1978 in Japanese Baseball

1978 in baseball
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1978 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)
Yakult Swallows	130	68	46	16	0.585	0.0	648	633	0.279	4.38	Tatsuro Hirooka
Yomiuri Giants	130	65	49	16	0.562	3.0	606	508	0.270	3.61	Shigeo Nagashima
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	62	50	18	0.546	5.0	713	596	0.284	4.38	Takeshi Koba
Yokohama Taiyo Whales	130	64	57	9	0.527	7.5	596	554	0.273	3.90	Kaoru Betto
Chunichi Dragons	130	53	71	6	0.431	20.0	509	635	0.252	4.45	Toshio Naka
Hanshin Tigers	130	41	80	9	0.350	30.5	532	678	0.254	4.79	Tsuguo Goto

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hankyu Braves	130	82	39	9	0.665	0.0	700	482	0.283	3.13	Toshiharu Ueda
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	71	46	13	0.596	9.0	572	449	0.266	3.21	Yukio Nishimoto
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	55	63	12	0.469	25.5	534	566	0.264	3.98	Keiji Osawa
Lotte Orions	130	53	62	15	0.465	26.0	523	587	0.270	4.01	Masaichi Kaneda
Crown Lighter Lions	130	51	67	12	0.438	29.5	497	582	0.268	3.75	Rikuo Nemoto
Nankai Hawks	130	42	77	11	0.365	39.0	408	568	0.239	4.01	Yoshinori Hirose

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Jitsuo Mizutani	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	.348		Kyosuke Sasaki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	.354
Runs		Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	114		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	107
Hits		Makoto Matsubara	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	164		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	171
Doubles		Makoto Matsubara	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	45		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	35
Triples		Yoshihiko Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	10		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	10
Home Runs		Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	44		Bobby Mitchell	Nippon Ham Fighters	36
Runs Batted In		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	118		Bobby Marcano	Hankyu Braves	94
Stolen Bases		Isao Shibata	Yomiuri Giants	34		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	70
Walks		Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants	114		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	60

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants	2.81		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	2.02
Wins		Osamu Nomura	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	17		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	25
Losses		Terushi Donoue	Chunichi Dragons	18		Shinichi Yamauchi	Nankai Hawks	16
Winning Percentage		Yasujiro Suzuki	Yakult Swallows	.813		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	.818
Saves		Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants	15		Takashi Yamaguchi	Hankyu Braves	14
Save Points		Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants	25		Takashi Yamaguchi	Hankyu Braves	26
Innings Pitched		Akio Saito	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	241.0		Osamu Higashio	Crown Lighter Lions	303.1
Appearances		Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants	63		Masanori Murakami	Nippon Ham Fighters	57
Hits Allowed		Akio Matsubara	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	236		Osamu Higashio	Crown Lighter Lions	299
Home Runs Allowed		Yasujiro Suzuki	Yakult Swallows	34		Kazushi Saeki	Nippon Ham Fighters	29
Strikeouts		Akio Saito	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	162		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes	178
Base-on-Balls		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Swallows	96		Yoshinori Sato Masumitsu Moriguchi	Hankyu Braves Nankai Hawks	73

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 Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 7 - 5. The second game was played at Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 9 - 0. The third game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 8 - 5.

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	44	20	1	0.688	0.0		1		Hankyu Braves	65	38	19	8	0.667	0.0
Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	32	26	7	0.552	8.0		2		Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	39	20	6	0.661	0.0
Nippon Ham Fighters	65	29	31	5	0.483	13.0		3		Lotte Orions	65	28	29	8	0.491	10.0
Crown Lighter Lions	65	28	31	6	0.475	13.5		4		Nippon Ham Fighters	65	26	32	7	0.448	12.5
Lotte Orions	65	25	33	7	0.431	16.0		5		Crown Lighter Lions	65	23	36	6	0.390	16.0
Nankai Hawks	65	22	39	4	0.361	19.5		6		Nankai Hawks	65	20	38	7	0.345	18.5

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

In the Nippon Series, the Yakult Swallows (CL) defeated the Hankyu Braves (PL), 4 games to 3. The winning manager was Tatsuro Hirooka and the series MVP was Katsuo Osugi.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1978 Sawamura Award was Hiromu Matsuoka of the Yakult Swallows. He had a 16 - 11 win-loss record, 119 strikeouts, and a 3.75 ERA in 199.1 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	Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows	OF	460	100	157	17	71	12	.341	.408	.539	Did not pitch
	PL	Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves	P	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	18 - 4	4	219.2	188	23	40	117	2.66
Rookie of the Year	CL	Mitsuo Sumi	Yomiuri Giants	P	27	1	3	0	0	0	.111	.143	.111	5 - 7	7	112.2	76	6	77	89	2.88
	PL	Yukihiro Murakami	Nankai Hawks	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	5 - 8	3	132.0	126	9	53	69	3.61

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1978 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Hisao Niura	Yomiuri Giants		P		Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Akihiko Oya	Yakult Swallows		C		Shinji Nakazawa	Hankyu Braves
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Junichi Kashiwabara	Nippon Ham Fighters
Dave Hilton	Yakult Swallows		2B		Bobby Marcano	Hankyu Braves
Masayuki Kakefu	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Kinji Shimatani	Hankyu Braves
Yoshihiko Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		SS		Akinobu Mayumi	Crown Lighter Lions
Charlie Manuel	Yakult Swallows		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows				Koji Minoda	Hankyu Braves
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Kyosuke Sasaki	Kintetsu Buffaloes
			DH		Masahiro Doi	Crown Lighter Lions

Diamond Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Diamond Glove Award in 1978.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tsuneo Horiuchi	Yomiuri Giants		P		Hisashi Yamada	Hankyu Braves
Akihiko Oya	Yakult Swallows		C		Shinji Nakazawa	Hankyu Braves
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Junichi Kashiwabara	Nippon Ham Fighters
Shozo Doi	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Bobby Marcano	Hankyu Braves
Masayuki Kakefu	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Kinji Shimatani	Hankyu Braves
Daisuke Yamashita	Yokohama Taiyo Whales		SS		Yutaka Ohashi	Hankyu Braves
Jim Lyttle	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows				Koji Minoda	Hankyu Braves
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Bernie Williams	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 60th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3074 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game PL Gakuen (Osaka) defeated Kochi Shogyo High School (Kochi) by a score of 3 - 2.

The 50th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 30 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Hamamatsu Shogyo High School (Shizuoka) defeated Fukui Shogyo High School (Fukui) by a score of 2 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1978 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Meiji University defeated Senshu University by a score of 5 - 0.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Doshisha University defeated Toyo University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds toured Japan in the fall of 1978. The touring team went 14 - 2 - 1 against Japanese competition.

At the tenth Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team won the tournament. At the twenty-fifth Baseball World Cup in Italy, the Japanese national baseball team placed fourth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Fujio Tamura: Oneonta Yankees, New York-Penn (NYY-A)

Hall of Fame

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

• Okada Genzaburo, by Special Committee
• Shinji Hamazaki, by Sportswriters Committee
• Yasuhiro Itami, by Special Committee
• Kenjiro Matsuki, by Sportswriters Committee
• Masaki Yoshihara, by Special Committee