1976 in Japanese Baseball

1976 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 1975 1977 >>

1976 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	76	45	9	0.619	0.0	661	505	0.280	3.58	Shigeo Nagashima
Hanshin Tigers	130	72	45	13	0.604	2.0	602	500	0.258	3.54	Yoshio Yoshida
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	61	58	11	0.512	14.0	586	565	0.271	4.02	Takeshi Koba
Chunichi Dragons	130	54	66	10	0.454	21.5	519	610	0.266	4.50	Wally Yonamine
Yakult Swallows	130	52	68	10	0.438	23.5	504	555	0.260	3.88	Hiroshi Arakawa, Tatsuro Hirooka
Taiyo Whales	130	45	78	7	0.373	32.0	482	619	0.256	4.45	Noboru Akiyama

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	130	79	45	6	0.631	0.0	546	477	0.257	3.30	Toshiharu Ueda
Nankai Hawks	130	71	56	3	0.558	9.5	489	431	0.259	2.91	Katsuya Nomura
Lotte Orions	130	63	56	11	0.527	13.5	476	441	0.258	2.96	Masaichi Kaneda
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	57	66	7	0.465	21.5	457	436	0.245	3.04	Yukio Nishimoto
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	52	67	11	0.442	24.5	484	523	0.258	3.72	Keiji Osawa
Taiheiyo Club Lions	130	44	76	10	0.377	33.0	450	594	0.259	4.08	Masakazu Kito

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons	.355		Satoru Yoshioka	Taiheiyo Club Lions	.309
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	99		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	88
Hits		Isao Harimoto	Yomiuri Giants	182		Mitsuru Fujiwara	Nankai Hawks	159
Doubles		Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons	36		Hiromitsu Kadota	Nankai Hawks	25
Triples		Masayuki Kakefu	Hanshin Tigers	7		Satoru Yoshioka	Taiheiyo Club Lions	13
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	49		Clarence Jones	Kintetsu Buffaloes	36
Runs Batted In		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	123		Hideji Kato	Hankyu Braves	82
Stolen Bases		Sachio Kinugasa	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	31		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	62
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	125		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	73

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Takamasa Suzuki	Chunichi Dragons	2.98		Choji Murata	Lotte Orions	1.82
Wins		Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	20		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	26
Winning Percentage		Hajime Kato	Yomiuri Giants	.789		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	.788
Losses		Hideyuki Okue Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales Taiyo Whales	17		Osamu Nomura	Nippon Ham Fighters	16
Saves		Takamasa Suzuki	Chunichi Dragons	26		Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	16
Save Points		Takamasa Suzuki	Chunichi Dragons	32		Pacific League did not record save points until 1977.
Innings Pitched		Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	290.1		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	265.2
Appearances		Hiroki Watanabe	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	73		Michiro Sato	Nankai Hawks	54
Hits Allowed		Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	271		Osamu Higashio	Taiheiyo Club Lions	256
Home Runs Allowed		Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales	40		Osamu Nomura	Nippon Ham Fighters	27
Strikeouts		Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	207		Choji Murata	Lotte Orions	202
Base-on-Balls		Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo Whales	95		Takashi Yamaguchi	Hankyu Braves	91

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 Kawasaki Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 3 - 1. The second game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 11 - 1. The third game was played at Osaka Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 5 - 1.

Postseason

The standings for each half of the Pacific League's season were:

First Half								Place		Second Half
Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB				Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB
Hankyu Braves	65	41	21	3	0.667	0.0		1		Hankyu Braves	65	37	24	4	0.607	0.0
Nankai Hawks	65	35	29	1	0.547	7.5		2		Nankai Hawks	65	36	27	2	0.571	2.0
Lotte Orions	65	29	28	8	0.509	10.0		3		Lotte Orions	65	34	28	3	0.548	3.5
Nippon Ham Fighters	65	26	31	8	0.456	13.0		4		Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	30	31	4	0.492	7.0
Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	27	35	3	0.435	14.5		5		Nippon Ham Fighters	65	26	36	3	0.419	11.5
Taiheiyo Club Lions	65	21	36	8	0.368	18.0		6		Taiheiyo Club Lions	65	23	40	2	0.365	15.0

The Hankyu Braves won both halves, winning the league title outright.

In the Nippon Series, the Hankyu Braves (PL) defeated the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 games to 3. The winning manager was Toshiharu Ueda and the series MVP was Yutaka Fukumoto.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1976 Sawamura Award was Kojiro Ikegaya of the Hanshin Tigers. He had a 20 - 15 win-loss record, 207 strikeouts, and a 3.26 ERA in 290.1 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	400	99	130	49	123	3	.325	.479	.725	Did not pitch
	PL	Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	26 - 7	5	259.2	217	20	48	143	2.39
Rookie of the Year	CL	Yasushi Tao	Chunichi Dragons	OF	166	19	46	3	21	0	.277	.344	.404	Did not pitch
	PL	Manabu Fujita	Nankai Hawks	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	11 - 3	0	149.2	133	8	25	52	1.98

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1976 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		P		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves
Koichi Tabuchi	Hanshin Tigers		C		Katsuya Nomura	Nankai Hawks
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Hideji Kato	Hankyu Braves
Davey Johnson	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Satoru Yoshioka	Taiheiyo Club Lions
Masayuki Kakefu	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Mitsuru Fujiwara	Nankai Hawks
Toshiyuki Mimura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		SS		Yutaka Ohashi	Hankyu Braves
Isao Harimoto	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows				Sumio Hirota	Lotte Orions
Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons				Hiromitsu Kadota	Nankai Hawks
			DH		Takuji Ota	Taiheiyo Club Lions

Diamond Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Diamond Glove Award in 1976.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Mitsuhiro Adachi	Hankyu Braves
Akihiko Oya	Yakult Swallows		C		Shuzo Arita	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Hideji Kato	Hankyu Braves
Davey Johnson	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Bobby Marcano	Hankyu Braves
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Mitsuru Fujiwara	Nankai Hawks
Daisuke Yamashita	Taiyo Whales		SS		Yutaka Ohashi	Hankyu Braves
Takenori Ikebe	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants				Sumio Hirota	Lotte Orions
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Bernie Williams	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 58th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2893 schools competing for 41 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game J.F. Oberlin High School (West Tokyo) defeated PL Gakuen (Osaka) by a score of 4 - 3.

The 48th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 30 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Sotoku High School (Hiroshima) defeated Oyama High School (Tochigi) by a score of 5 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1976 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Tokai University defeated Osaka University of Commerce by a score of 2 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

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

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

At the twenty-fourth Baseball World Cup in Colombia, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal.

Hall of Fame

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

• Shinzo Koizumi, by Special Committee
• Hideo Fujimoto, by Sportswriters Committee