1970 in Japanese Baseball

From BR Bullpen

1970 in baseball
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1970 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball[edit]

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 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[edit]

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[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 .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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series[edit]

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[edit]

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

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

Hall of Fame[edit]

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

Japanese Baseball Seasons

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