1969 in Japanese Baseball

1969 in baseball
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1969 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

The Black Mist Scandal results in the lifetime banning of six players for game-fixing. Masaichi Kaneda of the Yomiuri Giants wins his 400th (and last) game, a Japanese record, on October 10 in a relief appearance.

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	73	51	6	0.585	0.0	599	472	0.263	3.30	Tetsuharu Kawakami
Hanshin Tigers	130	68	59	3	0.535	6.5	402	353	0.222	2.41	Tsuguo Goto
Taiyo Whales	130	61	61	8	0.500	11.0	444	470	0.239	3.19	Kaoru Betto
Chunichi Dragons	130	59	65	6	0.477	14.0	463	470	0.231	3.11	Shigeru Mizuhara
Sankei Atoms	130	58	69	3	0.458	16.5	495	569	0.244	3.71	Takehiko Bessho
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	56	70	4	0.446	18.0	414	483	0.222	3.24	Rikuo Nemoto

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	130	76	50	4	0.600	0.0	543	463	0.254	3.18	Yukio Nishimoto
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	73	51	6	0.585	2.0	482	418	0.243	2.78	Osamu Mihara
Lotte Orions	130	69	54	7	0.558	5.5	585	475	0.261	3.11	Wataru Nonin
Toei Flyers	130	57	70	3	0.450	19.5	488	502	0.254	3.35	Kenjiro Matsuki
Nishitetsu Lions	130	51	75	4	0.408	25.0	418	507	0.225	3.40	Futoshi Nakanishi
Nankai Hawks	130	50	76	4	0.400	26.0	409	530	0.241	3.56	Tokuji Iida

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	.345		Isao Harimoto Yozo Nagabuchi	Toei Flyers Kintetsu Buffaloes	.330
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	112		Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	95
Hits		Shigeo Nagashima Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants	156		Yozo Nagabuchi	Kintetsu Buffaloes	162
Doubles		Kunio Fukutomi	Sankei Swallows	33		Mitsuo Motoi	Nishitetsu Lions	34
Triples		Toshio Naka	Chunichi Dragons	7		Jinten Haku	Toei Flyers	9
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	44		Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	41
Runs Batted In		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	115		Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	101
Stolen Bases		Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants	35		Toshizo Sakamoto	Hankyu Braves	47
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	111		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	71

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	1.81		Masaaki Kitaru	Lotte Orions	1.72
Wins		Kazumi Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants	22		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	24
Winning Percentage		Kazumi Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants	.815		Toshihiko Sei	Kintetsu Buffaloes	.720
Losses		Yoshiro Sotokoba	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	20		Taisuke Watanabe	Nankai Hawks	17
Innings Pitched		Yoshiro Sotokoba	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	304.1		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	330.2
Appearances		Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales	57		Tomehiro Kaneda	Toei Flyers	59
Hits Allowed		Kentaro Ogawa	Chunichi Dragons	228		Fumio Narita	Lotte Orions	276
Home Runs Allowed		Kentaro Ogawa	Chunichi Dragons	28		Keishi Suzuki Toshiaki Moriyasu	Kintetsu Buffaloes Toei Flyers	34
Strikeouts		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	262		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	286
Base-on-Balls		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	107		Choji Murata	Lotte Orions	80

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured three games and was won by the Pacific League two games to none with one tie. The first game was played at Nishikyougoku Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 7 - 6. The second game was played at Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 6 - 3. The third game was played at Heiwadai Baseball Stadium and was a tie, 4 - 4.

Postseason

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

Award Winners

The winner of the 1969 Sawamura Award was Kazumi Takahashi of the Yomiuri Giants. He had a 22 - 5 win-loss record, 221 strikeouts, and a 2.21 ERA in 256.0 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	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	1B	452	112	156	44	103	5	.345	.472	.690	Did not pitch
	PL	Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	OF	487	95	154	41	101	21	.316	.383	.622	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Koichi Tabuchi	Hanshin Tigers	C	359	47	81	22	56	1	.226	.320	.457	Did not pitch
	PL	Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions	3B	369	57	105	21	55	4	.285	.354	.509	Did not pitch

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1969 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kazumi Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Tatsuhiko Kimata	Chunichi Dragons		C		Koji Okamura	Hankyu Braves
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers
Shozo Doi	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Lotte Orions
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Taira Fujita	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Toshizo Sakamoto	Hankyu Braves
Dave Roberts	Sankei Atoms		OF		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants				Youzou Nagafuchi	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Kazuyoshi Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 51st National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2523 schools competing for 30 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Matsuyama Shogyo High School (Ehime) defeated Misawa High School (Aomori) by a score of 0 - 0, 4 - 2 in a replay of the game before which was a eighteen inning 0 - 0 tie.

The 41st National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Mie High School (Mie) defeated Horikoshi High School (Tokyo) by a score of 12 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1969 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Tokai University defeated Nihon University by a score of 3 - 0.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Tokyo Dragons, representing Tokyo, participated in the short lived Global League. The league lasted for two months, March through April, before folding.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Bobby Fenwick: Phoenix Giants, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA)

Hall of Fame

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

• Yoriyasu Arima, by Special Committee
• Hisanori Karita, by Sportswriters Committee
• Daisuke Miyake, by Special Committee
• Jiro Morioka, by Special Committee
• Zensuke Shimada, by Special Committee
• Takeo Tabe, by Special Committee