1980 in Japanese Baseball

1980 in baseball
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1980 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

After the season Sadaharu Oh retires having hit 868 home runs in his 22-year career.

Standings

Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner

Central League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	73	44	13	0.612	0.0	544	476	0.263	3.37	Takeshi Koba
Yakult Swallows	130	68	52	10	0.562	6.5	562	462	0.270	3.17	Shiro Takegami
Yomiuri Giants	130	61	60	9	0.504	14.0	507	450	0.243	2.95	Shigeo Nagashima
Yokohama Taiyo Whales	130	59	62	9	0.488	16.0	534	587	0.259	4.18	Kiyoshi Doi
Hanshin Tigers	130	54	66	10	0.454	20.5	521	549	0.262	3.73	Don Blasingame, Futoshi Nakanishi
Chunichi Dragons	130	45	76	9	0.381	30.0	495	639	0.261	4.43	Toshio Naka

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	68	54	8	0.554	0.0	791	694	0.290	4.96	Yukio Nishimoto
Lotte Orions	130	64	51	15	0.550	0.5	639	588	0.280	4.15	Kazuhiro Yamauchi
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	66	53	11	0.550	0.5	593	513	0.264	3.61	Keiji Osawa
Seibu Lions	130	62	64	4	0.492	8.0	651	634	0.267	4.43	Rikuo Nemoto
Hankyu Braves	130	58	67	5	0.465	11.5	647	731	0.262	5.08	Takao Kajimoto
Nankai Hawks	130	48	77	5	0.388	21.5	623	784	0.274	5.63	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		Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons	.369		Leron Lee	Lotte Orions	.358
Runs		Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	91		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	112
Hits		Yoshihiko Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	169		Leron Lee	Lotte Orions	175
Doubles		Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows	36		Yutaka Fukumoto Yuji Kubodera	Hankyu Braves Nankai Hawks	29
Triples		Yoshihiko Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	11		Makoto Shimada	Nippon Ham Fighters	7
Home Runs		Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	44		Charlie Manuel	Kintetsu Buffaloes	48
Runs Batted In		Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	112		Charlie Manuel	Kintetsu Buffaloes	129
Stolen Bases		Yoshihiko Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	38		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves	54
Walks		Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	89		Yutaka Fukumoto Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Hankyu Braves Seibu Lions	78

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Hiromu Matsuoka	Yakult Swallows	2.35		Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters	2.28
Wins		Suguru Egawa	Yomiuri Giants	16		Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters	22
Winning Percentage		Hiroaki Fukushi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	.714		Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters	.733
Losses		Akio Saito	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	17		Shinichi Yamauchi	Nankai Hawks	16
Saves		Yutaka Enatsu	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	21		Akira Kuramochi	Lotte Orions	18
Save Points		Yutaka Enatsu	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	30		Motoyasu Kaneshiro	Nankai Hawks	19
Innings Pitched		Shigeru Kobayashi	Hanshin Tigers	280.1		Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters	253.0
Appearances		Mitsuo Sumi Yutaka Ikeuchi Hiroaki Mizutani	Yomiuri Giants Hanshin Tigers Chunichi Dragons	56		Tamotsu Nagai	Seibu Lions	56
Hits Allowed		Akio Saito	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	245		Osamu Higashio	Seibu Lions	258
Home Runs Allowed		Shigeru Kobayashi	Hanshin Tigers	36		Takashi Imoto	Kintetsu Buffaloes	42
Strikeouts		Suguru Egawa	Yomiuri Giants	219		Isamu Kida	Lotte Orions	225
Base-on-Balls		Akio Saito	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	72		Hideyuki Okue	Lotte Orions	102

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 Nishinomiya Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 7 - 6. The second game was played at Kawasaki Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 3 - 1. The third game was played at Korakuen Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 2 - 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
Lotte Orions	65	33	25	7	0.569	0.0		1		Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	35	26	4	0.574	0.0
Kintetsu Buffaloes	65	33	28	4	0.541	1.5		2		Nippon Ham Fighters	65	33	25	7	0.569	0.5
Nippon Ham Fighters	65	33	28	4	0.541	1.5		3		Lotte Orions	65	31	26	8	0.544	2.0
Hankyu Braves	65	29	34	2	0.460	6.5		4		Seibu Lions	65	35	30	0	0.538	2.0
Nankai Hawks	65	28	34	3	0.452	7.0		5		Hankyu Braves	65	29	33	3	0.468	6.5
Seibu Lions	65	27	34	4	0.443	7.5		6		Nankai Hawks	65	20	43	2	0.317	16.0

In the playoffs, the Kintetsu Buffaloes, winners of the second-half, defeated the first-half winners, the Lotte Orions, 3 games to 0.

In the Nippon Series, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (CL) defeated the Kintetsu Buffaloes (PL), 4 games to 3. The winning manager was Takeshi Koba and the series MVP was Jim Lyttle.

Award Winners

There was no winner of the 1980 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	Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	OF	440	91	148	44	112	14	.336	.445	.714	Did not pitch
	PL	Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	22 - 8	4	253.0	195	26	89	225	2.28
Rookie of the Year	CL	Akinobu Okada	Hanshin Tigers	2B	376	44	109	18	54	4	.290	.336	.484	Did not pitch
	PL	Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	22 - 8	4	253.0	195	26	89	225	2.28

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1980 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Suguru Egawa	Yomiuri Giants		P		Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters
Akihiko Oya	Yakult Swallows		C		Masataka Nashida	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Kenichi Yazawa	Chunichi Dragons		1B		Leon Lee	Lotte Orions
Mitsuo Motoi	Yokohama Taiyo Whales		2B		Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Seibu Lions
Sachio Kinugasa	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		3B		Michiyo Arito	Lotte Orions
Yoshihiko Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		SS		Nobuhiro Takashiro	Nippon Ham Fighters
Toru Sugiura	Yakult Swallows		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
Tsutomu Wakamatsu	Yakult Swallows				Shigeru Kurihashi	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Leron Lee	Lotte Orions
			DH		Charlie Manuel	Kintetsu Buffaloes

Diamond Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Diamond Glove Award in 1980.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Takashi Nishimoto	Yomiuri Giants		P		Isamu Kida	Nippon Ham Fighters
Akihiko Oya	Yakult Swallows		C		Masataka Nashida	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Toru Ogawa	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Mitsuo Motoi	Yokohama Taiyo Whales		2B		Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Seibu Lions
Sachio Kinugasa	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		3B		Koichi Hada	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Daisuke Yamashita	Yokohama Taiyo Whales		SS		Yoshio Mizukami	Lotte Orions
Jim Lyttle	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu Braves
John Scott	Yakult Swallows				Mitsuyasu Hirano	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Koji Yamamoto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Koji Minoda	Hankyu Braves

High School Baseball

The 62nd National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3270 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Yokohama High School (Kanagawa) defeated Waseda Jitsugyo High School (East Tokyo) by a score of 6 - 4.

The 52nd National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 30 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Kochi Shogyo High School (Kochi) defeated Teikyo High School (Tokyo) by a score of 1 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1980 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 15 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Meiji University defeated Komazawa University by a score of 8 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Nippon College of Physical Education defeated Asia University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

At the eleventh Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, a Japanese team, Mitsubishi Japan, placed second. At the twenty-sixth Baseball World Cup in Japan, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

• Kunikazu Ogawa: Holyoke Millers, Eastern League (MIL-AA)

Hall of Fame

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

• Shigeru Chiba, by Special Committee
• Makoto Kozuru, by Sportswriters Committee
• Hiroshi Oshita, by Sportswriters Committee