1968 in Japanese Baseball

1968 in baseball
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1968 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	134	77	53	4	0.590	0.0	652	496	0.262	3.35	Tetsuharu Kawakami
Hanshin Tigers	133	72	58	3	0.553	5.0	447	419	0.230	2.67	Sadayoshi Fujimoto
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	134	68	62	4	0.522	9.0	420	449	0.224	2.91	Rikuo Nemoto
Sankei Atoms	134	64	66	4	0.493	13.0	497	497	0.239	3.28	Takehiko Bessho
Taiyo Whales	133	59	71	3	0.455	18.0	483	558	0.236	3.71	Kaoru Betto
Chunichi Dragons	134	50	80	4	0.388	27.0	499	579	0.246	3.72	Shigeru Sugishita (21-37-1)/Itsuro Honda (29-43-3)

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	134	80	50	4	0.612	0.0	538	439	0.242	2.92	Yukio Nishimoto
Nankai Hawks	136	79	51	6	0.603	1.0	548	445	0.243	2.92	Kazuto Tsuruoka
Tokyo Orions	139	67	63	9	0.514	13.0	578	553	0.262	3.32	Wataru Nonin
Kintetsu Buffaloes	135	57	73	5	0.441	23.0	421	491	0.234	3.28	Osamu Mihara
Nishitetsu Lions	133	56	74	3	0.432	24.0	464	486	0.237	3.17	Futoshi Nakanishi
Toei Flyers	135	51	79	5	0.396	29.0	472	607	0.248	3.97	Hiroshi Oshita/Shigeya Iijima

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	.326		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	.336
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	107		George Altman	Tokyo Orions	84
Hits		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	157		George Altman	Tokyo Orions	170
Doubles		Taira Fujita	Hanshin Tigers	30		George Altman	Tokyo Orions	33
Triples		Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants	9		Yoshinori Hirose Don Blasingame	Nankai Hawks Nankai Hawks	7
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	49		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks	38
Runs Batted In		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	125		George Altman	Tokyo Orions	100
Stolen Bases		Takeshi Koba	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	30		Toshinori Yasui	Kintetsu Buffaloes	54
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	121		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks	103

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Yoshiro Sotokoba	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	1.94		Mutsuo Minagawa	Nankai Hawks	1.61
Wins		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	25		Mutsuo Minagawa	Nankai Hawks	31
Winning Percentage		Gentaro Shimada	Taiyo Whales	.700		Masanori Murakami	Nankai Hawks	.818
Losses		Kentaro Ogawa	Chunichi Dragons	20		Toshiaki Moriyasu	Toei Flyers	23
Innings Pitched		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	329.0		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	359.0
Appearances		Ichiro Hiraoka	Taiyo Whales	66		Toshiaki Moriyasu	Toei Flyers	67
Hits Allowed		Shiroku Ishido	Sankei Swallows	251		Toshiaki Moriyasu	Toei Flyers	309
Home Runs Allowed		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	31		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	41
Strikeouts		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	401		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	305
Base-on-Balls		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	105		Toshiaki Moriyasu	Toei Flyers	111

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured three games and was won by the Central League two games to one. The first game was played at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 2 - 1. The second game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 8 - 3. The third game was played at Nishinomiya Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 5 - 4.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yomiuri Giants (CL) defeated the Hankyu Braves (PL), 4 games to 2. It was the Giants' fourth consecutive title. The winning manager was Tetsuharu Kawakami and the series MVP was Shigeru Takada.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1968 Sawamura Award was Yutaka Enatsu of the Hanshin Tigers. He had a 25 - 12 win-loss record, 401 strikeouts, and a 2.13 ERA in 329.0 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	Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	3B	494	80	157	39	125	8	.318	.398	.613	Did not pitch
	PL	Tetsuya Yoneda	Hankyu Braves	P	107	11	16	5	10	0	.150	.216	.308	29 - 13		348.2	302	27	105	237	2.79
Rookie of the Year	CL	Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants	OF	346	75	104	9	30	23	.301	.388	.486	Did not pitch
	PL	Not Awarded			Not Available

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1968 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers		P		Mutsuo Minagawa	Nankai Hawks
Masaaki Mori	Yomiuri Giants		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Kihachi Enomoto	Tokyo Orions
Shozo Doi	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Don Blasingame	Nankai Hawks
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Yasuhiro Kunisada	Nankai Hawks
Yukinobu Kuroe	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Toshizo Sakamoto	Hankyu Braves
Shinichi Eto	Chunichi Dragons		OF		George Altman	Tokyo Orions
Dave Roberts	Sankei Atoms				Masahiro Doi	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Kazuhiro Yamauchi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers

High School Baseball

The 50th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2485 schools competing for 48 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Kokoku High School (Osaka) defeated Shizuoka Shogyo High School (Shizuoka) by a score of 1 - 0.

The 40th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 30 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Omiya Kogyo High School (Saitama) defeated Onomichi Shogyo High School (Hiroshima) by a score of 3 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1968 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Hosei University defeated Komazawa University by a score of 12 - 3.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Ryukoku	Kwansei Gakuin	Kinki	Doshisha	Kansai	Ritsumeikan
Fall	Kinki	Kansai	Ryukoku	Doshisha	Osaka Commerce	Kwansei Gakuin

International Baseball

The St. Louis Cardinals toured Japan in the fall of 1968. The touring team went 13 - 5 - 0 against Japanese competition.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Bobby Fenwick: Fresno Giants, California (SFG-A-Adv)
• Hidehiko Koga: Lodi Crushers, California (CHC-A)

Hall of Fame

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

• Ichizo Kobayashi, by Special Committee
• Sotaro Suzuki, by Special Committee
• Munehide Tanabe, by Special Committee