1970 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 1970 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1970 in baseball.

1970 NPB season
League	Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Central League Pennant
League champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Hanshin Tigers
Season MVP	Sadaharu Oh (YOM)
Pacific League Pennant
League champions	Lotte Orions
Runners-up	Nankai Hawks
Season MVP	Masaaki Kitaru (LOT)
Japan Series
Champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Lotte Orions
Finals MVP	Shigeo Nagashima (YOM)

The 1970 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 21st season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Regular season

Standings

Central League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Yomiuri Giants	130	79	47	4	.627	—
Hanshin Tigers	130	77	49	4	.611	2.0
Taiyo Whales	130	69	57	4	.548	10.0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	62	60	8	.508	15.0
Chunichi Dragons	130	55	70	5	.440	23.5
Yakult Atoms	130	33	92	5	.264	45.5

Pacific League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Lotte Orions	130	80	47	3	.630	—
Nankai Hawks	130	69	57	4	.548	10.5
Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	65	59	6	.524	13.5
Hankyu Braves	130	64	64	2	.500	16.5
Toei Flyers	130	54	70	6	.435	24.5
Nishitetsu Lions	130	43	78	9	.355	34.0

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders

Stat	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri	.325
Home runs	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri	47
Runs batted in	Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri	105
Runs	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri	97
Hits	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri	138
Stolen bases	Fumihiro Tojo	Yakult	28

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Team	Total
Wins	Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo	25
Losses	Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo	19
Earned run average	Minoru Murayama	Hanshin	0.98
Strikeouts	Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin	340
Innings pitched	Yutaka Enatsu	Hanshin	3372⁄3

Pacific League

Batting leaders

Stat	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Isao Harimoto	Toei	.383
Home runs	Katsuo Osugi	Toei	44
Runs batted in	Katsuo Osugi	Toei	129
Runs	Hasaru Tomita	Nankai	95
Hits	Isao Harimoto	Toei	176
Stolen bases	Yutaka Fukumoto	Hankyu	75

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Team	Total
Wins	Fumio Narita	Lotte	25
Losses	Akira Kawahara	Nishitetsu	19
Earned run average	Michio Sato	Nankai	2.05
Strikeouts	Keishi Suzuki	Kintetsu	247
Innings pitched	Tomehiro Kaneda	Toei	3161⁄3

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
  • Sadaharu Oh, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
  • Masaaki Kitaru, Lotte Orions (PL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Kenichi Yazawa, Chunichi Dragons (CL)
  • Michio Sato, Nankai Hawks (PL)
• Eiji Sawamura Award
  • Masaji Hiramatsu, Taiyo Whales (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners

Position	Player	Team
Pitcher	Masaji Hiramatsu	Taiyo
Catcher	Tatsuhiko Kimata	Chunichi
First baseman	Sadaharu Oh	Yomiuri
Second baseman	Motoo Ando	Hanshin
Third baseman	Shigeo Nagashima	Yomiuri
Shortstop	Taira Fujita	Hanshin
Outfielder	Akira Ejiri	Taiyo
	Shigeru Takada	Yomiuri
	Toshio Naka	Chunichi

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners

Position	Player	Team
Pitcher	Masaaki Kitaru	Lotte
Catcher	Katsuya Nomura	Nankai
First baseman	Katsuo Osugi	Toei
Second baseman	Hiroyuki Yamazaki	Lotte
Third baseman	Michiyo Arito	Lotte
Shortstop	Toshizo Sakamoto	Hankyu
Outfielder	George Altman	Lotte
	Tokuji Nagaike	Hankyu
	Isao Harimoto	Toei

References

• Johnson, Daniel E. (July 2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2841-0.