2005 in Japanese Baseball

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2005 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

Interleague play begins in the NPB.

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)
Hanshin Tigers	146	87	54	5	0.617	0	731	533	0.274	3.24	Akinobu Okada
Chunichi Dragons	146	79	66	1	0.545	10.0	680	628	0.269	4.13	Hiromitsu Ochiai
Yokohama BayStars	146	69	70	7	0.496	16.5	621	596	0.265	3.68	Kazuhiko Ushijima
Yakult Swallows	146	71	73	2	0.493	18.0	591	596	0.276	4.00	Tsutomu Wakamatsu
Yomiuri Giants	146	62	80	4	0.437	25.0	617	737	0.260	4.80	Tsuneo Horiuchi
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	146	58	84	4	0.408	29.0	615	779	0.275	4.80	Koji Yamamoto

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	136	89	45	2	0.664	0	658	504	0.281	3.46	Sadaharu Oh
Chiba Lotte Marines	136	84	49	3	0.632	4.5	740	479	0.282	3.21	Bobby Valentine
Seibu Lions	136	67	69	0	0.493	23.0	604	636	0.269	4.27	Tsutomu Ito
Orix Buffaloes	136	62	70	4	0.470	26.0	527	587	0.260	3.84	Akira Ogi
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	136	62	71	3	0.466	26.5	605	606	0.254	3.98	Trey Hillman
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	136	38	97	1	0.281	51.5	504	812	0.255	5.67	Yasushi Tao

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Norichika Aoki	Yakult Swallows	.344		Kazuhiro Wada	Seibu Lions	.322
Runs		Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers	120		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	109
Hits		Norichika Aoki	Yakult Swallows	202		Kazuhiro Wada	Seibu Lions	153
Doubles		Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons	39		Toshiaki Imae	Chiba Lotte Marines	35
Triples		Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers	9		Tsuyoshi Nishioka	Chiba Lotte Marines	11
Home Runs		Takahiro Arai	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	43		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	46
Runs Batted In		Makoto Imaoka	Hanshin Tigers	147		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	121
Stolen Bases		Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers	60		Tsuyoshi Nishioka	Chiba Lotte Marines	41
Walks		Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers	98		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	76

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Daisuke Miura	Yokohama BayStars	2.52		Toshiya Sugiuchi	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	2.11
Wins		Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi Hiroki Kuroda	Hanshin Tigers Hiroshima Toyo Carp	15		Toshiya Sugiuchi	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	18
Winning Percentage		Yuya Ando	Hanshin Tigers	.688		Kazumi Saito	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	.941
Losses		Shinobu Fukuhara	Hanshin Tigers	14		Hisashi Iwakuma	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	15
Saves		Hitoki Iwase	Chunichi Dragons	46		Masahide Kobayashi	Chiba Lotte Marines	29
Innings Pitched		Daisuke Miura	Yokohama BayStars	214.2		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	215.0
Appearances		Kyuji Fujikawa	Hanshin Tigers	80		Tsuyoshi Kikuchihara	Orix Buffaloes	71
Hits Allowed		Kei Igawa	Hanshin Tigers	199		Hisashi Iwakuma	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	218
Home Runs Allowed		Yoshihiro Doi	Yokohama BayStars	30		Naoyuki Shimizu	Chiba Lotte Marines	27
Strikeouts		Daisuke Miura Ken Kadokura	Yokohama BayStars Yokohama BayStars	177		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions	226
Base-on-Balls		Kan Otake	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	87		Yusaku Iriki	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters	65

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was won by the Central League two games to none. The first game was played at Invoice Seibu Dome and was won by the CL, 6 - 5. The second game was played at Koshien Baseball Stadium and was won by the CL, 5 - 3.

Postseason

In the first stage of the playoffs at the Chiba Marine Stadium, the second place Chiba Lotte Marines defeated the third place Seibu Lions in two straight games. The Marines then defeated the first-place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at the Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in five games, 3 - 2, giving them pennant.

In the Nippon Series, the Chiba Lotte Marines (PL) defeated the Chunichi Dragons (CL) in a four game sweep. The winning manager was Bobby Valentine, who became the first non-Japanese manager tolead his team to a Nippon Series title. The series MVP was Toshiaki Imae.

The Marines proceeded to the first Asia Series, to determine the champion of the four Asian leagues. The champions of Japan swept the slate winning each of their four games to be crowned the first Asian champions.

Award Winners

The winner of the 2005 Sawamura Award was Toshiya Sugiuchi of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He had a 18 - 4 win-loss record, 218 strikeouts, and a 2.11 ERA in 196.2 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	Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers	OF	559	120	183	40	125	3	.327	.429	.615	Did not pitch
	PL	Toshiya Sugiuchi	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks	P	10	0	1	0	0	0	.100	.100	.100	18 - 4	0	196.2	150	14	43	218	2.11
Rookie of the Year	CL	Norichika Aoki	Yakult Swallows	OF	588	100	202	3	28	29	.344	.387	.417	Did not pitch
	PL	Yasutomo Kubo	Chiba Lotte Marines	P	6	1	2	0	2	0	.333	.333	.500	10 - 3	0	121.2	120	13	26	84	3.40

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2005 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Hiroki Kuroda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		P		Toshiya Sugiuchi	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Akihiro Yano	Hanshin Tigers		C		Kenji Johjima	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Takahiro Arai	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		1B		Julio Zuleta	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Masahiro Araki	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Koichi Hori	Chiba Lotte Marines
Hirokazu Ibata	Chunichi Dragons		SS		Tsuyoshi Nishioka	Chiba Lotte Marines
Makoto Imaoka	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Toshiaki Imae	Chiba Lotte Marines
Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Matt Franco	Chiba Lotte Marines
Norichika Aoki	Yakult Swallows				Kazuhiko Miyaji	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Tomoaki Kanemoto	Hanshin Tigers				Kazuhiro Wada	Seibu Lions
			DH		Nobuhiko Matsunaka	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2005.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Hiroki Kuroda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp		P		Daisuke Matsuzaka	Seibu Lions
Akihiro Yano	Hanshin Tigers		C		Kenji Johjima	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Andy Sheets	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Kazuya Fukuura	Chiba Lotte Marines
Masahiro Araki	Chunichi Dragons		2B		Tsuyoshi Nishioka	Chiba Lotte Marines
Akinori Iwamura	Yakult Swallows		3B		Toshiaki Imae	Chiba Lotte Marines
Hirokazu Ibata	Chunichi Dragons		SS		Makoto Kosaka	Chiba Lotte Marines
Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Tsuyoshi Shinjo	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers				Saburo Ohmura	Chiba Lotte Marines
Tatsuhiko Kinjou	Yokohama BayStars				Naoyuki Ohmura	Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

High School Baseball

The 87th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4137 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Komadai Tomakomai High School (North Hokkaido) defeated Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School (Kyoto) by a score of 5 - 3.

The 77th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Aikodai Meiden High School (Aichi) defeated Kamimura Gakuen (Kagoshima) by a score of 9 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2005 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 Tohoku Fukushi University by a score of 2 - 1 .

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Kyushu Sangyo University defeated Tohoku Fukushi University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

The Asia University club did not participate in the spring season and was dropped to the 2 League in the fall season.

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

At the thirty-sixth Baseball World Cup in Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team placed fifth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

The United States-based Golden Baseball League featured a road team called the Japan Samurai Bears, which consisted entirely of Japanese players. The team was added to keep the league's number of teams at eight. The team left the league after the season and was reorganized as the Kyoto Fire Bears which play in the Japan Amateur Baseball Association.

• Tomoshi Aoki: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball League (2005-Ind)
• Yusuke Arakawa: Tulsa Drillers, Texas (COL-AA)
• Jung Ji Cho: Danville Braves, Appalachian (ATL-R)
• Satoru Fujii: Sparta/Feyenoord, Hoofdklasse
• Shigetoshi Hasegawa: Seattle Mariners
• Craig House: Oklahoma RedHawks, Pacific Coast (TEX-AAA)
• Daisuke Ikenaga: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball League (2005-Ind)
• Tadahito Iguchi: Chicago White Sox
• Fumimasa Ishibashi: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball League (2005-Ind)
• Kazuhisa Ishii: St. Lucie Mets, Florida State (NYM-A-Adv); Norfolk Tides, International (NYM-AAA); New York Mets
• Soichi Kamimura: Elmira Pioneers, Can-Am (2005-Ind)
• Masao Kida: Tacoma Rainiers, Pacific Coast (SEA-AAA); Seattle Mariners
• Kazuo Matsui: GCL Mets, Gulf Coast (NYM-R); New York Mets; Brooklyn Cyclones, New York-Penn (NYM-SS); Binghamton Mets, Eastern (NYM-AA)
• Hideki Matsui: New York Yankees
• Keith McDonald: Baltimore Orioles
• Takashi Miyoshi: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball League (2005-Ind)
• Jobu Morita: Elmira Pioneers, Northeast League (Ind)
• Junichiro Muto: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Hideki Nagasaka: Lincoln Saltdogs, Northern League (Ind); Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball League (Ind)
• Shin Nakagomi: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Norihiro Nakamura: Los Angeles Dodgers; Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast (LAD-AAA)
• Toshihide Narimoto: Uni-President Lions, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Yuji Nerei: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball League (Ind)
• Hideo Nomo: Columbus Clippers, International (NYY-AAA); Tampa Bay Devil Rays
• Tomokazu Ohka: Washington Nationals; Milwaukee Brewers
• Akinori Otsuka: San Diego Padres
• Stephen Randolph: Chicago Cubs; New Orleans Zephyrs, Pacific Coast (WSH-AAA); Fresno Giants, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA)
• Dave Roberts: Lake Elsinore Storm, California (SDP-A-Adv); San Diego Padres
• Hideki Sato: Macoto Cobras, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Toshitaka Shimada: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball (Ind)
• Ichiro Suzuki: Seattle Mariners
• Kazuhito Tadano: Buffalo Bisons, International (CLE-AAA); Cleveland Indians
• So Taguchi: St. Louis Cardinals
• Shingo Takatsu: New York Mets
• Tomoyuki Takayama, Hanwha Eagles, Korea Baseball Organization
• Masayoshi Tokuda: Danville Braves, Appalachian League (ATL)
• Denney Tomori: Portland Sea Dogs, Eastern (BOS-AA); Pawtucket Red Sox, International (BOS-AAA)
• Shin Uchino: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball (Ind)
• Keisuke Ueno: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball (Ind)
• Keiichi Yabu: Oakland Athletics
• Tomokazu Yamazaki: Macoto Cobras, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Tetsu Yofu: Birmingham Barons, Southern (CHW-AA)
• Kosuke Yonezawa: Japan Samurai Bears, Golden Baseball (Ind)

Hall of Fame

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

• Masaaki Mori, by Sportswriters Committee
• Choji Murata, by Sportswriters Committee
• Masayori Shimura, by Special Committee