1998 in Japanese Baseball

1998 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
<< 1997 1999 >>

1998 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)
Yokohama BayStars	136	79	56	1	0.585	0.0	642	524	0.277	3.49	Hiroshi Gondo
Chunichi Dragons	136	75	60	1	0.555	4.0	488	458	0.248	3.14	Senichi Hoshino
Yomiuri Giants	135	73	62	0	0.541	6.0	632	551	0.267	3.74	Shigeo Nagashima
Yakult Swallows	135	66	69	0	0.489	13.0	493	548	0.253	3.69	Katsuya Nomura
Hiroshima Carp	135	60	75	0	0.444	19.0	578	613	0.265	4.01	Toshiyuki Mimura
Hanshin Tigers	135	52	83	0	0.385	27.0	450	589	0.242	3.95	Yoshio Yoshida

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Seibu Lions	135	70	61	4	0.533	0.0	586	559	0.270	3.66	Osamu Higashio
Nippon Ham Fighters	135	67	65	3	0.507	3.5	635	571	0.255	3.83	Toshiharu Ueda
Orix BlueWave	135	66	66	3	0.500	4.5	586	609	0.264	4.03	Akira Ogi
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	135	67	67	1	0.500	4.5	546	596	0.264	4.02	Sadaharu Oh
Kintetsu Buffaloes	135	66	67	2	0.496	5.0	593	629	0.267	4.28	Kyosuke Sasaki
Chiba Lotte Marines	135	61	71	3	0.463	9.5	581	563	0.271	3.70	Akihito Kondo

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Takanori Suzuki	Yokohama BayStars	.337		Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave	.358
Runs		Takuro Ishii Hideki Matsui	Yokohama BayStars Yomiuri Giants	103		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	92
Hits		Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars	174		Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave	181
Doubles		Tomonori Maeda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	36		Phil Clark	Kintetsu Buffaloes	48
Triples		Mitsuru Manaka	Yakult Swallows	8		Makoto Kosaka	Chiba Lotte Marines	8
Home Runs		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	34		Nigel Wilson	Nippon Ham Fighters	33
Runs Batted In		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	100		Nigel Wilson	Nippon Ham Fighters	124
Stolen Bases		Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars	39		Kazuo Matsui Makoto Kosaka	Seibu Lions Chiba Lotte Marines	43
Walks		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	104		Atsushi Kataoka	Nippon Ham Fighters	113

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Shigeki Noguchi	Chunichi Dragons	2.34		Satoru Kanemura	Nippon Ham Fighters	2.73
Wins		Kenjiro Kawasaki	Yakult Swallows	17		Kazuhiro Takeda Fumiya Nishiguchi Tomohiro Kuroki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Seibu Lions Chiba Lotte Marines	13
Winning Percentage		Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants	.762		Tomohiro Kuroki	Chiba Lotte Marines	.591
Losses		Shin Nakagomi	Hanshin Tigers	13		Hiroshi Takamura	Kintetsu Buffaloes	14
Saves		Kazuhiro Sasaki	Yokohama BayStars	45		Akinori Otsuka	Kintetsu Buffaloes	35
Save Points		Kazuhiro Sasaki	Yokohama BayStars	46		Akinori Otsuka	Kintetsu Buffaloes	38
Innings Pitched		Nate Minchey	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	236.0		Satoru Komiyama	Chiba Lotte Marines	201.2
Appearances		Tatsuhiro Yuminaga	Hanshin Tigers	57		Takehiro Hashimoto Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi	Seibu Lions Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	66
Hits Allowed		Nate Minchey	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	241		Satoru Komiyama	Chiba Lotte Marines	224
Home Runs Allowed		Takeo Kawamura	Yokohama BayStars	23		Tsutomu Iwamoto	Nippon Ham Fighters	26
Strikeouts		Kazuhisa Ishii	Yakult Swallows	241		Fumiya Nishiguchi	Seibu Lions	148
Base-on-Balls		Kazuhisa Ishii	Yakult Swallows	105		Tomohiro Kuroki	Chiba Lotte Marines	89

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was won by the Central League one game to none, with one tie. The first game was played at Nagoya Dome and was won by the CL, 4 - 1. The second game was played at Chiba Marine Stadium and was a tie, 3 - 3.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yokohama BayStars (CL) defeated the Seibu Lions (PL), 4 games to 2. The winning manager was Hiroshi Gondo and the series MVP was Takanori Suzuki.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1998 Sawamura Award was Kenjiro Kawasaki of the Yakult Swallows. He had a 17 - 10 win-loss record, 94 strikeouts, and a 3.04 ERA in 204.1 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	Kazuhiro Sasaki	Yokohama BayStars	P	9	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	1 - 1	45	56.0	32	1	13	78	0.64
	PL	Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	SS	575	92	179	9	58	43	.311	.370	.442	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Kenshin Kawakami	Chunichi Dragons	P	59	3	6	1	6	0	.102	.115	.203	14 - 6	0	161.1	123	14	51	124	2.57
	PL	Tatsuya Ozeki	Seibu Lions	OF	322	44	91	3	24	15	.283	.358	.370	Did not pitch

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1998 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kazuhiro Sasaki	Yokohama BayStars		P		Fumiya Nishiguchi	Seibu Lions
Motonobu Tanishige	Yokohama BayStars		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Norihiro Komada	Yokohama BayStars		1B		Phil Clark	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars		2B		Julio Franco	Chiba Lotte Marines
Akira Eto	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		3B		Atsushi Kataoka	Nippon Ham Fighters
Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars		SS		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions
Tomonori Maeda	Hiroshima Carp		OF		Naoyuki Omura	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants				Hiroshi Shibahara	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Takanori Suzuki	Yokohama BayStars				Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave
			DH		Nigel Wilson	Nippon Ham Fighters

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 1998.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants		P		Fumiya Nishiguchi	Seibu Lions
Motonobu Tanishige	Yokohama BayStars		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Norihiro Komada	Yokohama BayStars		1B		Taisei Takagi	Seibu Lions
Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars		2B		Makoto Kaneko	Nippon Ham Fighters
Tatsuya Shindo	Yokohama BayStars		3B		Atsushi Kataoka	Nippon Ham Fighters
Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars		SS		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions
Koichi Ogata	Hiroshima Carp		OF		Naoyuki Omura	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hanshin Tigers				Susumu Otomo	Seibu Lions
Yoshinobu Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants				Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave

High School Baseball

The 80th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4102 schools competing for 55 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Yokohama High School (East Kanagawa) defeated Kyoto Seisho High School (Kyoto) by a score of 3 - 0, with Daisuke Matsuzaka throwing a no-hitter.

The 70th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 36 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Yokohama High School (Kanagawa) defeated Kansai University Daiichi High School (Osaka) by a score of 3 - 1.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1998 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 25 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Kinki University defeated Tokai University by a score of 4 - 3.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Asia University defeated Tohoku Fukushi University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1998. The touring team went 6 - 2 - 0 against Japanese competition.

At the thirty-third Baseball World Cup in Italy, the Japanese national baseball team placed fifth. In the third AAA Asia Baseball Championship in Japan, the Japanese national baseball team won a gold medal. At the nineteenth Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team placed sixth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Shigetoshi Hasegawa: Anaheim Angels
• Koji Hoshina: GCL Expos, GCL (MON-R)
• Hideki Irabu: New York Yankees
• Takehito Ishida: Martinsville Phillies, Appalachian (PHI-Rookie)
• Taisuke Ishimaru, Duluth-Superior Dukes, Northern
• Junichi Iwasaki: Billings Mustangs, Pioneer (CIN-Rookie)
• Takahiro Kanamori: Uni-President Lions, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Takaaki Kato: Williamsport Cubs, New York-Pennsylvania (CHC-A-)
• Kenichiro Kawabata: GCL Red Sox, Gulf Coast (BOS-R)
• Masashi Kiyono: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Northwest (SFG-A-); San Jose Giants, California (SFG-A-Adv)
• Katsuhiro Maeda: Norwich Navigators, Eastern (AA); Columbus Clippers, International (AAA) (NYY)
• Takamasa Matsui: Uni-President Lions, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Jeff McCurry: Nashville Sounds, Pacific Coast (PIT-AAA); Pittsburgh Pirates
• Keith McDonald: Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast (STL-AAA)
• Daisuke Miyashita: Newark Bears, Atlantic League
• Micheal Nakamura: Fort Wayne Wizards, Midwest (MIN-A); Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State (MIN-A-Adv)
• Hideo Nomo: Los Angeles Dodgers; New York Mets
• Stephen Randolph: Tucson Sidewinders, Pacific Coast (ARI-AAA); High Desert Mavericks, California (ARI-A-Adv)
• Dave Roberts: Akron Aeros, Eastern (CLE-AA); Jacksonville Suns, Southern (DET-AA); Buffalo Bisons, International (CLE-AAA)
• Mac Suzuki: Tacoma Rainiers, Pacific Coast (SEA-AAA); Seattle Mariners
• Toshio Tajima: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Masahiro Tanaka: Martinsville Phillies, Appalachian (PHI-Rookie)
• Minoru Tanaka: OB Bears, Korea Baseball Organization
• Osamu Tsujita: GCL Devil Rays, Gulf Coast (TBR-Rookie)
• Tomoyuki Uchiyama: Reading Phillies, Eastern (PHI-AA)
• Juei Ushiromatsu: GCL Mets, Gulf Coast (NYM-Rookie)
• Masato Yoshii: New York Mets

Hall of Fame

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

• Shinjiro Iguchi, by Special Committee
• Hiroshi Nakao, by Special Committee