2004 in Japanese Baseball

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2004 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

The Players Association stages its first strike on September 18 and 19 to protest the proposed merger of the Pacific League's Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave.

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	138	79	56	3	0.583	0.0	623	558	0.274	3.86	Hiromitsu Ochiai
Yakult Swallows	138	72	64	2	0.529	7.5	618	691	0.275	4.70	Tsutomu Wakamatsu
Yomiuri Giants	138	71	64	3	0.525	8.0	738	677	0.275	4.50	Tsuneo Horiuchi
Hanshin Tigers	138	66	70	7	0.485	13.0	637	610	0.273	4.08	Akinobu Okada
Hiroshima Carp	138	60	77	1	0.438	20.0	662	716	0.276	4.75	Koji Yamamoto
Yokohama BayStars	138	59	76	3	0.438	20.0	640	666	0.279	4.47	Daisuke Yamashita

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Daiei Hawks	133	77	52	4	0.594	0.0	739	651	0.292	4.58	Sadaharu Oh
Seibu Lions	133	74	58	1	0.560	4.5	718	656	0.276	4.29	Tsutomu Ito
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	133	66	65	2	0.504	12.0	731	697	0.281	4.72	Trey Hillman
Chiba Lotte Marines	133	65	65	3	0.500	12.5	649	642	0.264	4.40	Bobby Valentine
Kintetsu Buffaloes	133	61	70	2	0.466	17.0	630	636	0.269	4.46	Masataka Nashida
Orix BlueWave	133	49	72	2	0.376	29.0	622	807	0.283	5.66	Haruki Ihara

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Shigenobu Shima	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	.337		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	.358
Runs		Toshihisa Nishi	Yomiuri Giants	106		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	118
Hits		Shigenobu Shima	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	189		Nobuhiko Matsunaka Munenori Kawasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	171
Doubles		Takayuki Shimizu	Yomiuri Giants	39		Kazuya Fukuura	Chiba Lotte Marines	42
Triples		Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons	7		Munenori Kawasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	8
Home Runs		Tyrone Woods Tuffy Rhodes	Yokohama BayStars Yomiuri Giants	45		Nobuhiko Matsunaka Fernando Seguignol	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	44
Runs Batted In		Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers	113		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	120
Stolen Bases		Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers	64		Munenori Kawasaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	42
Walks		Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers	79		Benny Agbayani	Chiba Lotte Marines	86

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	2.60		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	2.90
Wins		Kenshin Kawakami	Chunichi Dragons	17		Hisashi Iwakuma	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	15
Winning Percentage		Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants	.722		Hisashi Iwakuma	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	.882
Losses		Shinobu Fukuhara	Hanshin Tigers	15		Naoyuki Shimizu	Chiba Lotte Marines	11
Saves		Ryota Igarashi	Yakult Swallows	37		Koji Mise Yukiya Yokoyama	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	28
Save Points		Ryota Igarashi	Yakult Swallows	42		Koji Mise Yukiya Yokoyama	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	32
Innings Pitched		Kei Igawa	Hanshin Tigers	200.1		Nagisa Arakaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	192.1
Appearances		Ryota Igarashi	Yakult Swallows	66		Yasuhiko Yabuta	Chiba Lotte Marines	66
Hits Allowed		Masanori Ishikawa	Yakult Swallows	200		Kevin Beirne	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	190
Home Runs Allowed		Kei Igawa	Hanshin Tigers	29		Dae-Sung Koo Carlos Mirabal	Orix BlueWave Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	24
Strikeouts		Kei Igawa	Hanshin Tigers	228		Nagisa Arakaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	177
Base-on-Balls		Jason Beverlin	Yakult Swallows	65		Nagisa Arakaki	Fukuoka Daiei Hawks	73

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was won by the Pacific League two games to none. The first game was played at Nagoya Dome and was won by the PL, 6 - 3. The second game was played at Nagano Olympic Stadium and was won by the PL, 2 - 1.

Postseason

This was the first year of the Pacific League's tiered playoff format. The top three teams qualify for the playoffs with the second and third place teams play in a best-of-three game series at the second place team's stadium. The winner then plays in a best-of-five game series at the first place team's stadium for the league championship.

In the first stage of the playoffs at the Seibu Dome, the second place Seibu Lions defeated the third place Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 2 games to 1. The Lions continued their winning way defeating the first-place Fukuoka Daiei Hawks at the Fukuoka Dome in five games, 3 - 2, giving them the pennant.

In the Nippon Series, the Seibu Lions (PL) defeated the Chunichi Dragons (CL), 4 games to 3. The Lions had advanced through the Pacific League's playoff system playing in eight games to reach the series. The winning manager was Tsutomu Itoh and the series MVP was Takashi Ishii.

Award Winners

The winner of the 2004 Sawamura Award was Kenshin Kawakami of the Chunichi Dragons. He had a 17 - 7 win-loss record, 176 strikeouts, and a 3.32 ERA in 192.1 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	Kenshin Kawakami	Chunichi Dragons	P	69	4	12	2	6	0	.174	.174	.304	17 - 7	0	192.1	173	27	38	176	3.32
	PL	Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Daiei Hawks	1B	478	118	171	44	120	2	.358	.464	.715	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Ryo Kawashima	Yakult Swallows	P	49	3	10	0	3	0	.204	.220	.204	10 - 4	0	139.1	115	26	39	128	3.17
	PL	Koji Mise	Daiei Hawks	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	4 - 3	28	67.2	47	6	19	71	3.06

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2004 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kenshin Kawakami	Chunichi Dragons		P		Hisashi Iwakuma	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Kenji Johjima	Daiei Hawks
Tyrone Woods	Yokohama BayStars		1B		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Daiei Hawks
Masahiro Araki Greg LaRocca	Chunichi Dragons Hiroshima Carp		2B		Tadahito Iguchi	Daiei Hawks
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami	Chunichi Dragons		3B		Michihiro Ogasawara	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Hirokazu Ibata	Chunichi Dragons		SS		Munenori Kawasaki	Daiei Hawks
Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Tuffy Rhodes	Yomiuri Giants				Yoshitomo Tani	Orix BlueWave
Shigenobu Shima	Hiroshima Carp				Kazuhiro Wada	Seibu Lions
			DH		Fernando Seguignol	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2004.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kenshin Kawakami	Chunichi Dragons		P		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions
Atsuya Furuta	Yakult Swallows		C		Kenji Johjima	Daiei Hawks
Hiroyuki Watanabe	Chunichi Dragons		1B		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Daiei Hawks
Masahiro Araki	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Tadahito Iguchi	Daiei Hawks
Akinori Iwamura	Yakult Swallows		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Hirokazu Ibata	Chunichi Dragons		SS		Munenori Kawasaki	Daiei Hawks
Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Arihito Muramatsu	Orix BlueWave
Hidenori Kuramoto	Chunichi Dragons				Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Alex Ochoa	Chunichi Dragons				Yoshitomo Tani	Orix BlueWave

High School Baseball

The 86th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4146 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Komadai Tomakomai High School (North Hokkaido) defeated Saibi High School (Ehime) by a score of 13 - 10.

The 76th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Saibi High School (Ehime) defeated Aikodai Meiden High School (Aichi) by a score of 6 - 5.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2004 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Tohoku Fukushi University defeated Nihon University by a score of 3 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention, University of East Asia defeated Keio University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 2004. The touring team went 5 - 3 - 0 against Japanese competition.

In the second World University Baseball Championship in Taiwan, the Japanese national baseball team placed second. In the twenty-first World Junior Championship AAA in Taiwan, the Japanese national baseball team won a silver medal. In the 2004 Women's Baseball World Cup in Canada, the Japanese women's national baseball team won a silver medal. At the twenty-second Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team placed third. At the Olympics in Athens, Greece, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Yusuke Arakawa: Visalia Oaks, California (COL-A-Adv)
• Hiroshi Fujimoto: Kansas City T-Bones, Western Baseball League (Ind)
• Shigetoshi Hasegawa: Seattle Mariners
• Craig House: Bowie Baysox, Eastern (BAL-AA); Ottawa Lynx, International (BAL-AAA); Frederick Keys, Carolina (BAL-A-Adv)
• Satoshi Iriki: La New Bears, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Kazuhisa Ishii: Los Angeles Dodgers
• Masami Ishikawa: Uni-President Lions, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Soichi Kamimura: Elmira Pioneers, Northeast (2004-Ind)
• Masao Kida: Los Angeles Dodgers; GCL Dodgers, Gulf Coast (LAD-R)
• Katsuhiro Maeda: Shanghai Golden Eagles, China Baseball League
• Hideki Matsui: New York Yankees
• Kazuo Matsui: New York Mets
• Keith McDonald: Nashville Sounds, Pacific Coast (PIT-AAA); Pittsburgh Pirates
• Yoshitaka Mizuo: Arkansas Travelers, Texas (ANA-AA); Salt Lake Stingers, Pacific Coast (ANA-AAA)
• Jobu Morita: Elmira Pioneers, Northeast League (Ind)
• Hideki Nagasaka: Lincoln Saltdogs, Northern League (Ind)
• Shin Nakagomi: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Micheal Nakamura: Syracuse SkyChiefs, International (TOR-AAA); Minnesota Twins; Toronto Blue Jays
• Yuji Nerei: Elmira Pioneers, Northeast League (Ind)
• Michitaka Nishiyama: Winnipeg Goldeyes, Northern League (Ind)
• Hideo Nomo: Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast (LAD-AAA); Los Angeles Dodgers
• Takahito Nomura: Macoto Cobras, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Tomokazu Ohka: Montreal Expos
• Akinori Otsuka: San Diego Padres
• Stephen Randolph: Arizona Diamondbacks
• Dave Roberts: Los Angeles Dodgers; Boston Red Sox; Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State (LAD-A-Adv)
• Mitsuru Sakamoto: Casper Rockies, Pioneer (COL-R); Tri-City Dust Devils, Northwest (COL-SS)
• Ichiro Suzuki: Seattle Mariners
• Kazuhito Tadano: Buffalo Bisons, International (CLE-AAA); Cleveland Indians
• So Taguchi: Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast (STL-AAA); St. Louis Cardinals
• Shingo Takatsu: Chicago White Sox
• Tomoyuki Takayama, Samsung Lions, Korea Baseball Organization
• Shin Uchino: Bangor Lumberjacks, Northeast (Ind)
• Tetsuya Yamaguchi: Missoula Osprey, Pioneer (ARI-R)
• Tetsu Yofu: Birmingham Barons, Southern (CHW-AA); Charlotte Knights, International (CHW-AAA)
• Hisanori Yokota: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Kosuke Yonezawa: Missoula Osprey, Pioneer (ARI-R)

Hall of Fame

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

• Noboru Akiyama, by Special Committee
• Akira Ohgi, by Sportswriters Committee