1971 in Japanese Baseball

1971 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 1970 1972 >>

1971 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	70	52	8	0.569	0.0	538	434	0.253	2.94	Tetsuharu Kawakami
Chunichi Dragons	130	65	60	5	0.519	6.5	437	425	0.226	2.97	Shigeru Mizuhara
Taiyo Whales	130	61	59	10	0.508	8.0	363	354	0.216	2.31	Kaoru Betto
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	63	61	6	0.508	8.0	422	444	0.233	3.11	Rikuo Nemoto
Hanshin Tigers	130	57	64	9	0.473	12.5	333	412	0.220	2.76	Minoru Murayama
Yakult Atoms	130	52	72	6	0.423	19.0	427	451	0.234	3.03	Osamu Mihara

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	130	80	39	11	0.658	0.0	669	463	0.273	3.17	Yukio Nishimoto
Lotte Orions	130	80	46	4	0.631	3.5	654	542	0.270	3.77	Wataru Nonin, Keiji Osawa
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	65	60	5	0.519	18.0	469	481	0.241	3.21	Takashi Iwamoto
Nankai Hawks	130	61	65	4	0.485	22.5	614	612	0.260	4.27	Katsuya Nomura
Toei Flyers	130	44	74	12	0.385	35.5	477	587	0.241	3.96	Kenjiro Tamiya
Nishitetsu Lions	130	38	84	8	0.323	43.5	425	623	0.231	4.31	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		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	.320		Shinichi Etoh	Lotte Orions	.337
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	92		Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	87
Hits		Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants	155		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers	154
Doubles		Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants	26		Hideji Kato	Hankyu Braves	35
Triples		Shozo Doi	Yomiuri Giants	5		Yutaka Fukumoto Hiroshi Takahashi	Hankyu Braves Nankai Hawks	5
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	39		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers	41
Runs Batted In		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	101		Hiromitsu Kadota	Nankai Hawks	120
Stolen Bases		Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants	38		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	67
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	121		Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	69

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Kazuhiro Fujimoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	1.71		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	2.37
Wins		Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales	17		Masaaki Kitaru	Lotte Orions	24
Winning Percentage		Katsuji Sakai	Taiyo Whales	.692		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	.786
Losses		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Atoms	15		Akira Kawahara Osamu Higashio	Nishitetsu Lions Nishitetsu Lions	16
Innings Pitched		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Atoms	281.2		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	291.1
Appearances		Masakatsu Kotani	Taiyo Whales	58		Toshio Kanbe Tomehiro Kaneda Osamu Higashio	Kintetsu Buffaloes Toei Flyers Nishitetsu Lions	51
Hits Allowed		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Atoms	240		Masaaki Kitaru	Lotte Orions	245
Home Runs Allowed		Kazumi Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants	28		Tomehiro Kaneda	Toei Flyers	42
Strikeouts		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	267		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	269
Base-on-Balls		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Atoms	84		Osamu Higashio	Nishitetsu Lions	118

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured three games and was won by the Pacific League two games to one. The first game was played at Nishinomiya Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 5 - 0. The second game was played at Chunichi Stadium and was won by the PL, 4 - 0. The third game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 3 - 2.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yomiuri Giants (CL) defeated the Hankyu Braves (PL), 4 games to 1. It was the Giants' seventh consecutive title. The winning manager was Tetsuharu Kawakami and the series MVP was Toshimitsu Suetsugu.

Award Winners

There was no winner of the 1971 Sawamura Award.

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	485	84	155	34	86	4	.320	.395	.581	Did not pitch
	PL	Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	OF	476	87	151	40	114	8	.317	.404	.618	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Shitoshi Sekimoto	Yomiuri Giants	P	36	2	3	0	0	0	.083	.154	.139	10 - 11		146.2	118	6	39	68	2.15
	PL	Yasuo Minagawa	Toei Flyers	P	71	2	7	0	2	0	.099	.158	.127	11 - 14		230.1	227	22	55	96	3.44

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1971 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales		P		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves
Tatsuhiko Kimata	Chunichi Dragons		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers
Yasuhiro Kunisada	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		2B		Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Lotte Orions
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Taira Fujita	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Toshizo Sakamoto	Hankyu Braves
Jitsuo Mizutani	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		OF		George Altman	Lotte Orions
Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants				Hiromitsu Kadota	Nankai Hawks
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants				Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 53rd National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2569 schools competing for 30 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Touin Gakuen (Kanagawa) defeated Iwaki High School (Fukushima) by a score of 1 - 0.

The 43rd National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game The Third High School of Nihon University (Tokyo) defeated Daitetsu High School (Osaka) by a score of 2 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1971 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Asia University defeated Hosei University by a score of 7 - 4.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Nihon University defeated Asia University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Baltimore Orioles toured Japan in the fall of 1971. The touring team went 12 - 2 - 4 against Japanese competition.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Bobby Fenwick: Phoenix Giants, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA)
• Senji Oikawa: Amarillo Giants, Dixie (SFG-AA) and Phoenix Giants, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA)

Hall of Fame

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

• Tokuro Konishi, by Special Committee
• Rihachi Mizuno, by Special Committee