1969 in Japanese Baseball

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1969 in baseball
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1969 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

Hall of Fame[edit]

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

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