2024 in Japanese Baseball

The 2024 Japanese season was dominated by two long-time winners. The Yomiuri Giants won their league-leading 48th pennant, and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks won their 5th pennant in the past 10 years. It was also a year for pitchers, Hiroto Takahashi won the ERA title with a incredible 1.38 ERA, and there were 6 pitchers had a sub-2 ERA.

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*	143	77	59	7	.566	--	462	381	.247	.310	.349	2.49	Shinnosuke Abe
Hanshin Tigers*	143	74	63	6	.540	3.5	485	520	.242	.314	.327	2.50	Akinobu Okada
Yokohama DeNA BayStars*	143	71	69	3	.507	8	522	503	.256	.313	.375	3.07	Daisuke Miura
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	143	38	70	5	.493	10	415	419	.239	.286	.315	2.62	Takahiro Arai
Yakult Swallows	143	62	77	4	.446	16	506	556	.243	.311	.349	3.97	Shingo Takatsu
Chunichi Dragons	143	60	75	8	.444	16	373	478	.243	.296	.330	2.99	Kazuyoshi Tatsunami

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ERA	Manager(s)
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	143	91	49	3	.650	--	607	390	.259	.327	.394	2.53	Hiroki Kokubo
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	143	75	60	8	.556	13.5	532	485	.245	.301	.367	2.94	Tsuyoshi Shinjo
Chiba Lotte Marines	143	71	66	6	.518	18.5	536	495	.248	.312	.346	3.17	Masato Yoshii
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	143	67	72	4	.482	23.5	492	579	.242	.303	.339	3.73	Toshiaki Imae
Orix Buffaloes	143	63	77	3	.458	28	402	448	.238	.297	.331	2.82	Satoshi Nakajima
Saitama Seibu Lions	143	49	91	3	.350	42	350	485	.212	.274	.301	3.02	Kazuo Matsui, Hisanobu Watanabe

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Tyler Austin	Yokohama BayStars	.316		Kensuke Kondoh	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	.314
Runs		Munetaka Murakami	Yakult Swallows	82		Ryoya Kurihara	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	74
Hits		Hideki Nagaoka	Yakult Swallows	163		Ryosuke Tatsumi	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	158
Doubles		Kazuma Okamoto	Yomiuri Giants	37		Ryoya Kurihara	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	40
Triples		Masaya Yano	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	6		Ryosuke Tatsumi	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	12
Home Runs		Munetaka Murakami	Yakult Swallows	33		Hotaka Yamakawa	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	34
Runs Batted In		Munetaka Murakami	Yakult Swallows	86		Hotaka Yamakawa	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	99
Stolen Bases		Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers	19		Ukyo Shuto	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	41
Walks		Munetaka Murakami	Yakult Swallows	105		Kensuke Kondoh	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	92

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Hiroto Takahashi	Chunichi Dragons	1.38		Liván Moinelo	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	1.88
Wins		Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants	15		Hiromi Itoh Kohei Arihara	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	14
Winning Percentage		Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants	.833		Hiromi Itoh	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	.737
Losses		Shoki Murakami Shinnosuke Ogasawara	Hanshin Tigers Chunichi Dragons	11		Ryuhei Sotani Takayuki Kishi Kona Takahashi	Orix Buffaloes Rakuten Golden Eagles Saitama Seibu Lions	11
Saves		Raidel Martínez	Chunichi Dragons	43		Takahiro Norimoto	Rakuten Golden Eagles	32
Innings Pitched		Katsuki Azuma	Yokohama BayStars	183		Kohei Arihara	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	182 2/3
Appearances		Takuma Kirishiki	Hanshin Tigers	70		Takahiro Norimoto	Rakuten Golden Eagles	54
Hits Allowed		Hiroki Tokoda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	170		Takayuki Kato	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	174
Home Runs Allowed		Cy Sneed	Yakult Swallows	16		Sachiya Yamasaki	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	17
Strikeouts		Shosei Togo	Yomiuri Giants	156		Tatsuya Imai	Saitama Seibu Lions	187
Base-on-Balls		Anthony Kay	Yakult Swallows	53		Tatsuya Imai	Saitama Seibu Lions	70

Award Winners

No one was awarded the 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	Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants	P	45	1	4	0	0	0	.089	.128	.089	15-3	0	156 2/3	132	6	16	111	1.67
	PL	Kensuke Kondo	Orix Buffaloes	OF	129	436	66	137	19	72	.314	.439	.521	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Hiromasa Funabasama	Yomiuri Giants	P	Did not bat									4-0	0	38	28	4	8	23	2.37
	PL	Natsuki Takeuchi	Seibu Lions	P	Did not bat									10-6	0	145 1/3	120	6	22	107	2.17

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2024 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants		P		Kohei Arihara	Softbank Hawks
Yudai Yamamoto	Yokohama BayStars		C		Toshiya Satoh	Chiba Lotte Marines
Kazuma Okamoto	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Hotaka Yamakawa	Softbank Hawks
Naoki Yoshikawa	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Hiroto Kobukata	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Munetaka Murakami	Yakult Swallows		3B		Ryoya Kurihara	Softbank Hawks
Hideki Nagaoka	Yakult Swallows		SS		Kenta Imamiya	Softbank Hawks
Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers		OF		Ryosuke Tatsumi	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Domingo Santana	Yakult Swallows				Ukyo Shuto	Softbank Hawks
Seiya Hosokawa	Chunichi Dragons				Kensuke Kondo	Softbank Hawks
			DH		Franmil Reyes	Nippon Ham Fighters

Gold Gloves

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

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Tomoyuki Sugano	Yomiuri Giants		P		Liván Moinelo	Softbank Hawks
Yudai Yamamoto	Yokohama BayStars		C		Takuya Kai	Softbank Hawks
Kazuma Okamoto	Yomiuri Giants		1B		Hotaka Yamakawa	Softbank Hawks
Naoki Yoshikawa	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Hiroto Kobukata	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Hayato Sakamoto	Yomiuri Giants		3B		Ryoya Kurihara	Softbank Hawks
Masaya Yano	Hiroshima Carp		SS		Sosuke Genda	Seibu Lions
Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Chusei Mannami	Nippon Ham Fighters
Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers				Ukyo Shuto	Softbank Hawks
Shogo Akiyama	Hiroshima Carp				Ryosuke Tatsumi	Rakuten Golden Eagles

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and it was a split between the Pacific League and the Central League. The first game was played at Es Con Field Hokkaido and was won by the CL, 11 - 6. The second game was played at Meiji-Jingu Stadium and was won by the PL, 16 - 10.

High School Baseball

The 106th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3,441 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game, Kyoto Kokusai High School (Kyoto) defeated Kanto Daiichi High School (Tokyo East) by a score of 2 - 1.

The 96th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare High School (Gunma) defeated Hotoku Gakuen High School (Hyogo) by a score of 3 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2024 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 Waseda University by a score of 2 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Aoyama Gakuin University defeated Soka University by a score of 7 - 3.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

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

Tohto University Base Ball League

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

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

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

International Baseball

Japan won Silver in the 2024 Premier 12. The Japanese women's national team won the 2023-2024 Women's Baseball World Cup.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Yuto Akihiro: Adelaide Giants, Australian Baseball League
• Tomohiro Anraku: Diablos Rojos del Mexico, Mexican League
• Junpei Azuma: Senadores de San Juan, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Bryan Balzer: ACL Dodgers, ACL (LAD-R)
• Yu Darvish: San Diego Padres
• Shintaro Fujinami: Syracuse Mets, International (NYM-AAA); St. Lucie Mets, Florida State (NYM-A); Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Eastern (NYM-AA); FCL Mets, FCL (NYM-R); Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Haruhiro Hamaguchi: Mayos de Navojoa, Mexican Pacific Winter League
• Shota Imanaga: Chicago Cubs
• Taiga Kamichatani: Algodoneros de Guasave, Mexican Pacific Winter League
• Shotaro Kasahara: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Atsushi Katsumata: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Yusei Kikuchi: Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros
• Ryo Kohigashi: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Yasutomo Kubo: Hamburg Stealers, Bundesliga-1
• Fumiya Kurokawa: Perth Heat, Australian Baseball League
• Makoto Kyomoto: Adelaide Giants, Australian Baseball League
• Kenta Maeda: Detroit Tigers
• Teppei Mataki: Cangrejeros de Santurce, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Yuki Matsui: San Diego Padres
• Shinya Matsuishi: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Haru Matsumoto: Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Toru Murata: Hroši Brno, Extraliga
• Rikuu Nishida: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Carolina (CHW-A); Winston-Salem Dash, South Atlantic (CHW-A+); Birmingham Barons, Southern (CHW-AA)
• Yuhi Nishidate: Cangrejeros de Santurce, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Lars Nootbaar: St. Louis Cardinals
• Fuga Ohtake: Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rican Winter League
• Hikaru Ohtani: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Dodgers
• Taiki Ono: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Kento Onodera: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Tomo Otosaka: Leones de Yucatan, Mexican League
• Kyosuke Saito: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Yuhi Sako: New Jersey Jackals, Frontier League; High Point Rockers, Atlantic League, Yaquis de Obregon, Mexican Pacific Winter League
• Taiki Sekine: Yaquis de Obregon, Mexican Pacific Winter League
• Kodai Senga: New York Mets
• Keisho Shirakawa: SSG Landers, Korea Baseball Organization, Doosan Bears, Korea Baseball Organization
• Seiya Suzuki: Chicago Cubs
• Takuto Takada: Canberra Cavalry, Australian Baseball League
• Hiroshi Takahashi: DSL Miami, DSL (MIA-R)
• Taito Takashima: Melbourne Aces, Australian Baseball League
• Natsuki Tamba: Hroši Brno, Extraliga
• Ryusei Terachi: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Taiki Togo: Leones de Ponce, Puerto Rican League
• Shohei Tomioka: Midland RockHounds, Texas (OAK-AA)
• Koya Uemura: Hroši Brno, Extraliga
• Naoyuki Uwasawa: Boston Red Sox; Worcester Red Sox, International (BOS-AAA)
• Ryusei Yamada: Adelaide Giants, Australian Baseball League
• Daito Yamamoto: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Los Angeles Dodgers
• Kazumasa Yoshida: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Masataka Yoshida: Boston Red Sox
• Yuto Yoshikawa: Sydney Blue Sox, Australian Baseball League

Hall of Fame

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

• Hiroki Kuroda, by the Players Division
• Motonobu Tanishige, by the Players Division
• Tomoichi Tanimura, by the Special Committee