1951 Nippon Professional Baseball season
| 1951 NPB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Central League Pennant | |
| League champions | Yomiuri Giants |
| Runners-up | Nagoya Dragons |
| Season MVP | Tetsuharu Kawakami (YOM) |
| Pacific League Pennant | |
| League champions | Nankai Hawks |
| Runners-up | Nishitetsu Lions |
| Season MVP | Kazuto Yamamoto (NAN) |
| Japan Series | |
| Champions | Yomiuri Giants |
| Runners-up | Nankai Hawks |
| Finals MVP | Fukashi Minamimura (YOM) |
The 1951 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the second season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Regular season
Standings
| Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri Giants | 114 | 79 | 29 | 6 | .731 | — |
| Nagoya Dragons | 113 | 62 | 48 | 3 | .564 | 18.0 |
| Osaka Tigers | 116 | 61 | 52 | 3 | .540 | 20.5 |
| Shochiku Robins | 115 | 53 | 57 | 5 | .482 | 27.0 |
| Kokutetsu Swallows | 107 | 46 | 59 | 2 | .438 | 31.5 |
| Taiyo Whales | 108 | 40 | 64 | 4 | .385 | 37.0 |
| Hiroshima Carp | 99 | 32 | 64 | 3 | .333 | 41.0 |
| Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nankai Hawks | 104 | 72 | 24 | 8 | .750 | — |
| Nishitetsu Lions | 105 | 53 | 42 | 10 | .558 | 18.5 |
| Mainichi Orions | 110 | 54 | 51 | 5 | .514 | 22.5 |
| Daiei Stars | 101 | 41 | 52 | 8 | .441 | 29.5 |
| Hankyu Braves | 96 | 37 | 51 | 8 | .420 | 31.0 |
| Tokyu Flyers | 102 | 38 | 56 | 8 | .404 | 33.0 |
| Kintetsu Pearls | 98 | 37 | 56 | 5 | .398 | 33.5 |
Postseason
Japan Series
CL Yomiuri Giants (4) vs. PL Nankai Hawks (1)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 10 | Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 0 | Osaka Stadium | 2:22 | 29,074[1] |
| 2 | October 11 | Yomiuri Giants – 7, Nankai Hawks – 0 | Osaka Stadium | 1:57 | 27,639[1] |
| 3 | October 13 | Nankai Hawks – 1, Yomiuri Giants – 3 | Korakuen Stadium | 2:14 | 35,066[1] |
| 4 | October 16 | Nankai Hawks – 4, Yomiuri Giants – 3 | Korakuen Stadium | 2:13 | 31,936[1] |
| 5 | October 17 | Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 8 | Korakuen Stadium | 1:52 | 15,519[1] |
League leaders
Central League
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batting average | Tetsuharu Kawakami | Yomiuri Giants | .377 |
| Home runs | Noboru Aota | Yomiuri Giants | 32 |
| Runs batted in | Noboru Aota | Yomiuri Giants | 105 |
| Runs | Noboru Aota | Yomiuri Giants | 101 |
| Hits | Tsuguo Goto | Osaka Tigers | 155 |
| Stolen bases | Goro Tsuchiya | Kokutetsu Swallows | 52 |
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Shigeru Sugishita | Nagoya Dragons | 28 |
| Losses | Masaichi Kaneda | Kokutetsu Swallows | 21 |
| Earned run average | Kiyoshi Matsuda | Yomiuri Giants | 2.01 |
| Strikeouts | Masaichi Kaneda | Kokutetsu Swallows | 233 |
| Innings pitched | Masaichi Kaneda | Kokutetsu Swallows | 350 |
Pacific League
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batting average | Hiroshi Oshita | Tokyu Flyers | .383 |
| Home runs | Hiroshi Oshita | Tokyu Flyers | 26 |
| Runs batted in | Tokuji Iida | Nankai Hawks | 87 |
| Runs | Kazuo Yamamoto | Nankai Hawks | 97 |
| Hits | Chusuke Kizuka | Nankai Hawks | 130 |
| Stolen bases | Chusuke Kizuka | Nankai Hawks | 55 |
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Tadashi Eto | Nankai Hawks | 24 |
| Losses | Mitsuro Sawafuji | Kintetsu Pearls | 16 |
| Earned run average | Takeo Hattori | Nankai Hawks | 2.03 |
| Strikeouts | Hachiro Abe | Hankyu Braves | 150 |
| Innings pitched | Yasuo Yonekawa | Tokyu Flyers | 2942⁄3 |
Awards
- Most Valuable Player
- Tetsuharu Kawakami, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
- Kazuto Yamamoto, Nankai Hawks (PL)
- Rookie of the Year
- Kiyoshi Matsuda, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
- Kazuo Kageyama, Nankai Hawks (PL)
- Eiji Sawamura Award
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | Takehiko Bessho | Yomiuri Giants |
| Catcher | Akira Noguchi | Nagoya Dragons |
| First baseman | Tetsuharu Kawakami | Yomiuri Giants |
| Second baseman | Shigeru Chiba | Yomiuri Giants |
| Third baseman | Fumio Fujimura | Osaka Tigers |
| Shortstop | Masaaki Hirai | Yomiuri Giants |
| Outfielder | Masayasu Kaneda | Osaka Tigers |
| Noboru Aota | Yomiuri Giants | |
| Yoshiyuki Iwamoto | Shochiku Robins |
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | Tadashi Eto | Nankai Hawks |
| Catcher | Takeshi Doigaki | Mainichi Orions |
| First baseman | Tokuji Iida | Nankai Hawks |
| Second baseman | Kazuto Yamamoto | Nankai Hawks |
| Third baseman | Kazuo Kageyama | Nankai Hawks |
| Shortstop | Chusuke Kizuka | Nankai Hawks |
| Outfielder | Kaoru Betto | Mainichi Orions |
| Hiroshi Oshita | Tokyu Flyers | |
| Shigeya Iijima | Daiei Stars |
References
- ^ a b c d e "1951年度日本シリーズ 試合結果" (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
- Johnson, Daniel E. (July 2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2841-0.