1970 in Japanese Baseball

1970 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 1969 1971 >>

1970 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	79	47	4	0.623	0.0	499	365	0.240	2.46	Tetsuharu Kawakami
Hanshin Tigers	130	77	49	4	0.608	2.0	435	335	0.245	2.36	Minoru Murayama
Taiyo Whales	130	69	57	4	0.546	10.0	436	399	0.241	2.75	Kaoru Betto
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	62	60	8	0.508	15.0	393	421	0.226	3.00	Rikuo Nemoto
Chunichi Dragons	130	55	70	5	0.442	23.5	435	462	0.234	3.20	Shigeru Mizuhara
Yakult Atoms	130	33	92	5	0.273	45.5	336	552	0.215	3.78	Takehiko Bessho, Yoshiharu Ogawa

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Lotte Orions	130	80	47	3	0.627	0.0	599	472	0.263	3.23	Wataru Nonin
Nankai Hawks	130	69	57	4	0.546	10.5	589	510	0.255	3.43	Katsuya Nomura
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	65	59	6	0.523	13.5	424	442	0.233	2.98	Osamu Mihara
Hankyu Braves	130	64	64	2	0.500	16.5	560	511	0.244	3.57	Yukio Nishimoto
Toei Flyers	130	54	70	6	0.438	24.5	521	599	0.253	4.18	Kenjiro Matsuki, Kenjiro Tamiya
Nishitetsu Lions	130	43	78	9	0.365	34.0	471	576	0.225	4.12	Kazuhisa Inao

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	.325		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	.383
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	97		Masaru Tomita	Nankai Hawks	95
Hits		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	138		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	176
Doubles		Masayuki Nakatsuka	Taiyo Whales	28		Jinten Haku	Toei Flyers	30
Triples		Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons	6		Michiyo Arito Masaru Tomita Toru Ogawa	Lotte Orions Nankai Hawks Kintetsu Buffaloes	5
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	47		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers	44
Runs Batted In		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	105		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers	129
Stolen Bases		Fumihiro Tojo	Yakult Atoms	28		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	75
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	119		Clarence Jones	Nankai Hawks	78

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Minoru Murayama	Hanshin Tigers	0.98		Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	2.05
Wins		Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales	25		Fumio Narita	Lotte Orions	25
Winning Percentage		Minoru Murayama	Hanshin Tigers	.824		Koichiro Sasaki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	.773
Losses		Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales	19		Akira Kawahara	Nishitetsu Lions	19
Innings Pitched		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	337.2		Tomehiro Kaneda	Toei Flyers	316.1
Appearances		Masakatsu Kotani	Taiyo Whales	53		Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	55
Hits Allowed		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	232		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	261
Home Runs Allowed		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	29		Tomehiro Kaneda	Toei Flyers	37
Strikeouts		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	340		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	247
Base-on-Balls		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	103		Akira Kawahara	Nishitetsu Lions	92

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 Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 13 - 9. The second game was played at Osaka Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 4 - 1. The third game was played at Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 8 - 6.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yomiuri Giants (CL) defeated the Lotte Orions (PL), 4 games to 1. It was the Giants' sixth consecutive title. The winning manager was Tetsuharu Kawakami and the series MVP was Shigeo Nagashima.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1970 Sawamura Award was Masaji Hiramatsu of the Taiyo Whales. He had a 25 - 19 win-loss record, 182 strikeouts, and a 1.95 ERA in 332.2 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	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	1B	425	97	138	47	93	1	.325	.476	.713	Did not pitch
	PL	Masaaki Kitaru	Lotte Orions	P	89	7	14	0	6	0	.157	.212	.169	21 - 10		278.0	225	29	42	161	2.53
Rookie of the Year	CL	Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons	OF	427	39	107	11	45	6	.251	.311	.396	Did not pitch
	PL	Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	P	30	2	4	0	0	1	.133	.188	.133	18 - 6		144.2	93	18	32	104	2.05

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1970 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales		P		Masaaki Kitaru	Lotte Orions
Tatsuhiko Kimata	Chunichi Dragons		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers
Motoo Ando	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Lotte Orions
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Taira Fujita	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Toshizo Sakamoto	Hankyu Braves
Akira Ejiri	Taiyo Whales		OF		George Altman	Lotte Orions
Toshio Naka	Chunichi Dragons				Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants				Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 52nd National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2547 schools competing for 30 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Tokai University Sagami High School (Kanagawa) defeated PL Gakuen (Osaka) by a score of 10 - 6.

The 42nd National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Minoshima High School (Wakayama) defeated Hokuyo High School (Osaka) by a score of 5 - 4.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1970 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Chukyo University defeated Kansai University by a score of 5 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

At the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention, Tokai University defeated Chukyo University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The San Francisco Giants toured Japan in the spring of 1970. The touring team went 3 - 6 - 0 against Japanese competition.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Bobby Fenwick: Phoenix Giants, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA)
• Hiroshi Suzuki: Decatur Commodores, Midwest (SFG-A); Great Falls Giants, Pioneer (SFG-R);

Hall of Fame

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

• Shunichi Amachi, by Sportswriters Committee
• Kanoe Chuma, by Special Committee
• Matsutaro Naoki, by Special Committee
• Nobuaki Nidegawa, by Sportswriters Committee
• Komajiro Tamura, by Special Committee