1977 in Japanese Baseball

1977 in baseball
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1977 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

On September 3, Sadaharu Oh hits the 756th home run of his career to surpass Hank Aaron as the all-time home run king.

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	80	46	4	0.631	0.0	648	504	0.280	3.48	Shigeo Nagashima
Yakult Swallows	130	62	58	10	0.515	15.0	593	553	0.267	4.01	Tatsuro Hirooka
Chunichi Dragons	130	64	61	5	0.512	15.5	575	614	0.275	4.38	Wally Yonamine
Hanshin Tigers	130	55	63	12	0.469	21.0	558	590	0.267	4.38	Yoshio Yoshida
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	51	67	12	0.438	25.0	603	672	0.268	4.83	Takeshi Koba
Taiyo Whales	130	51	68	11	0.435	25.5	643	687	0.268	4.94	Kaoru Betto

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	130	69	51	10	0.569	0.0	569	475	0.269	3.23	Toshiharu Ueda
Nankai Hawks	130	63	55	12	0.531	5.0	502	471	0.250	3.15	Katsuya Nomura
Lotte Orions	130	60	57	13	0.512	7.5	526	485	0.270	3.17	Masaichi Kaneda
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	59	61	10	0.492	10.0	453	483	0.245	3.31	Yukio Nishimoto
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	58	61	11	0.488	10.5	479	485	0.246	3.36	Keiji Osawa
Crown Lighter Lions	130	49	73	8	0.408	21.0	468	598	0.250	4.27	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		Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows	.358		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions	.329
Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	114		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	89
Hits		Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows	158		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	165
Doubles		Jitsuo Mizutani	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	31		Leron Lee	Lotte Orions	30
Triples		Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants	7		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	9
Home Runs		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	50		Leron Lee	Lotte Orions	34
Runs Batted In		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	124		Leron Lee	Lotte Orions	109
Stolen Bases		Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants	34		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	61
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	126		Mitsuo Motoi Masahiro Doi	Crown Lighter Lions Crown Lighter Lions	57

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants	2.32		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	2.28
Wins		Satoshi Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	20		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	20
Winning Percentage		Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants	.786		Mitsuo Inaba	Hankyu Braves	.739
Losses		Kenji Furusawa	Hanshin Tigers	17		Osamu Higashio	Crown Lighter Lions	20
Saves		Takamasa Suzuki Kazuyuki Yamamoto Hisao Niura	Chunichi Dragons Hanshin Tigers Yomiuri Giants	9		Yutaka Enatsu	Nankai Hawks	19
Save Points		Takamasa Suzuki	Chunichi Dragons	23		Yutaka Enatsu	Nankai Hawks	22
Innings Pitched		Satoshi Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	284.2		Naoki Takahashi	Nippon Ham Fighters	278.2
Appearances		Kazuyuki Yamamoto	Hanshin Tigers	58		Masanori Murakami	Nippon Ham Fighters	61
Hits Allowed		Satoshi Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	289		Osamu Higashio	Crown Lighter Lions	259
Home Runs Allowed		Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	48		Osamu Higashio	Crown Lighter Lions	30
Strikeouts		Kojiro Ikegaya	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	176		Choji Murata	Lotte Orions	180
Base-on-Balls		Satoshi Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	111		Takashi Yamaguchi	Hankyu Braves	85

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 Heiwadai Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 2 - 1. The second game was played at Nishinomiya Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 4 - 0. The third game was played at Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 4 - 3.

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	35	25	5	0.583	0.0		1		Lotte Orions	65	33	24	8	0.579	0.0
Nankai Hawks	65	33	26	6	0.559	1.5		2		Hankyu Braves	65	34	26	5	0.567	0.5
Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	31	26	8	0.544	2.5		3		Nankai Hawks	65	30	29	6	0.509	4.0
Nippon Ham Fighters	65	31	29	5	0.517	4.0		4		Nippon Ham Fighters	65	27	32	6	0.458	7.0
Lotte Orions	65	27	33	5	0.450	8.0		5		Crown Lighter Lions	65	29	35	1	0.453	7.5
Crown Lighter Lions	65	20	38	7	0.345	14.0		6		Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	28	35	2	0.444	8.0

In the playoffs, the Hankyu Braves, winners of the first-half, defeated the second-half winners, the Lotte Orions, 3 games to 2.

In the Nippon Series, the Hankyu Braves (PL) defeated the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 games to 1. It was the Braves third consecutive title. The winning manager was Toshiharu Ueda and the series MVP was Hisashi Yamada.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1977 Sawamura Award was Shigeru Kobayashi of the Yomiuri Giants. He had a 18 - 8 win-loss record, 155 strikeouts, and a 2.92 ERA in 216.1 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	432	114	140	50	124	1	.324	.477	.706	Did not pitch
	PL	Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	16 - 10	7	240.2	204	19	46	132	2.28
Rookie of the Year	CL	Akio Saito	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	P	45	0	4	0	2	0	.089	.109	.089	8 - 9	0	141.1	156	17	61	87	4.40
	PL	Yoshinori Sato	Hankyu Braves	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	7 - 3	1	109.2	104	11	50	75	3.86

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1977 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Shigeru Kobayashi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves
Tatsuhiko Kimata	Chunichi Dragons		C		Toshio Kato	Nippon Ham Fighters
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Hideji Kato	Hankyu Braves
Morimichi Takagi	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Bobby Marcano	Hankyu Braves
Masayuki Kakefu	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Kazumasa Kono	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Shigeru Ishiwata	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Isao Harimoto	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows				Hiromitsu Kadota	Nankai Hawks
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Leron Lee	Lotte Orions
			DH		Yasuhiro Takai	Hankyu Braves

Diamond Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Diamond Glove Award in 1977.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves
Tatsuhiko Kimata	Chunichi Dragons		C		Toshio Kato	Nippon Ham Fighters
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Hideji Kato	Hankyu Braves
Morimichi Takagi	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Lotte Orions
Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Kinji Shimatani	Hankyu Braves
Daisuke Yamashita	Taiyo Whales		SS		Yutaka Ohashi	Hankyu Braves
Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows				Sumio Hirota	Lotte Orions
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Tadayoshi Okuma	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 59th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 2985 schools competing for 41 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Toyo University Himeji High School (Hyogo) defeated Toho High School (Aichi) by a score of 4 - 1 with the game being won on a The game is won on a three-run sayonara homerun The bottom of the tenth.

The 49th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 30 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Minoshima High School (Wakayama) defeated Nakamura High School (Kochi) by a score of 3 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1977 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Komazawa University defeated Tokai University by a score of 4 - 3.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

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

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

In the third Intercontinental Cup in Nicaragua, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal.

Hall of Fame

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

• Shigeru Mizuhara, by Sportswriters Committee
• Shigeo Mori, by Special Committee
• Yukio Nishimura, by Special Committee
• Michio Nishizawa, by Sportswriters Committee