2000 in Japanese Baseball

2000 in baseball
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2000 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)
Yomiuri Giants	135	78	57	0	0.578	0.0	689	497	0.263	3.34	Shigeo Nagashima
Chunichi Dragons	135	70	65	0	0.519	8.0	544	617	0.266	4.19	Senichi Hoshino
Yokohama BayStars	136	69	66	1	0.511	9.0	576	559	0.277	3.92	Hiroshi Gondo
Yakult Swallows	136	66	69	1	0.489	12.0	581	515	0.264	3.62	Tsutomu Wakamatsu
Hiroshima Carp	136	65	70	1	0.482	13.0	591	675	0.256	4.48	Mitsuo Tatsukawa
Hanshin Tigers	136	57	78	1	0.423	21.0	473	591	0.244	3.90	Katsuya Nomura

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	135	73	60	2	0.548	0.0	630	584	0.268	4.03	Sadaharu Oh
Seibu Lions	135	69	61	5	0.530	2.5	614	572	0.255	3.68	Osamu Higashio
Nippon Ham Fighters	135	69	65	1	0.515	4.5	771	664	0.278	4.70	Yasunori Oshima
Orix BlueWave	135	64	67	4	0.489	8.0	638	672	0.260	4.64	Akira Ogi
Chiba Lotte Marines	135	62	67	6	0.481	9.0	622	708	0.260	4.73	Koji Yamamoto
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	135	58	75	2	0.437	15.0	612	687	0.262	4.66	Masataka Nashida

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Tatsuhiko Kinjo	Yokohama BayStars	.346		Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave	.387
Runs		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	116		Michihiro Ogasawara	Nippon Ham Fighters	126
Hits		Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars	168		Michihiro Ogasawara	Nippon Ham Fighters	182
Doubles		Takuya Kimura	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	34		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	40
Triples		Akinori Iwamura	Yakult Swallows	9		Kazuo Matsui Toshihiro Noguchi	Seibu Lions Nippon Ham Fighters	11
Home Runs		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	42		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	39
Runs Batted In		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	108		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	110
Stolen Bases		Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars	35		Makoto Kosaka	Chiba Lotte Marines	33
Walks		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	106		Atsushi Kataoka	Nippon Ham Fighters	101

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Kazuhisa Ishii	Yakult Swallows	2.61		Nobuyuki Ebisu	Orix BlueWave	3.27
Wins		Melvin Bunch	Chunichi Dragons	14		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	14
Winning Percentage		Kimiyasu Kudo	Yomiuri Giants	.706		Shingo Ono	Chiba Lotte Marines	.722
Losses		Takeo Kawamura	Yokohama BayStars	12		Katsuhiko Maekawa	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	13
Saves		Eddie Gaillard	Chunichi Dragons	35		Rodney Pedraza	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	35
Save Points		Eddie Gaillard	Chunichi Dragons	36		Rodney Pedraza	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	38
Innings Pitched		Melvin Bunch	Chunichi Dragons	184.0		Katsuhiko Maekawa	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	173.0
Appearances		Atsunori Itoh	Hanshin Tigers	71		Soichi Fujita	Chiba Lotte Marines	70
Hits Allowed		Nate Minchey	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	203		Tomohiro Kuroki	Chiba Lotte Marines	181
Home Runs Allowed		Satoru Komiyama	Yokohama BayStars	24		Tomohiro Nagai	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	23
Strikeouts		Kazuhisa Ishii	Yakult Swallows	210		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	144
Base-on-Balls		Melvin Bunch	Chunichi Dragons	77		Katsuhiko Maekawa	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	96

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 Tokyo Dome and was won by the CL, 5 - 4. The second game was played at Green Stadium Kobe and was won by the CL, 12 - 4. The third game was played at Nagasaki Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 9 - 3.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yomiuri Giants (CL) defeated the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (PL), 4 games to 2. The winning manager was Shigeo Nagashima and the series MVP was Hideki Matsui.

Award Winners

There was no winner of the 2000 Sawamura Award.

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	Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	OF	474	116	150	42	108	5	.316	.438	.654	Did not pitch
	PL	Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	1B	471	76	147	33	106	0	.312	.387	.582	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Tatsuhiko Kinjo	Yokohama BayStars	3B	419	60	145	3	36	8	.346	.402	.425	Did not pitch
	PL	Not Awarded			Not Available

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2000 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kimiyasu Kudo	Yomiuri Giants		P		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Kenji Johjima	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Roberto Petagine	Yakult Swallows		1B		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Bobby Rose	Yokohama BayStars		2B		Koichi Oshima	Orix BlueWave
Akira Eto	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
Takuro Ishii	Yokohama BayStars		SS		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions
Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hiroshima Carp		OF		Sherman Obando	Nippon Ham Fighters
Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants				Hiroshi Shibahara	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hanshin Tigers				Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave
			DH		Nigel Wilson	Nippon Ham Fighters

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2000.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kimiyasu Kudo	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
Toshihisa Nishi	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Koichi Oshima	Orix BlueWave
Akinori Iwamura	Yakult Swallows		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
Shinya Miyamoto	Yakult Swallows		SS		Makoto Kosaka	Chiba Lotte Marines
Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants		OF		Hiroshi Shibahara	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks
Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hanshin Tigers				Ichiro Suzuki	Orix BlueWave
Yoshinobu Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants				So Taguchi	Orix BlueWave

High School Baseball

The 82nd National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4119 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama) defeated Tokai University Urayasu High School (Chiba) by a score of 11 - 6.

The 72nd National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Tokai University Sagami High School (Kanagawa) defeated Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama) by a score of 4 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2000 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Asia University defeated Tohoku Fukushi University by a score of 5 - 4.

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	Hosei	Meiji	Waseda	Rikkio	Keio	Tokyo
Fall	Keio	Hosei	Rikkio	Waseda	Meiji	Tokyo

Tohto University Base Ball League

Season	League	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Fall	1	Asia	Aoyama Gakuin, Nihon		Chuo	Komazawa	Toyo
	2	Rissho	Tokyo Agriculture	Kokushikan	Kokugakuin	Senshu	Juntendo
Fall	1	Toyo	Komazawa	Aoyama Gakuin	Nihon	Asia	Chuo
	2	Tokyo Agriculture	Kokushikan	Kokugakuin	Rissho	Senshu	Takushoku
	3	Juntendo	Taisho	Seikei	Gakushuin	Hitotsubashi	Shibaura Tech
	4	Sophia	Musashi Tech	Tokyo Tech

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 2000. The touring team went 5 - 2 - 1 against Japanese competition.

At the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the Japanese national baseball team placed fourth. At the twentieth Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team placed fourth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Shinji Ando: Taipei Gida, Taiwan Major League
• Masaaki Esaka: Taichung Agan, Taiwan Major League
• Hiroshi Fujimoto: Chico Heat and Zion Pioneerzz, Western Baseball League
• Ryu Hanekawa: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Shigetoshi Hasegawa: Anaheim Angels
• Craig House: Carolina Mudcats, Southern (COL-AA); Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Pacific Coast (COL-AAA); Salem Avalanche, Carolina (COL-A-Adv); Colorado Rockies
• Takahide Ito: Taichung Agan, Taiwan Major League
• Hideki Irabu: Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida State (MTL-A-Adv); Ottawa Lynx, International (MTL-AAA); Montreal Expos
• Takehiro Ishii: Taipei Gida, Taiwan Major League
• Kenichiro Kawabata: Sarasota Red Sox, Florida State (BOS-A-Adv); Augusta Greenjackets, South Atlantic (BOS-A)
• Masao Kida: Toledo Mud Hens, International (DET-AAA)
• Hiromu Kojima: Chianan Braves, Taiwan Major League
• Katsuhiro Maeda: Norwich Navigators, Eastern (NYY-AA); Columbus Clippers, International (NYY-AAA)
• Keith McDonald: Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast (STL-AAA); St. Louis Cardinals
• Kazuhiko Miyakawa: Newark Bears, Atlantic League
• Elji Miyamoto: GCL Expos, Gulf Coast (MTL-R); Cape Fear Crocs, South Atlantic (MTL-A)
• Tetsuhiro Monna: ADO, Hoofdklasse
• Koshi Muto: Taichung Agan, Taiwan Major League
• Micheal Nakamura: Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State (MIN-A-Adv)
• Yuji Nerei: Cape Fear Crocs, South Atlantic (MTL-A); Harrisburg Senators, Eastern (MTL-AA); Ottawa Lynx, International (MTL-AAA)
• Hideo Nomo: Detroit Tigers
• Tomokazu Ohka: Pawtucket Red Sox, International (BOS-AAA); Boston Red Sox
• Stephen Randolph: Tucson Sidewinders, Pacific Coast (ARI-AAA)
• Dave Roberts: Buffalo Bisons, International (CLE-AAA); Cleveland Indians
• Kazuhiro Sasaki: Seattle Mariners
• Takahiro Sasaki: Greenville Bluesmen, Texas-Louisiana League, Long Island Ducks, Atlantic League
• Mac Suzuki: Kansas City Royals
• Minoru Tanaka: OB Bears, Korea Baseball Organization
• Koichi Taniguchi: Newark Bears, Atlantic League
• Katsuya Udo: Chinatrust Whales, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Hisanobu Watanabe: Chianan Braves, Taiwan Major League
• Masayuki Yano: Chinatrust Whales, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Nobuaki Yoshida: Idaho Falls Padres, Pioneer (SDP-R); AZL Padres, Arizona (SDP-R)
• Masato Yoshii: Colorado Rockies

Hall of Fame

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

• Shintaro Fukushima, by Special Committee
• Tetsuya Yoneda, by Sportswriters Committee