1991 in Japanese Baseball

From BR Bullpen

1991 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
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1991 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)
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[edit]

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[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 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series[edit]

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[edit]

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

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[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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