2023 in Japanese Baseball

The 2023 Japanese season was a year for Osaka. The Hanshin Tigers finally won their first Central League pennant since 2005, and their rookie ace Shoki Murakami set the NPB record for best WHIP in the two-league era. On the other hand, the PL defending champion Orix Buffaloes and their ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto extended their domination, and Yamamoto won his third triple crown in a row. Two batters also had a chance to chase a triple crown in the middle of the season, but Kazuma Okamoto ended up with only the home run king title, and Kensuke Kondo was .004 shy from robbing the PL batting title from Yuma Tongu (who set a record for lowest average by a PL batting champ).

Yohei Oshima (2,000th hit) and Yoshihisa Hirano (250th save) joined the meikyukai.

Both pennant winners advanced to the 2023 Nippon Series, and they only lost a game combined in the playoffs. This was the second "Kansai Derby" following the one in 1964.

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)
Hanshin Tigers*	143	85	53	5	.616	--	555	424	.247	.322	.352	2.66	Akinobu Okada
Hiroshima Toyo Carp*	143	74	65	4	.532	11.5	493	509	.246	.304	.357	3.20	Takahiro Arai
Yokohama DeNA BayStars*	143	74	66	3	.529	12	520	496	.247	.305	.369	3.16	Daisuke Miura
Yomiuri Giants	143	71	70	2	.504	15.5	523	508	.252	.308	.402	3.39	Tatsunori Hara
Yakult Swallows	143	57	83	3	.407	29	534	568	.239	.310	.367	3.16	Shingo Takatsu
Chunichi Dragons	143	56	82	5	.406	29	390	498	.234	.285	.326	3.66	Kazuyoshi Tatsunami

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ERA	Manager(s)
Orix Buffaloes	143	86	53	4	.619	--	508	429	.250	.311	.369	2.73	Satoshi Nakajima
Chiba Lotte Marines	143	70	68	5	.507	15.5	505	525	.239	.311	.354	3.40	Masato Yoshii
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	143	71	69	3	.507	15.5	536	508	.248	.319	.360	3.27	Hiroshi Fujimoto
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	143	70	71	2	.496	17	513	555	.244	.321	.358	3.52	Kazuhisa Ishii
Saitama Seibu Lions	143	65	77	1	.458	22.5	435	466	.233	.296	.340	2.93	Kazuo Matsui
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	143	60	82	1	.423	27.5	464	496	.231	.297	.344	3.08	Tsuyoshi Shinjo

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Toshiro Miyazaki	Yokohama BayStars	.326		Yuma Tongu	Orix Buffaloes	.307
Runs		Koji Chikamoto Kazuma Okamoto	Hanshin Tigers Yomiuri Giants	83		Kensuke Kondoh	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	75
Hits		Takumu Nakano Shugo Maki	Hanshin Tigers Yokohama BayStars	164		Yuki Yanagita	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	163
Doubles		Shugo Maki	Yokohama BayStars	39		Kensuke Kondoh Chusei Mannami	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	33
Triples		Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers	12		Hiroto Kobukata	Rakuten Golden Eagles	6
Home Runs		Kazuma Okamoto	Yomiuri Giants	41		Kensuke Kondoh Hideto Asamura Gregory Polanco	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Rakuten Golden Eagles Chiba Lotte Marines	26
Runs Batted In		Shugo Maki	Yokohama BayStars	103		Kensuke Kondoh	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	87
Stolen Bases		Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers	28		Ukyo Shuto Hiroto Kobukata	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Rakuten Golden Eagles	36
Walks		Yusuke Ohyama	Hanshin Tigers	99		Kensuke Kondoh	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	109

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Shoki Murakami	Hanshin Tigers	1.75		Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Orix Buffaloes	1.21
Wins		Katsuki Azuma	Yokohama BayStars	16		Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Orix Buffaloes	16
Winning Percentage		Katsuki Azuma	Yokohama BayStars	.842		Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Orix Buffaloes	.727
Losses		Hideaki Wakui	Chunichi Dragons	13		Masahiro Tanaka	Rakuten Golden Eagles	11
Saves		Suguru Iwazaki	Hanshin Tigers	35		Yuki Matsui	Rakuten Golden Eagles	39
Innings Pitched		Aren Kuri	Hiroshima Carp	174 1/3		Naoyuki Uwasawa	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	170
Appearances		Sotaro Shimauchi	Hiroshima Carp	62		Sora Suzuki	Rakuten Golden Eagles	61
Hits Allowed		Shinnosuke Ogasawara	Chunichi Dragons	153		Takayuki Kato	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	162
Home Runs Allowed		Keiji Takahashi	Yakult Swallows	20		Shuta Ishikawa Masahiro Tanaka	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Rakuten Golden Eagles	15
Strikeouts		Shota Imanaga	Yakult Swallows	174		Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Orix Buffaloes	169
Base-on-Balls		Hiroto Takahashi	Chunichi Dragons	51		Shuta Ishikawa Tatsuya Imai	Softbank Hawks Saitama Seibu Lions	61

Award Winners

The winner of the 2023 Sawamura Award was Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Orix Buffaloes, the first player to win three in a row since Masaichi Kaneda (1956-1958). He had a 16-6 win-loss record, 169 strikeouts, and a 1.21 ERA in 164 innings, leading the PL in ERA, wins and strikeouts.

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2023 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Katsuki Azuma	Yokohama BayStars		P		Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Orix Buffaloes
Takumi Oshiro	Yomiuri Giants		C		Tomoya Mori	Orix Buffaloes
Yusuke Ohyama	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Yuma Tongu	Orix Buffaloes
Shugo Maki	Yokohama BayStars		2B		Hideto Asamura	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Toshiro Miyazaki	Yokohama BayStars		3B		Yuma Mune	Orix Buffaloes
Seiya Kinami	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Kotaro Kurebayashi	Orix Buffaloes
Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Yuki Yanagita	Softbank Hawks
Ryoma Nishikawa	Hiroshima Carp				Chusei Mannami	Nippon Ham Fighters
Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons				Kensuke Kondo	Softbank Hawks
			DH		Gregory Polanco	Chiba Lotte Marines

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2023.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Katsuki Azuma	Yokohama BayStars		P		Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Orix Buffaloes
Seishiro Sakamoto	Hanshin Tigers		C		Kenya Wakatsuki	Orix Buffaloes
Yusuke Ohyama	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Akira Nakamura	Softbank Hawks
Takumu Nakano	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Shogo Nakamura	Chiba Lotte Marines
Toshiro Miyazaki	Yokohama BayStars		3B		Yuma Mune	Orix Buffaloes
Seiya Kinami	Hanshin Tigers		SS		Sosuke Genda	Seibu Lions
Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Chusei Mannami	Nippon Ham Fighters
Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers				Kensuke Kondoh	Softbank Hawks
Masayuki Kuwahara	Yokohama BayStars				Ryosuke Tatsumi	Rakuten Golden Eagles

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and both were won by the Pacific League. The first game was played at Nagoya Dome and was won by the PL, 8 - 1. The second game was played at Mazda Stadium and was won by the PL, 6 - 1.

High School Baseball

The 105th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3,486 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game, Keio High School (Kanagawa) defeated Sendai Ikuei High School (Miyagi) by a score of 8 - 2.

The 95th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game, Yamanashi Gakuin High School (Yamanashi) defeated Hotoku Gakuen High School (Hyogo) by a score of 7 - 3.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2023 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 27 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Aoyama Gakuin University defeated Meiji University by a score of 4 - 0.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Keio University defeated Aoyama Gakuin University by a score of 2 - 0.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

In the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Japanese national baseball team won a Gold Medal, defeating the United States in the finals. At the 2022 Asian Games in China, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal. They then won Gold in the 2023 Asian Championship.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Umi Asato: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Junpei Azuma: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Yu Darvish: San Diego Padres
• Shintaro Fujinami: Oakland Athletics; Baltimore Orioles;
• Shungo Fukunaga: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Sho Fukunaga: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Kodai Hamaya: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Takahisa Hayakawa: Perth Heat, Australian Baseball League
• Raito Ikeda: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Yusei Kikuchi: Toronto Blue Jays
• Yasutomo Kubo: Hamburg Stealers, Bundesliga-1
• Yuito Mae: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Kenta Maeda: St. Paul Saints, International (MIN-AAA);Minnesota Twins
• Kazumi Masuko: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Ryotaro Mori: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Toru Murata: Adelaide Giants, Australian Baseball League
• Kosei Naito: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Shunsuke Nakamori: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Rikuu Nishida: ACL White Sox, ACL (CHW-R);Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Carolina (CHW-A)
• Lars Nootbaar: St. Louis Cardinals
• Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Angels
• Tomo Otosaka: York Revolution, Atlantic League; Bravos de Margarita, Venezuelan Winter League
• Yuhi Sako: New Jersey Jackals, Frontier League; Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Yoshinori Sato: Rakuten Monkeys, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Kodai Senga: New York Mets
• Taiki Sekine: Yaquis de Obregón, Mexican Pacific League
• Yuichi Shiota: Perth Heat, Australian Baseball League
• Ryu Sugisawa: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Kenjiro Sugiura: Cometz de Metz, French Division I
• Seiya Suzuki: Chicago Cubs
• Shohei Tomioka: Midland RockHounds, Texas (OAK-AA); Las Vegas Aviators, Pacific Coast (OAK-AAA)
• Hiroshi Takahashi: DSL Marlins, DSL (MIA-R)
• Souma Tokuyama: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Yoshi Tsutsugo: Round Rock Express, Pacific Coast (TEX-AAA);Sacramento River Cats, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA);Richmond Flying Squirrels, Eastern (SFG-AA);Staten Island FerryHawks, Atlantic
• Kaede Yokoyama: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Masataka Yoshida: Boston Red Sox

Hall of Fame

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

• Alex Ramirez‎, by the Players Division
• Randy Bass, by the Players Division
• Yuji Koseki, by the Special Committee