1991 in Japanese Baseball

1991 in baseball
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1991 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)
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	132	74	56	2	0.568	0.0	516	466	0.254	3.23	Koji Yamamoto
Chunichi Dragons	131	71	59	1	0.546	3.0	612	521	0.262	3.59	Senichi Hoshino
Yakult Swallows	132	67	63	2	0.515	7.0	544	551	0.259	3.93	Katsuya Nomura
Yomiuri Giants	130	66	64	0	0.508	8.0	534	529	0.253	3.72	Motoshi Fujita
Yokohama Taiyo Whales	131	64	66	1	0.492	10.0	558	535	0.269	3.74	Yutaka Sudo
Hanshin Tigers	130	48	82	0	0.369	26.0	454	616	0.237	4.37	Katsuhiro Nakamura

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Seibu Lions	130	81	43	6	0.646	0.0	624	439	0.265	3.22	Masahiko Mori
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	77	48	5	0.612	4.5	592	495	0.265	3.46	Akira Ogi
Orix BlueWave	130	64	63	3	0.504	18.5	554	557	0.262	3.90	Shozo Doi
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	53	72	5	0.427	28.5	463	523	0.251	3.72	Sadao Kondo
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	130	53	73	4	0.423	29.0	557	661	0.253	4.74	Koichi Tabuchi
Lotte Orions	130	48	77	5	0.388	33.5	484	599	0.260	4.23	Masaichi Kaneda

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows	.340		Mitsuchika Hirai	Lotte Orions	.314
Runs		Kazuyoshi Tatsunami	Chunichi Dragons	87		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions	97
Hits		Jim Lyttle	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	157		Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	158
Doubles		Johnny Ray	Yakult Swallows	36		Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	32
Triples		Kenjiro Nomura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	7		Hiromi Matsunaga	Orix BlueWave	10
Home Runs		Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons	37		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions	39
Runs Batted In		Katsumi Hirosawa	Yakult Swallows	99		Jim Traber Orestes Destrade	Kintetsu Buffaloes Seibu Lions	92
Stolen Bases		Kenjiro Nomura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	31		Hisashi Ono	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	42
Walks		Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons	95		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions	100

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Shinji Sasaoka	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	2.44		Tomio Watanabe	Seibu Lions	2.35
Wins		Shinji Sasaoka	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	17		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	17
Winning Percentage		Manabu Kitabeppu	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	.733		Kimiyasu Kudo	Seibu Lions	.842
Losses		Koji Noda	Hanshin Tigers	14		Satoru Komiyama	Lotte Orions	16
Saves		Yutaka Ono	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	26		Kazuhiro Takeda	Nippon Ham Fighters	18
Save Points		Yutaka Ono	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	32		Kazuhiro Takeda	Nippon Ham Fighters	22
Innings Pitched		Shinji Sasaoka	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	240.0		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	242.1
Appearances		Kazuhiro Sasaki	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	58		Tetsuya Shiozaki	Seibu Lions	45
Hits Allowed		Koji Noda	Hanshin Tigers	206		Satoru Komiyama	Lotte Orions	219
Home Runs Allowed		Hiroaki Nakayama Hiroki Nomura	Yokohama Taiyo Whales Yokohama Taiyo Whales	25		Yukinaga Maeda	Lotte Orions	30
Strikeouts		Kazuhisa Kawaguchi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	230		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	287
Base-on-Balls		Kazuhisa Kawaguchi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	82		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	128

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was won by the Central League one games to none with one tie. The first game was played at Tokyo Dome and was won by the CL, 1 - 0. The second game was played at Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium and was a tie, 3 - 3.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Seibu Lions (PL) defeated the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (CL), 4 games to 3. The winning manager was Masahiko Mori and the series MVP was Koji Akiyama.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1991 Sawamura Award was Shinji Sasaoka of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He had a 17 - 9 win-loss record, 213 strikeouts, and a 2.44 ERA in 240.0 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	Shinji Sasaoka	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	P	76	5	10	0	4	0	.132	.175	.132	17 - 9	0	240.0	186	20	69	213	2.44
	PL	Taigen Kaku	Seibu Lions	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	15 - 6	1	184.1	162	17	30	108	2.59
Rookie of the Year	CL	Koichi Morita	Chunichi Dragons	P	13	2	4	2	2	0	.308	.308	.769	10 - 3	17	89.0	78	10	26	78	3.03
	PL	Shigetoshi Hasegawa	Orix BlueWave	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	12 - 9	1	185.0	184	15	50	111	3.55

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1991 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Shinji Sasaoka	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		P		Taigen Kaku	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Hiromitsu Ochiai	Chunichi Dragons		1B		Jim Traber	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Yutaka Takagi	Yokohama Taiyo Whales		2B		Hatsuhiko Tsuji	Seibu Lions
Ryuzo Yamasaki	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		3B		Hiromi Matsunaga	Orix BlueWave
Kenjiro Nomura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		SS		Hirofumi Ogawa	Orix BlueWave
Tatsunori Hara	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions
Katsumi Hirosawa	Yakult Swallows				Mitsuchika Hirai	Lotte Orions
R.J. Reynolds	Yokohama Taiyo Whales				Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
			DH		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 1991.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants		P		Taigen Kaku	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Norihiro Komada	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Jim Traber	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Kozo Shoda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		2B		Hatsuhiko Tsuji	Seibu Lions
Fujio Sumi	Yakult Swallows		3B		Hiromichi Ishige	Seibu Lions
Masahiro Kawai	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Yukio Tanaka	Nippon Ham Fighters
Tetsuya Iida	Yakult Swallows		OF		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions
Tomonori Maeda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Ken Hirano	Seibu Lions
R.J. Reynolds	Yokohama Taiyo Whales				Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

High School Baseball

The 73rd National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4046 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Kindai University High School (Osaka) defeated Okinawa Suisan High School (Okinawa) by a score of 13 - 8.

The 63rd National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Koryo High School (Hiroshima) defeated Matsusho High School (Nagano) by a score of 6 - 5.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1991 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 24 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Tohoku Fukushi University defeated Kansai University by a score of 4 - 2.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Aichi Gakuin University defeated Ryutsu-Keizai University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The KBO All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1991. The touring team went 2 - 4 - 0 against Japanese competition.

In the tenth Intercontinental Cup in Spain, the Japanese national baseball team won a silver medal.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Steve Chitren: Oakland Athletics
• Kazutaka Ikesue: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Seikichi Kanamoto: Samsung Lions, Korea Baseball Organization
• Nobuhiko Kanazawa: Lotte Giants, Korea Baseball Organization
• Ryo Kawano: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Takayuki Kono: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Jeff McCurry: Welland Pirates, New York-Penn (PIT-SS); GCL Pirates, Gulf Coast (PIT-R)
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Hideyuki Mifune: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Hiroaki Miyagi: Binggrae Eagles, Korea Baseball Organization
• Arihito Muramatsu: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Yukitoshi Oka: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Katsumasa Ota: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Yukio Otsubo: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Fumihiko Sato: Taepyungyang Dolphins, Korea Baseball Organization
• Hideyuki Yasuda: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Motomi Yoshimura: Binggrae Eagles, Korea Baseball Organization

Hall of Fame

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

• Kichiro Shimaoka, by Sportswriters Committee
• Yoshio Nakazawa, by Special Committee
• Osamu Tsutsui, by Sportswriters Committee
• Shigeru Makino, by Sportswriters Committee