1992 in Japanese Baseball

1992 in baseball
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1992 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)
Yakult Swallows	131	69	61	1	0.531	0.0	599	566	0.261	3.79	Katsuya Nomura
Yomiuri Giants	130	67	63	0	0.515	2.0	535	522	0.262	3.69	Motoshi Fujita
Hanshin Tigers	132	67	63	2	0.515	2.0	475	445	0.250	2.90	Katsuhiro Nakamura
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	66	64	0	0.508	3.0	571	532	0.260	3.60	Koji Yamamoto
Yokohama Taiyo Whales	131	61	69	1	0.469	8.0	521	553	0.249	3.75	Yutaka Sudo, Akira Ejiri
Chunichi Dragons	130	60	70	0	0.462	9.0	479	562	0.252	3.91	Morimichi Takagi

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Seibu Lions	130	80	47	3	0.627	0.0	658	495	0.278	3.52	Masahiko Mori
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	74	50	6	0.592	4.5	580	515	0.247	3.69	Akira Ogi
Orix BlueWave	130	61	64	5	0.488	18.0	540	503	0.272	3.58	Shozo Doi
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	130	57	72	1	0.442	24.0	534	637	0.258	4.60	Koichi Tabuchi
Nippon Ham Fighters	130	54	73	3	0.427	26.0	497	597	0.259	4.20	Masayuki Dobashi
Chiba Lotte Marines	130	54	74	2	0.423	26.5	460	540	0.241	3.82	Soroku Yagisawa

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Jack Howell	Yakult Swallows	.331		Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	.322
Runs		Kenjiro Nomura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	89		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions	92
Hits		Jim Paciorek	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	159		Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	164
Doubles		Jim Paciorek	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	33		Hiromi Matsunaga	Orix BlueWave	34
Triples		Tetsuya Iida Yutaka Wada Teruyoshi Kuji	Yakult Swallows Hanshin Tigers Hanshin Tigers	8		Satoshi Takahashi	Orix BlueWave	7
Home Runs		Jack Howell	Yakult Swallows	38		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions	41
Runs Batted In		Larry Sheets	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	100		Boomer Wells	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	97
Stolen Bases		Tetsuya Iida	Yakult Swallows	33		Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	40
Walks		Tom O'Malley	Hanshin Tigers	94		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions	95

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Koki Morita	Chunichi Dragons	2.05		Motoyuki Akahori	Kintetsu Buffaloes	1.80
Wins		Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	17		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	18
Winning Percentage		Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants	.739		Takehiro Ishii	Seibu Lions	.833
Losses		Masumi Kuwata Scott Anderson	Yomiuri Giants Chunichi Dragons	14		Satoru Komiyama	Chiba Lotte Marines	15
Saves		Yutaka Ono	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	26		Motoyuki Akahori	Kintetsu Buffaloes	22
Save Points		Kazuhiro Sasaki	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	33		Motoyuki Akahori	Kintetsu Buffaloes	32
Innings Pitched		Koji Nakada	Hanshin Tigers	217.1		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	216.2
Appearances		Mitsunori Kakehata	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	55		Motoyuki Akahori	Kintetsu Buffaloes	50
Hits Allowed		Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants	235		Atsunori Itoh	Orix BlueWave	192
Home Runs Allowed		Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants	24		Hiroshi Takamura Kenichi Wakatabe	Kintetsu Buffaloes Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	26
Strikeouts		Koji Nakada	Hanshin Tigers	194		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	228
Base-on-Balls		Manabu Tanabe	Yokohama Taiyo Whales	84		Hideo Nomo	Kintetsu Buffaloes	117

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 Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the PL, 6 - 1. The second game was played at Chiba Marine Stadium and was won by the CL, 6 - 4. The third game was played at Miyagi Prefectural Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 4 - 2.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Seibu Lions (PL) defeated the Yakult Swallows (CL), 4 games to 3. It was the Lions third consecutive title and sixth in seven years, a eighth since 1982. The winning manager was Masahiko Mori and the series MVP was Takehiro Ishii.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1992 Sawamura Award was Takehiro Ishii of the Seibu Lions. He had a 15 - 3 win-loss record, 123 strikeouts, and a 1.94 ERA in 148.1 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	Jack Howell	Yakult Swallows	3B	387	67	128	38	87	3	.331	.402	.685	Did not pitch
	PL	Takehiro Ishii	Seibu Lions	P	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	15 - 3	3	148.1	103	9	28	123	1.94
Rookie of the Year	CL	Kimiyasu Kudo	Seibu Lions	SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	Did not pitch
	PL	Hiroshi Takamura	Kintetsu Buffaloes	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	13 - 9	0	180.0	156	26	71	153	3.15

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1992 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants		P		Takehiro Ishii	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Jim Paciorek	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Kazuhiro Kiyohara	Seibu Lions
Yutaka Wada	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Hatsuhiko Tsuji	Seibu Lions
Jack Howell	Yakult Swallows		3B		Hiromichi Ishige	Seibu Lions
Takahiro Ikeyama	Yakult Swallows		SS		Norio Tanabe	Seibu Lions
Tetsuya Iida	Yakult Swallows		OF		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions
Tomonori Maeda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Larry Sheets	Yokohama Taiyo Whales				Satoshi Takahashi	Orix BlueWave
			DH		Orestes Destrade	Seibu Lions

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 1992.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masaki Saito	Yomiuri Giants		P		Taigen Kaku	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Jim Paciorek	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Kazuhiro Kiyohara	Seibu Lions
Yutaka Wada	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Hatsuhiko Tsuji	Seibu Lions
Tom O'Malley	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Hiromichi Ishige	Seibu Lions
Takahiro Ikeyama	Yakult Swallows		SS		Norio Tanabe	Seibu Lions
Tetsuya Iida	Yakult Swallows		OF		Koji Akiyama	Seibu Lions
Tsutomu Kameyama	Hanshin Tigers				Ken Hirano	Seibu Lions
Tomonori Maeda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp				Makoto Sasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

High School Baseball

The 74th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4059 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Nishi Nippon Junior College High School (Fukuoka) defeated Takushoku University Koryo High School (Chiba) by a score of 1 - 0.

The 64th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Teikyo High School (Tokyo) defeated Tokai University Sagami High School (Kanagawa) by a score of 3 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1992 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 24 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Komazawa University defeated Ritsumeikan University by a score of 11 - 7.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Keio University defeated Tokai University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1992. The touring team went 6 - 1 - 1 against Japanese competition.

At the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal. At the sixteenth Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team won the tournament.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Kiyoshi Arai: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Yoshitaro Ban, Bristol Tigers, Appalachian (DET-Rookie); Niagara Falls Rapids, New York-Penn League (DET-A)
• Hidefumi Hara: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Yasuhiro Hiyama: Ssangbangwool Raiders, Korea Baseball Organization
• Hiroyuki Ito: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Seikichi Kanamoto: Samsung Lions, Korea Baseball Organization
• Hideki Kato: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Takayuki Kono: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Jeff McCurry: Augusta Pirates, South Atlantic (PIT-A); Salem Buccaneers, Carolina (PIT-A-Adv)
• Hiroaki Miyagi: Binggrae Eagles, Korea Baseball Organization
• Kazushige Nagashima: Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State League (A-Adv)
• Takayuki Nishijima: Salinas Spurs, California (A)
• Munenao Ogawa: Wei Chuan Dragons, CPBL
• Motoi Okoshi: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Fumihiko Sato: Taepyungyang Dolphins, Korea Baseball Organization
• Mac Suzuki: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Takashi Uchinokura: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Tsutomu Yamada: Salinas Spurs, California (1992-A-Adv)
• Kazuharu Yamazaki: Bristol Tigers, Appalachian League (DET-R); Niagara Falls Rapids, New York-Penn League (DET-A)
• Motomi Yoshimura: OB Bears, Korea Baseball Organization

Hall of Fame

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

• Tatsuro Hirooka, by Sportswriters Committee
• Tsubouchi Michinori, by Sportswriters Committee
• Masao Yoshida, by Special Committee
• Yoshio Yoshida, by Sportswriters Committee