1999 in Japanese Baseball

1999 in baseball
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1999 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)
Chunichi Dragons	135	81	54	0	0.600	0.0	598	488	0.263	3.39	Senichi Hoshino
Yomiuri Giants	135	75	60	0	0.556	6.0	618	553	0.265	3.84	Shigeo Nagashima
Yokohama BayStars	135	71	64	0	0.526	10.0	711	639	0.294	4.44	Hiroshi Gondo
Yakult Swallows	135	66	69	0	0.489	15.0	584	610	0.264	4.23	Tsutomu Wakamatsu
Hiroshima Carp	135	57	78	0	0.422	24.0	586	712	0.260	4.78	Mitsuo Tatsukawa
Hanshin Tigers	135	55	80	0	0.407	26.0	490	585	0.259	4.04	Katsuya Nomura

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	135	78	54	3	0.589	0.0	563	553	0.257	3.65	Sadaharu Oh
Seibu Lions	135	75	59	1	0.559	4.0	535	513	0.258	3.58	Osamu Higashio
Orix BlueWave	135	68	65	2	0.511	10.5	620	577	0.263	3.64	Akira Ogi
Chiba Lotte Marines	135	63	70	2	0.474	15.5	515	538	0.257	3.64	Koji Yamamoto
Nippon Ham Fighters	135	60	73	2	0.452	18.5	614	625	0.260	4.34	Toshiharu Ueda
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	135	54	77	4	0.415	23.5	573	662	0.257	4.54	Kyosuke Sasaki

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars	.369		Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave	.343
Runs		Koichi Ogata	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	111		Tuffy Rhodes	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	94
Hits		Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars	192		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	178
Doubles		Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars	34		Tuffy Rhodes	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	38
Triples		Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hanshin Tigers	7		Makoto Kosaka	Chiba Lotte Marines	10
Home Runs		Roberto Petagine	Yakult Swallows	44		Tuffy Rhodes	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	40
Runs Batted In		Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars	153		Tuffy Rhodes	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	101
Stolen Bases		Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars	39		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	32
Walks		Roberto Petagine	Yakult Swallows	116		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	79

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	2.09		Kimiyasu Kudoh	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	2.38
Wins		Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	20		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	16
Winning Percentage		Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	.833		Takayuki Shinohara	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	.933
Losses		Keiichi Yabu	Hanshin Tigers	16		Akira Okamoto	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	12
Saves		Shingo Takatsu	Yakult Swallows	30		Brian Warren	Chiba Lotte Marines	30
Save Points		Shingo Takatsu	Yakult Swallows	31		Brian Warren	Chiba Lotte Marines	31
Innings Pitched		Shigeki Noguchi	Chunichi Dragons	203.2		Tomohiro Kuroki	Chiba Lotte Marines	212.2
Appearances		Hitoki Iwase	Chunichi Dragons	65		Soichi Fujita	Chiba Lotte Marines	65
Hits Allowed		Shigeki Noguchi	Chunichi Dragons	202		Akira Okamoto	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	187
Home Runs Allowed		Takashi Saito	Yokohama BayStars	32		Hiroyuki Sekine	Nippon Ham Fighters	28
Strikeouts		Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	179		Kimiyasu Kudoh	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	196
Base-on-Balls		Kazuhisa Ishii	Yakult Swallows	71		Tsutomu Iwamoto	Nippon Ham Fighters	93

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured three games and was won by the Central League three games to none. The first game was played at Seibu Dome and was won by the CL, 8 - 4. The second game was played at Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 9 - 5. The third game was played at Kurashiki Sports Stadium and was won by the CL, 2 - 1.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (PL) defeated the Chunichi Dragons (CL), 4 games to 1. The winning manager was Sadaharu Oh and the series MVP was Koji Akiyama.

Award Winners

The winner of the 1999 Sawamura Award was Koji Uehara of the Yomiuri Giants. He had a 20 - 4 win-loss record, 179 strikeouts, and a 2.09 ERA in 197.2 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	Shigeki Noguchi	Chunichi Dragons	P	65	5	9	0	5	0	.138	.186	.154	19 - 7	0	203.2	202	13	67	145	2.65
	PL	Kimiyasu Kudo	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	11 - 7	0	196.1	143	12	34	196	2.38
Rookie of the Year	CL	Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	P	73	2	6	0	1	0	.082	.118	.082	20 - 4	0	197.2	153	12	24	179	2.09
	PL	Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	16 - 5	0	180.0	124	14	87	151	2.60

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 1999 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants		P		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Kenji Johjima	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Roberto Petagine	Yakult Swallows		1B		Michihiro Ogasawara	Nippon Ham Fighters
Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars		2B		Makoto Kaneko	Nippon Ham Fighters
Leo Gomez	Chunichi Dragons		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars		SS		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions
Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Tuffy Rhodes	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
Koichi Sekikawa	Chunichi Dragons				Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave
Yoshinobu Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants				Yoshitomo Tani	Orix BlueWave
			DH		Phil Clark	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 1999.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants		P		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Kenji Johjima	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Norihiro Komada	Yokohama BayStars		1B		Michihiro Ogasawara	Nippon Ham Fighters
Toshihisa Nishi	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Makoto Kaneko	Nippon Ham Fighters
Tatsuya Shindo	Yokohama BayStars		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
Shinya Miyamoto	Yakult Swallows		SS		Makoto Kosaka	Chiba Lotte Marines
Koichi Ogata	Hiroshima Carp		OF		Koji Akiyama	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hanshin Tigers				Susumu Otomo	Seibu Lions
Yoshinobu Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants				Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave

High School Baseball

The 81st National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4096 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Kiryu Daiichi High School (Gumma) defeated Okayama University of Science High School (Okayama) by a score of 14 - 1.

The 71st National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Okinawa Shougaku High School (Okinawa) defeated Mito Commercial High School (Ibaraki) by a score of 7 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 1999 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Aoyama Gakuin University defeated Waseda University by a score of 6 - 2.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Kyushu Kyoritsu University defeated Tokai University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The KBO All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 1999. The touring team went 1 - 2 - 1 against Japanese competition.

In the eighteenth World Junior Championship AAA in Taiwan, the Japanese national baseball team placed fifth. In the fourteenth Intercontinental Cup in Australia, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Yutaka Ashikaga: Mercuries Tigers, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Shigetoshi Hasegawa: Anaheim Angels
• Ryu Hanekawa: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Craig House: Portland Rockies, Northwest (COL-SS)
• Hideki Irabu: New York Yankees
• Takehito Ishida: Piedmont Boll Weevils, South Atlantic (PHI-A); GCL Phillies, Gulf Coast (PHI-R)
• Kenichiro Kawabata: GCL Red Sox, Gulf Coast (BOS-R)
• Takeshi Kanaya: GCL Red Sox, Gulf Coast (BOS-R)
• Masao Kida: Toledo Mud Hens, International (DET-AAA); Detroit Tigers
• Masashi Kiyono: San Jose Giants, California (SFG-A-Adv)
• Koji Kobayakawa: Taichung Agan, Taiwan Major League
• Keiichi Kojima: Sinon Bulls, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Katsuhiro Maeda: Norwich Navigators, Eastern (NYY-AA)
• Jeff McCurry: New Orleans Zephyrs, Pacific Coast (HOU-AAA); Houston Astros
• Keith McDonald: Arkansas Travelers, Texas (STL-AA); Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast (STL-AAA)
• Daisuke Miyashita: Mercuries Tigers, Chinese Professional Baseball League; Kaoping Fala, Taiwan Major League
• Kazuma Mori: Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida State (MON-A-Adv)
• Micheal Nakamura: Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State (MIN-A-Adv)
• Hideo Nomo: Huntsville Stars, Southern (MIL-AA); Iowa Cubs, Pacific Coast (CHC-AAA); Milwaukee Brewers
• Tomokazu Ohka: Pawtucket Red Sox, International (BOS-AAA); Boston Red Sox; Trenton Thunder, Eastern (BOS-AA)
• Stephen Randolph: El Paso Diablos, Texas (ARI-AA); Tucson Sidewinders, Pacific Coast (ARI-AAA); AZL Diamondbacks, Arizona (ARI-R)
• Dave Roberts: Cleveland Indians; Buffalo Bisons, International (CLE-AAA)
• Takahiro Sasaki: Chiyai Braves, Taiwan Major League
• Katsushi Shirasaka: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Mac Suzuki: Kansas City Royals; Seattle Mariners
• Minoru Tanaka: OB Bears, Korea Baseball Organization
• Toshio Tajima: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Hisanobu Watanabe: Chiyai Braves, Taiwan Major League
• Masato Yoshii: New York Mets

Hall of Fame

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

• Yoshinori Hirose, by Sportswriters Committee
• Takeshi Koba, by Sportswriters Committee
• Sadao Kondo, by Sportswriters Committee
• Futoshi Nakanishi, by Sportswriters Committee
• Ichiro Yoshikuni, by Special Committee