1972 in Japanese Baseball

1972 in baseball
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1972 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	74	52	4	0.585	0.0	587	492	0.255	3.43	Tetsuharu Kawakami
Hanshin Tigers	130	71	56	3	0.558	3.5	470	431	0.239	3.00	Minoru Murayama, Masayasu Kaneda
Chunichi Dragons	130	67	59	4	0.531	7.0	452	491	0.232	3.29	Wally Yonamine
Yakult Atoms	130	60	67	3	0.473	14.5	530	543	0.254	3.73	Osamu Mihara
Taiyo Whales	130	57	69	4	0.454	17.0	481	523	0.242	3.66	Kaoru Betto, Noboru Aota
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	49	75	6	0.400	24.0	482	522	0.250	3.57	Rikuo Nemoto

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	130	80	48	2	0.623	0.0	594	480	0.260	3.19	Yukio Nishimoto
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	64	60	6	0.515	14.0	486	453	0.248	3.07	Takashi Iwamoto
Nankai Hawks	130	65	61	4	0.515	14.0	512	511	0.253	3.48	Katsuya Nomura
Toei Flyers	130	63	61	6	0.508	15.0	595	546	0.270	3.82	Kenjiro Tamiya
Lotte Orions	130	59	68	3	0.465	20.5	583	621	0.264	4.54	Keiji Osawa
Nishitetsu Lions	130	47	80	3	0.373	32.5	439	598	0.242	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		Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Atoms	.320		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	.358
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	104		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	99
Hits		Sachio Kinugasa	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	147		Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers	169
Doubles		Taira Fujita Makoto Matsubara Koji Yamamoto	Hanshin Tigers Taiyo Whales Hiroshima Toyo Carp	27		Jinten Haku	Toei Flyers	33
Triples		Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants	8		Toru Ogawa	Kintetsu Buffaloes	8
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	48		Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves	41
Runs Batted In		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	120		Katsuo Osugi Katsuya Nomura	Toei Flyers Nankai Hawks	101
Stolen Bases		Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants	45		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	106
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	108		Mitsuo Motoi	Nishitetsu Lions	70

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Takeshi Yasuda	Yakult Atoms	2.08		Toshihiko Sei	Kintetsu Buffaloes	2.36
Wins		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	26		Hisashi Yamada Tomehiro Kaneda	Hankyu Braves Toei Flyers	20
Winning Percentage		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	.743		Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	.750
Losses		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Atoms	18		Osamu Higashio	Nishitetsu Lions	25
Innings Pitched		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	312.0		Osamu Higashio	Nishitetsu Lions	309.2
Appearances		Takeshi Yasuda	Yakult Atoms	50		Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	64
Hits Allowed		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	292		Osamu Higashio	Nishitetsu Lions	313
Home Runs Allowed		Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	34		Fumio Narita Osamu Higashio	Lotte Orions Nishitetsu Lions	37
Strikeouts		Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin Tigers	233		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	180
Base-on-Balls		Kazumi Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants	113		Hajime Kato	Nishitetsu Lions	137

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 Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 5 - 2. The second game was played at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 4 - 0. The third game was played at Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 1 - 0.

Postseason

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

Award Winners

The winner of the 1972 Sawamura Award was Tsuneo Horiuchi of the Yomiuri Giants. He had a 26 - 9 win-loss record, 203 strikeouts, and a 2.91 ERA in 312.0 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	Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants	P	112	3	13	1	7	0	.116	.124	.143	26 - 9		312.0	292	34	95	203	2.91
	PL	Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	OF	472	99	142	14	40	106	.301	.384	.468	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Takeshi Yasuda	Yakult Atoms	P	50	3	11	0	3	0	.220	.278	.260	7 - 5		168.2	136	6	31	81	2.08
	PL	Hajime Kato	Nishitetsu Lions	P	64	7	3	1	1	0	.047	.141	.094	17 - 16		246.0	220	33	137	114	3.95

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1972 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves
Koichi Tabuchi	Hanshin Tigers		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers
John Sipin	Taiyo Whales		2B		Mitsuo Motoi	Nishitetsu Lions
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Toshiyuki Mimura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		SS		Yutaka Ohashi	Hankyu Braves
Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants				Isao Harimoto	Toei Flyers
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Atoms				Atsushi Nagaike	Hankyu Braves

Diamond Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Diamond Glove Award in 1972.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Mitsuhiro Adachi	Hankyu Braves
Akihiko Oya	Yakult Atoms		C		Masayuki Tanemo	Hankyu Braves
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Katsuo Osugi	Toei Flyers
John Sipin	Taiyo Whales		2B		Tsuyoshi Oshita	Toei Flyers
Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Bart Shirley	Chunichi Dragons		SS		Yutaka Ohashi	Hankyu Braves
Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants				Yoshinori Hirose	Nankai Hawks
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Takenori Ikebe	Lotte Orions

High School Baseball

The 54th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2614 schools competing for 30 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Tsukumi High School (Oita) defeated Yanai High School (Yamaguchi) by a score of 3 - 1.

The 44th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 27 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Nihon University Sakuragaoka High School (Tokyo) defeated The Third High School of Nihon University (Tokyo) by a score of 5 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1972 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Kansai University defeated Keio University by a score of 1 - 0.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Kansai University defeated Hosei University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Hosei's Keiji Nagasaki won batting titles in the spring and fall campaigns, the first player in league history to have done so.

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

At the twentieth Baseball World Cup in Nicaragua, the Japanese national baseball team placed fourth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Bobby Fenwick: Houston Astros
• Toru Hamaura: Fresno Giants, California (SFG-A)
• Yukihiro Ikeda: Lodi Orions, California (BAL-A)
• Masaji Ishizuka: Lodi Orions, California (BAL-A)
• Junji Nakamura: Lodi Orions, California (BAL-A)
• Masao Sato: Lodi Orions, California (BAL-A)
• Shigeyuki Takahashi: Phoenix Giants, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA)

Hall of Fame

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

• Shuichi Ishimoto, by Sportswriters Committee
• Takeji Nakano, by Special Committee
• Shigeru Ohta, by Special Committee