2014 in Japanese Baseball

2014 in baseball
Cuban National League
Japanese baseball
American League
National League
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The 2014 season in Nippon Pro Baseball saw a few records being set. 49-year-old Masahiro Yamamoto of the Chunichi Dragons became the oldest pitcher to win a game or strike out a batter in NPB, breaking records Shinji Hamazaki had held for over 50 years. Motonobu Tanishige, player-manager of the Chunichi Dragons, became NPB's career leader in games caught. Yoshihisa Hirano set a new Pacific League save record with 40, a record that would only stand one year.

One change of note was that Cuba allowed players to sign with teams in other countries; with the US off-limits due to the embargo, NPB became the destination for some of Cuba's best players. Two-time Serie Nacional MVP Yulieski Gourriel hit .305/.349/.536 with 46 runs in 62 games for the Hiroshima Carp and three-time MVP Alfredo Despaigne batted .311/.374/.627 with 12 homers in 45 games for the Chiba Lotte Marines but Frederich Cepeda only batted .194/.333/.389 for the Yomiuri Giants with 38 K in 108 AB. A fourth player, young reliever Hector Mendoza, signed with Yomiuri as well, but only saw limited action in the minors and did not make it to the big club.

Also, NPB adopted a rather odd interleague inverse DH rule - the DH was used in the home parks of the Central League teams when the CL does not use a DH while pitchers batted in the home parks of the Pacific League when the PL does use a DH.

Standings

Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner; * indicates playoff team

Central League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ERA	Manager(s)
Yomiuri Giants*	144	82	61	1	.573	--	667	552	.264	.329	.391	3.58	Tatsunori Hara
Hanshin Tigers*	144	75	68	1	.524	7	599	614	.264	.335	.376	3.88	Yutaka Wada
Hiroshima Toyo Carp*	144	74	68	2	.521	7.5	649	610	.272	.337	.420	3.79	Kenjiro Nomura
Chunichi Dragons	144	67	73	4	.479	13.5	570	590	.258	.325	.364	3.69	Motonobu Tanishige
Yokohama DeNA BayStars	144	67	75	2	.472	14.5	568	624	.253	.317	.383	3.76	Kiyoshi Nakahata
Tokyo Yakult Swallows	144	60	81	3	.426	19	599	717	.279	.339	.412	4.62	Junji Ogawa

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ERA	Manager(s)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks*	144	78	60	6	.565	2	607	522	.280	.344	.396	3.25	Koji Akiyama
Orix Buffaloes*	144	80	62	2	.563	--	584	456	.258	.335	.382	3.00	Hiroshi Moriwaki
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters*	144	73	68	3	.518	6.5	593	569	.251	.321	.379	3.61	Hideki Kuriyama
Chiba Lotte Marines	144	66	76	2	.465	15.5	556	642	.251	.314	.378	4.46	Tsutomu Itoh
Saitama Seibu Lions	144	63	77	4	.450	17.5	574	600	.248	.329	.384	4.17	Haruki Ihara (21-35)/Norio Tanabe (42-42)
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	144	64	80	0	.444	18.5	549	604	.255	.327	.356	3.97	Senichi Hoshino

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Matt Murton	Hanshin Tigers	.338		Yoshio Itoi	Orix Buffaloes	.331
Runs		Yoshihiro Maru Tetsuto Yamada	Hiroshima Carp Yakult Swallows	106		Yuki Yanagita	Softbank Hawks	91
Hits		Tetsuto Yamada	Yakult Swallows	193		Akira Nakamura	Softbank Hawks	176
Doubles		Ryosuke Kikuchi Tetsuto Yamada	Hiroshima Carp Yakult Swallows	39		Yoshio Itoi	Orix Buffaloes	36
Triples		Takayuki Kajitani	Yokohama BayStars	9		Haruki Nishikawa	Nippon Ham Fighters	13
Home Runs		Brad Eldred	Hiroshima Carp	37		Ernesto Mejia Takeya Nakamura	Seibu Lions Seibu Lions	34
Runs Batted In		Mauro Gomez	Hanshin Tigers	109		Sho Nakata	Nippon Ham Fighters	100
Stolen Bases		Takayuki Kajitani	Yokohama BayStars	39		Haruki Nishikawa	Nippon Ham Fighters	43
Walks		Yoshihiro Maru	Hiroshima Carp	100		Andruw Jones	Rakuten Golden Eagles	118

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants	233		Chihiro Kaneko	Orix Buffaloes	1.98
Wins		Randy Messenger Daisuke Yamai	Hanshin Tigers Chunichi Dragons	13		Chihiro Kaneko	Orix Buffaloes	16
Winning Percentage		Daisuke Yamai	Chunichi Dragons	.722		Takayuki Kishi	Seibu Lions	.765
Losses		Atsushi Nohmi	Hanshin Tigers	13		Wataru Karashima Luis Mendoza	Rakuten Golden Eagles Nippon Ham Fighters	13
Saves		Seung-hwan Oh	Hanshin Tigers	39		Yoshihisa Hirano	Orix Buffaloes	40
Innings Pitched		Randy Messenger	Hanshin Tigers	208 1/3		Takahiro Norimoto	Rakuten Golden Eagles	202 2/3
Appearances		Koji Fukutani	Chunichi Dragons	73		Tatsuya Sato	Orix Buffaloes	64
Hits Allowed		Randy Messenger	Hanshin Tigers	188		Takahiro Norimoto	Rakuten Golden Eagles	187
Home Runs Allowed		Masanori Ishikawa Daichi Osera	Yakult Swallows Hiroshima Carp	20		Takahiro Fujioka	Chiba Lotte Marines	19
Strikeouts		Randy Messenger	Hanshin Tigers	226		Takahiro Norimoto	Rakuten Golden Eagles	204
Base-on-Balls		Randy Messenger	Hanshin Tigers	69		Yusei Kikuchi	Seibu Lions	78

Awards

The winner of the 2014 Sawamura Award was Chihiro Kaneko of the Orix Buffaloes. He had a 16-5 win-loss record, 199 strikeouts, and a 1.98 ERA in 191 innings, leading the Pacific League in ERA and wins and finishing second in strikeouts.

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	Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants	P	42	2	7	0	4	0	.167	.205	.167	12 - 5	0	158 2/3	138	12	36	122	2.33
	PL	Chihiro Kaneko	Orix Buffaloes	P	8	0	1	0	1	0	.125	.125	.250	16 - 5	0	191	157	7	42	199	1.98
Rookie of the Year	CL	Daichi Osera	Hiroshima Carp	P	53	4	5	0	3	0	.094	.127	.151	10 - 8	0	151	165	20	40	116	4.05
	PL	Ayumu Ishikawa	Chiba Lotte Marines	P	4	0	1	0	0	0	.250	.250	.250	10 - 8	0	160	165	10	37	111	3.43

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2014 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants		P		Chihiro Kaneko	Orix Buffaloes
Shinnosuke Abe	Yomiuri Giants		C		Hikaru Ito	Orix Buffaloes
Mauro Gomez	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Ernesto Mejia	Seibu Lions
Tetsuto Yamada	Yakult Swallows		2B		Kazuya Fujita	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Hector Luna	Chunichi Dragons		3B		Ginji Akaminai	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Takashi Toritani	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Kenta Imamiya	Softbank Hawks
Yoshihiro Maru	Hiroshima Carp		OF		Sho Nakata	Nippon Ham Fighters
Matt Murton	Hanshin Tigers				Yoshio Itoi	Orix Buffaloes
Yuhei Takai	Yakult Swallows				Yuki Yanagita	SoftBank Hawks
			DH		Takeya Nakamura	Seibu Lions

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2013.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Kenta Maeda	Hiroshima Carp		P		Chihiro Kaneko	Orix Buffaloes
Shinnosuke Abe	Yomiuri Giants		C		Hikaru Ito	Orix Buffaloes
Masahiko Morino	Chunichi Dragons		1B		Takahiro Okada	Orix Buffaloes
Ryosuke Kikuchi	Hiroshima Carp		2B		Kazuya Fujita	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Shuichi Murata	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Nobuhiro Matsuda	Softbank Hawks
Takashi Toritani	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Kenta Imamiya	Softbank Hawks
Yohei Oshima	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Dai-Kang Yoh	Nippon Ham Fighters
Yamato Maeda	Hanshin Tigers				Yoshio Itoi	Orix Buffaloes
Yoshihiro Maru	Hiroshima Carp				Yuki Yanagita	Softbank Hawks

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and both leagues won one game. The first game was played at Seibu Dome and was won by the CL, 7 - 0. The second game was played at Koshien Stadium and was won by the PL, 12 - 6.

High School Baseball

The 96th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3,917 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game, Osaka Toin High School (Osaka) defeated Mie High School (Mie) by a score of 3 - 2.

The 86th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game, Ryukoku University Heian High School (Kyoto) defeated Riseisha High School (Osaka) by a score of 6 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2014 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 27 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Tokai University defeated Kanagawa University by a score of 2 - 0.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention, Komazawa University defeated Meiji University by a score of 3 - 0.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

Japan won the 2014 Women's Baseball World Cup and got a Bronze Medal in the 2014 Asian Games.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Makoto Aiuchi: Norfolk Tides, Australian Baseball League
• Yu Darvish: Texas Rangers
• Kyuji Fujikawa: Chicago Cubs; Kane County Cougars, Midwest (CHC-A) ; AZL Cubs, Arizona (CHC-R)
• Komei Fujisawa: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Kentaro Fukukura: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Masato Goto: Brisbane Bandits, Australian Baseball League
• Naoki Hashimoto: AZL Indians, Arizona (CLE-R)
• Hisashi Iwakuma: Seattle Mariners; Tacoma Rainiers, Pacific Coast (SEA-AAA)
• Go Kamamoto: Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Taiga Kasahara: Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Gosuke Katoh: Charleston RiverDogs, South Atlantic (NYY-A)
• Munenori Kawasaki: Toronto Blue Jays; Buffalo Bisons, International (TOR-AAA)
• Hiroki Kuroda: New York Yankees
• Daisuke Matsuzaka: New York Mets; Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast (NYM-AAA); Binghamton Mets, Eastern (NYM-AA); St. Lucie Mets, Florida State (NYM-A-Adv); Brooklyn Cyclones, New York-Pennsylvania (NYM-Short-season A)
• Kazuki Miyata: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Taishi Nakagawa: Perth Heat, Australian Baseball League
• Hiroyuki Nakajima: Sacramento River Cats, International (OAK-AAA); Midland RockHounds, Texas (OAK-AA)
• Takumi Numata: AZL Dodgers, Arizona (LAD-R)
• Masato Sakata: Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Isamu Sato: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Itsuki Shoda: Lamigo Monkeys, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Ichiro Suzuki: New York Yankees
• Masaki Takashio: Brisbane Bandits, Australian Baseball League
• Kensuke Tanaka: Round Rock Express, Pacific Coast (TEX-AAA)
• Masahiro Tanaka: New York Yankees
• Yoshinori Tateyama: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, International (NYY-AAA)
• Junichi Tazawa: Boston Red Sox
• Masayoshi Tsukada: Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Koji Uehara: Boston Red Sox
• Tsuyoshi Wada: Chicago Cubs; Iowa Cubs, Pacific Coast (CHC-AAA)

Hall of Fame

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

• Koji Akiyama, by the Sportswriters Committee
• Hideo Nomo, by the Sportswriters Committee
• Kazuhiro Sasaki, by the Sportswriters Committee
• Choichi Aida, by the Special Committee