1988 in Japanese Baseball

From BR Bullpen

1988 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
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1988 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball[edit]

Standings[edit]

Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner.

Central League[edit]

Team G W L T WPCT GB RS RA AVG ERA Manager(s)
Chunichi Dragons 130 79 46 5 0.627 0.0 549 483 0.258 3.20 Senichi Hoshino
Yomiuri Giants 130 68 59 3 0.535 12.0 518 442 0.268 3.09 Sadaharu Oh
Hiroshima Toyo Carp 130 65 62 3 0.512 15.0 447 442 0.244 3.06 Junro Anan
Yokohama Taiyo Whales 130 59 67 4 0.469 20.5 514 542 0.273 3.93 Takeshi Koba
Yakult Swallows 130 58 69 3 0.458 22.0 496 534 0.246 3.79 Junzo Sekine
Hanshin Tigers 130 51 77 2 0.400 29.5 444 525 0.248 3.82 Minoru Murayama

Pacific League[edit]

Team G W L T WPCT GB RS RA AVG ERA Manager(s)
Seibu Lions 130 73 51 6 0.585 0.0 645 531 0.270 3.61 Masahiko Mori
Kintetsu Buffaloes 130 74 52 4 0.585 0.0 515 446 0.253 3.23 Akira Ogi
Nippon Ham Fighters 130 62 65 3 0.488 12.5 455 448 0.245 3.12 Shigeru Takada
Hankyu Braves 130 60 68 2 0.469 15.0 532 578 0.264 4.08 Toshiharu Ueda
Nankai Hawks 130 58 71 1 0.450 17.5 578 607 0.267 4.07 Tadashi Sugiura
Lotte Orions 130 54 74 2 0.423 21.0 486 601 0.262 4.38 Michiyo Arito

Leaders[edit]

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

Statistic Central League Pacific League
Leader Team Number Leader Team Number
Batting Average Kozo Shoda Hiroshima Toyo Carp .340 Hideaki Takazawa Lotte Orions .327
Runs Hiromitsu Ochiai Chunichi Dragons 82 Kazuhiro Kiyohara Seibu Lions 97
Hits Warren Cromartie Yomiuri Giants 166 Boomer Wells Hankyu Braves 165
Doubles Kiyoshi Nakahata Yomiuri Giants 36 Takeshi Aiko Lotte Orions 30
Triples Kozo Shoda Hiroshima Toyo Carp 7 Daijiro Oishi Kintetsu Buffaloes 9
Home Runs Carlos Ponce Yokohama Taiyo Whales 33 Hiromitsu Kadota Nankai Hawks 44
Runs Batted In Carlos Ponce Yokohama Taiyo Whales 102 Hiromitsu Ochiai Lotte Orions 125
Stolen Bases Kaname Yashiki Yokohama Taiyo Whales 33 Norifumi Nishimura Lotte Orions 55
Walks Hiromitsu Ochiai Chunichi Dragons 98 Hiromitsu Kadota Nankai Hawks 98

Pitching[edit]

Statistic Central League Pacific League
Leader Team Number Leader Team Number
ERA Yutaka Ono Hiroshima Toyo Carp 1.70 Hirofumi Kono Nippon Ham Fighters 2.38
Wins Kazuyuki Ono
Akimitsu Itoh
Chunichi Dragons
Yakult Swallows
18 Hisanobu Watanabe
Yukihiro Nishizaki
Hiroaki Matsuura
Seibu Lions
Nippon Ham Fighters
Nippon Ham Fighters
15
Winning Percentage Kazuyuki Ono Chunichi Dragons .818 Taigen Kaku Seibu Lions .813
Losses Takao Obana Yakult Swallows 16 Shuji Fujimoto
Kazuhiro Yamauchi
Kazumi Sonokawa
Nankai Hawks
Nankai Hawks
Lotte Orions
15
Saves Genji Kaku Chunichi Dragons 37 Kazuhiko Ushijima Lotte Orions 25
Save Points Genji Kaku Chunichi Dragons 44 Masato Yoshii Kintetsu Buffaloes 34
Innings Pitched Takao Obana Yakult Swallows 232.0 Yukihiro Nishizaki Nippon Ham Fighters 241.2
Appearances Hiroaki Nakayama Yokohama Taiyo Whales 70 Minoru Yano Nankai Hawks 57
Hits Allowed Takao Obana Yakult Swallows 242 Yukihiro Nishizaki Nippon Ham Fighters 211
Home Runs Allowed Manabu Kitabeppu Hiroshima Toyo Carp 22 Katsuo So Lotte Orions 30
Strikeouts Hiromi Makihara Yomiuri Giants 187 Hiroshi Ogawa Lotte Orions 204
Base-on-Balls Kazuhisa Kawaguchi Hiroshima Toyo Carp 72 Hiroshi Ogawa Lotte Orions 91

All-Star Game[edit]

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 PL, 3 - 1. The second game was played at Nagoya Stadium and was won by the CL, 4 - 1. The third game was played at Tokyo Dome and was won by the CL, 4 - 3.

Postseason[edit]

In the Nippon Series, the Seibu Lions (PL) defeated the Chunichi Dragons (CL), 4 games to 1. It was the Lions' third consecutive title and fifth in seven years. The winning manager was Masahiko Mori and the series MVP was Hiromichi Ishige.

Award Winners[edit]

The winner of the 1988 Sawamura Award was Yutaka Ono of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He had a 13 - 7 win-loss record, 183 strikeouts, and a 1.70 ERA in 185.0 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 Genji Kaku Chunichi Dragons P 15 1 3 1 2 0 .200 .200 .400 7 - 6 37 111.0 73 9 31 94 1.95
PL Hiromitsu Kadota Nankai Hawks OF 447 82 139 44 125 2 .311 .429 .633 Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year CL Kazuyoshi Tatsunami Chunichi Dragons SS 336 61 75 4 18 22 .223 .317 .310 Did not pitch
PL Ryoji Moriyama Seibu Lions P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .--- .--- .--- 10 - 9 0 169.0 166 12 41 77 3.46

Best Nine[edit]

The following players were part of the 1988 Best Nine teams.

Central League Position Pacific League
Player Team Player Team
Kazuyuki Ono Chunichi Dragons P Yukihiro Nishizaki Nippon Ham Fighters
Mitsuo Tatsukawa Hiroshima Toyo Carp C Tsutomu Ito Seibu Lions
Hiromitsu Ochiai Chunichi Dragons 1B Kazuhiro Kiyohara Seibu Lions
Kozo Shoda Hiroshima Toyo Carp 2B Junichi Fukura Hankyu Braves
Tatsunori Hara Yomiuri Giants 3B Hiromi Matsunaga Hankyu Braves
Takahiro Ikeyama Yakult Swallows SS Yukio Tanaka Nippon Ham Fighters
Katsumi Hirosawa Yakult Swallows OF Koji Akiyama Seibu Lions
Jim Paciorek Yokohama Taiyo Whales Ken Hirano Seibu Lions
Carlos Ponce Yokohama Taiyo Whales Hideaki Takazawa Lotte Orions
DH Hiromitsu Kadota Nankai Hawks

Gold Gloves[edit]

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 1988.

Central League Position Pacific League
Player Team Player Team
Masumi Kuwata Yomiuri Giants P Yukihiro Nishizaki Nippon Ham Fighters
Mitsuo Tatsukawa Hiroshima Toyo Carp C Tsutomu Ito Seibu Lions
Kiyoshi Nakahata Yomiuri Giants 1B Kazuhiro Kiyohara Seibu Lions
Kozo Shoda Hiroshima Toyo Carp 2B Hatsuhiko Tsuji Seibu Lions
Tatsunori Hara Yomiuri Giants 3B Hiromichi Ishige Seibu Lions
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami Chunichi Dragons SS Yukio Tanaka Nippon Ham Fighters
Toshikatsu Hikono Chunichi Dragons OF Koji Akiyama Seibu Lions
Ryuzo Yamasaki Hiroshima Toyo Carp Ken Hirano Seibu Lions
Kaname Yashiki Yokohama Taiyo Whales Hideaki Takazawa Lotte Orions

High School Baseball[edit]

The 70th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3958 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Hiroshima Shogyo High School (Hiroshima) defeated Fukuoka Daiichi High School (Fukuoka) by a score of 1 - 0.

The 60th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 34 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Uwajima Higashi High School (Ehime) defeated Toho High School (Aichi) by a score of 6 - 1.

University Baseball[edit]

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series[edit]

The 1988 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 16 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Kinki University defeated Tohoku Fukushi University by a score of 3 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention[edit]

The Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention was not held due to the illness of Hirohito.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League[edit]

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

Tohto University Base Ball League[edit]

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League[edit]

Season First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth
Spring Kinki Ritsumeikan Kwansei Gakuin Kansai Doshisha Kyoto
Fall Kinki Doshisha Ritsumeikan Kwansei Gakuin Kansai Kyoto

International Baseball[edit]

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1988. The touring team went 3 - 2 - 2 against Japanese competition.

At the Olympic baseball demonstration event in Seoul, South Korea, the Japanese national baseball team placed second. At the thirtieth Baseball World Cup in Italy, the Japanese national baseball team placed fourth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries[edit]

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

Hall of Fame[edit]

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

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