoshinori Hirose	Nankai Hawks	99
Hits		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	151		Kihachi Enomoto	Daimai Orions	160
Doubles		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	38		Kazuhiro Yamauchi Hiroji Okajima	Daimai Orions Hankyu Braves	38
Triples		Toshio Naka	Chunichi Dragons	10		Shoichi Busujima	Toei Flyers	11
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	38		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks	44
Runs Batted In		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	85		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks	104
Stolen Bases		Akiteru Kono	Chunichi Dragons	26		Yoshinori Hirose	Nankai Hawks	50
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	72		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	86

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Minoru Murayama	Hanshin Tigers	1.20		Osamu Kubota	Toei Flyers	2.12
Wins		Hiroshi Gondo	Chunichi Dragons	30		Yukihiro Kubo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	28
Winning Percentage		Masaaki Koyama	Hanshin Tigers	.711		Mutsuo Minagawa	Nankai Hawks	.826
Losses		Kiyoshi Oishi	Hiroshima Carp	18		Tsutomu Kuroda	Kintetsu Buffaloes	23
Innings Pitched		Minoru Murayama	Hanshin Tigers	366.1		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	320.2
Appearances		Noboru Akiyama	Taiyo Whales	72		Yukihiro Kubo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	66
Hits Allowed		Hiroshi Gondo	Chunichi Dragons	307		Yukihiro Kubo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	294
Home Runs Allowed		Kiyoshi Oishi	Hiroshima Carp	30		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions	27
Strikeouts		Masaaki Koyama	Hanshin Tigers	270		Tetsuya Yoneda	Hankyu Braves	231
Base-on-Balls		Kiyoshi Oishi	Hiroshima Carp	100		Shoichi Ono	Daimai Orions	85

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 Heiwadai Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 7 - 0. The second game was played at Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 5 - 4.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Toei Flyers (PL) defeated the Hanshin Tigers (CL), 4 games to 2 with one tie. The winning manager was Shigeru Mizuhara and the series MVPs were Masayuki Dobashi and Masayuki Tanemo.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1962 Sawamura Award was Masaaki Koyama of the Hanshin Tigers. He had a 27 - 11 win-loss record, 270 strikeouts, and a 1.66 ERA in 352.2 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	Minoru Murayama	Hanshin Tigers	P	116	3	14	0	4	0	.121	.149	.138	25 - 14		366.1	261	17	55	265	1.20
	PL	Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	OF	472	89	157	31	99	23	.333	.435	.597	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Kunio Jonouchi	Yomiuri Giants	P	88	8	12	1	4	0	.136	.174	.193	24 - 12		280.2	207	11	62	173	2.21
	PL	Yukio Ozaki	Toei Flyers	P	65	2	9	0	3	0	.138	.162	.138	20 - 9		207.2	170	10	63	196	2.42

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1962 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Minoru Murayama	Hanshin Tigers		P		Kazuhisa Inao	Nishitetsu Lions
Masaaki Mori	Yomiuri Giants		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Kihachi Enomoto	Daimai Orions
Yoshitaka Kosaka	Hiroshima Carp		2B		Jack Bloomfield	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Akitoshi Kodama	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Yoshio Yoshida	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Yasumitsu Toyoda	Nishitetsu Lions
Kazuhiko Kondo	Taiyo Whales		OF		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers
Katsuya Morinaga	Hiroshima Carp				Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Daimai Orions
Teruo Namiki	Hanshin Tigers				Katsutoyo Yoshida	Toei Flyers

High School Baseball

The 44th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 1996 schools competing for 30 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Sakushin Gakuin High School (Tochigi) defeated Kurume Commercial High School (Fukuoka) by a score of 1 - 0.

The 34th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 23 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Sakushin Gakuin High School (Tochigi) defeated The Third High School of Nihon University (Tokyo) by a score of 1 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1962 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 9 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Hosei University defeated Komazawa University by a score of 5 - 3.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Detroit Tigers toured Japan in the fall of 1962. The touring team went 12 - 4 - 2 against Japanese competition.

Hall of Fame

The following people were elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame:

• Tadao Ichioka, by Special Committee
• Yutaka Ikeda, by Sportswriters Committee