1990 in Japanese Baseball

1990 in baseball
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1990 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

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)
Yomiuri Giants	130	88	42	0	0.677	0.0	589	399	0.267	2.83	Motoshi Fujita
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	132	66	64	2	0.508	22.0	570	528	0.267	3.57	Koji Yamamoto
Yokohama Taiyo Whales	133	64	66	3	0.492	24.0	546	563	0.266	3.94	Yutaka Sudo
Chunichi Dragons	131	62	68	1	0.477	26.0	573	603	0.264	4.26	Senichi Hoshino
Yakult Swallows	130	58	72	0	0.446	30.0	529	609	0.257	4.24	Katsuya Nomura
Hanshin Tigers	130	52	78	0	0.400	36.0	550	655	0.252	4.58	Katsuhiro Nakamura

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Seibu Lions	130	81	45	4	0.638	0.0	634	487	0.263	3.48	Masahiko Mori
Orix Braves	130	69	57	4	0.546	12.0	690	619	0.271	4.30	Toshiharu Ueda
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	67	60	3	0.527	14.5	678	638	0.275	4.34	Akira Ogi
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	66	63	1	0.512	16.5	570	542	0.263	3.68	Sadao Kondo
Lotte Orions	130	57	71	2	0.446	25.0	571	633	0.262	4.22	Masaichi Kaneda
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	130	41	85	4	0.331	40.0	522	757	0.251	5.56	Koichi Tabuchi

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Jim Paciorek	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	.346		Norifumi Nishimura	Lotte Orions	.338
Runs		Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons	93		Hiromi Matsunaga	Orix Braves	103
Hits		Kenjiro Nomura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	170		Mitsuru Fujiwara	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	154
Doubles		Jim Paciorek	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	36		Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	33
Triples		Kenjiro Nomura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	8		Daijiro Oishi Norihito Yamashita	Kintetsu Buffaloes Lotte Orions	6
Home Runs		Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons	34		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions	42
Runs Batted In		Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons	102		Orestes Destrade Kazuhiko Ishimine	Seibu Lions Orix Braves	106
Stolen Bases		Koichi Ogata	Yomiuri Giants	33		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions	51
Walks		Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons	100		Kazuhiro Kiyohara	Seibu Lions	105

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	2.17		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	2.91
Wins		Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	20		Hideo Nomo Hisanobu Watanabe	Kintetsu Buffaloes Seibu Lions	18
Winning Percentage		Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	.800		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	.692
Losses		Kazuhisa Kawaguchi Kenjiro Kawasaki Koji Nakada	Hiroshima Toyo Carp Yakult Swallows Hanshin Tigers	13		Katsuyoshi Murata	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	15
Saves		Tsuyoshi Yoda	Chunichi Dragons	31		Yoshitaka Katori	Seibu Lions	24
Save Points		Tsuyoshi Yoda	Chunichi Dragons	35		Yoshitaka Katori	Seibu Lions	27
Innings Pitched		Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	224.0		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	235.0
Appearances		Yasuo Kubo	Hanshin Tigers	55		Kaname Aoi	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	49
Hits Allowed		Kenjiro Kawasaki	Yakult Swallows	194		Hisanobu Watanabe	Seibu Lions	206
Home Runs Allowed		Kazuhisa Kawaguchi Kenjiro Kawasaki	Hiroshima Toyo Carp Yakult Swallows	26		Nobuyuki Hoshino Hideyuki Awano	Orix BlueWave Kintetsu Buffaloes	33
Strikeouts		Masao Kida	Yomiuri Giants	182		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	287
Base-on-Balls		Kazuhisa Kawaguchi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	87		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	109

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was won by the Pacific League two games to none. The first game was played at Yokohama Stadium and was won by the PL, 7 - 0. The second game was played at Heiwadai Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 12 - 7.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Seibu Lions (PL) defeated the Yomiuri Giants (CL), 4 games to 0. The winning manager was Masahiko Mori and the series MVP was Orestes Destrade.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1990 Sawamura Award was Hideo Nomo of the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He had a 18 - 8 win-loss record, 287 strikeouts, and a 2.91 ERA in 235.0 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	Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	P	74	5	18	0	5	0	.243	.300	.284	20 - 5	0	224.0	177	17	52	146	2.17
	PL	Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	18 - 8	0	235.0	178	18	109	287	2.91
Rookie of the Year	CL	Tsuyoshi Yoda	Chunichi Dragons	P	15	1	1	0	1	0	.067	.125	.067	4 - 5	31	88.1	64	10	28	70	3.26
	PL	Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	18 - 8	0	235.0	178	18	109	287	2.91

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1990 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants		P		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Shinichi Murata	Yomiuri Giants		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons		1B		Kazuhiro Kiyohara	Seibu Lions
Yutaka Takagi	Yokohama Taiyo Whales		2B		Daijiro Oishi	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Vance Law	Chunichi Dragons		3B		Hiromi Matsunaga	Orix Braves
Takahiro Ikeyama	Yakult Swallows		SS		Yukio Tanaka	Nippon Ham Fighters
Tatsunori Hara	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions
Katsumi Hirosawa	Yakult Swallows				Kazuhiko Ishimine	Orix Braves
Carlos Ponce	Yokohama Taiyo Whales				Norifumi Nishimura	Lotte Orions
			DH		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 1990.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants		P		Hisanobu Watanabe	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Norihiro Komada	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Kazuhiro Kiyohara	Seibu Lions
Kozo Shoda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		2B		Hatsuhiko Tsuji	Seibu Lions
Kaoru Okazaki	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Hiromi Matsunaga	Orix Braves
Masahiro Kawai	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Yukio Tanaka	Nippon Ham Fighters
Toshikatsu Hikono	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions
Kenichi Yamazaki	Yokohama Taiyo Whales				Ken Hirano	Seibu Lions
Masao Yanada	Yakult Swallows				Norifumi Nishimura	Lotte Orions

High School Baseball

The 72nd National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4027 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Tenri High School (Nara) defeated Okinawa Suisan High School (Okinawa) by a score of 1 - 0.

The 62nd National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Kindai University High School (Osaka) defeated Nitta High School (Ehime) by a score of 5 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1990 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 17 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Asia University defeated Tohoku Fukushi University by a score of 2 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

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

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1990. The touring team went 3 - 4 - 1 against Japanese competition.

At the thirty-first Baseball World Cup in Canada, the Japanese national baseball team placed fifth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Steve Chitren: Oakland Athletics
• Koichi Emoto: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Seikichi Kanamoto: Samsung Lions, Korea Baseball Organization
• Nobuhiko Kanazawa: Lotte Giants, Korea Baseball Organization
• Nobuo Kaneshiro: LG Twins, Korea Baseball Organization
• Takayuki Kono: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Hiroaki Miyagi: Binggrae Eagles, Korea Baseball Organization
• Seiichi Murakami: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Takayuki Nishijima: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Kenichi Otsuka: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Yoshiki Otsuka: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Shigeki Sasaki: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Mitsukuni Takeda: Samsung Lions, Korea Baseball Organization
• Keisaburo Tanoue: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Hiroyuki Tashiro: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Fumimune Tokuyama: Taepyungyang Dolphins, Korea Baseball Organization
• Kenichi Uchiyama: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Kenichi Yamauchi: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Shikato Yanagita: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Hiroshi Yoshimoto: OB Bears, Korea Baseball Organization
• Motomi Yoshimura: Binggrae Eagles, Korea Baseball Organization

Hall of Fame

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

• Isao Harimoto, by Sportswriters Committee
• Sanada Juzo, by Sportswriters Committee
• Isamu Saeki, by Special Committee