2019 Nippon Professional Baseball season
70th annual season of Nippon Professional Baseball
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The 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball season began on March 29.[1] It was the 70th season since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There are 12 teams NPB, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League. The 2019 NPB season was 143 games long; teams in each league played 125 games against each other and 18 interleague games.[2] The regular season was scheduled to end on September 24 except for any make-up games scheduled after it; the regular season eventually concluded on September 30. The top three teams in each league proceed to the Climax Series, NPB's postseason system.
| 2019 NPB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | March 29 – October 23 |
| Games | 143 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Central League pennant | |
| League champions | Yomiuri Giants |
| Runners-up | Yokohama DeNA Baystars |
| Season MVP | Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri) |
| Pacific League pennant | |
| League champions | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Runners-up | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Season MVP | Tomoya Mori (Seibu) |
| Climax Series | |
| CL champions | Yomiuri Giants |
| CL runners-up | Hanshin Tigers |
| PL champions | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| PL runners-up | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Japan Series | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Runners-up | Yomiuri Giants |
| Finals MVP | Yurisbel Gracial (SoftBank) |
Regular season standings
| Rank | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yomiuri Giants | 143 | 77 | 64 | 2 | .546 | - | 39–32–0 | 38–32–2 |
| 2 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 143 | 71 | 69 | 3 | .519 | 4.5 | 42–25–1 | 26–38–2 |
| 3 | Hanshin Tigers | 143 | 69 | 68 | 6 | .504 | 6.0 | 39–32–1 | 30–36–5 |
| 4 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 143 | 70 | 70 | 3 | .500 | 6.5 | 39–31–1 | 31–39–2 |
| 5 | Chunichi Dragons | 143 | 68 | 73 | 2 | .482 | 9.0 | 39–31–2 | 29–42–0 |
| 6 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 143 | 59 | 82 | 2 | .418 | 18.0 | 28–41–2 | 31-41–0 |
| Rank | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 143 | 80 | 62 | 1 | .563 | - | 43–29–0 | 37–33–1 |
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 143 | 76 | 62 | 5 | .551 | 2.0 | 42–27–3 | 34–35-2 |
| 3 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 143 | 71 | 68 | 4 | .511 | 7.5 | 36–33–2 | 35–35–2 |
| 4 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 143 | 69 | 70 | 4 | .504 | 9.5 | 37–32–2 | 32–38–2 |
| 5 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 143 | 65 | 73 | 5 | .471 | 12.0 | 35–34–3 | 30–39–2 |
| 6 | Orix Buffaloes | 143 | 61 | 75 | 7 | .452 | 14.0 | 32–34–5 | 29–41–2 |
Climax Series
| First stage | Final stage | Japan Series | |||||||||||
| 1 | Yomiuri Giants | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 1 | 3 | Hanshin Tigers | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | Hanshin Tigers | 2 | CL1 | Yomiuri Giants | 0 | ||||||||
| PL2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 1 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 2 | 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 1 | |||||||||||
First stage
Central League
Hanshin Tigers won the series, 2–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 5 | Hanshin Tigers - 8, Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 7 | Yokohama Stadium | 3:57 | 31,832[5] |
| 2 | October 6 | Hanshin Tigers - 4, Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 6 | Yokohama Stadium | 3:50 | 31,818[6] |
| 3 | October 7 | Hanshin Tigers - 2, Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 1 | Yokohama Stadium | 3:57 | 31,807[7] |
Pacific League
Fukuoka Hawks won the series, 2–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 5 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 5, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 3 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:15 | 39,745[8] |
| 2 | October 6 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 4, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 6 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:39 | 40,178[9] |
| 3 | October 7 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – 1, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:05 | 38,265[10] |
Final stage
Central League
Yomiuri Giants won the series, 4–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 9 | Hanshin Tigers – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 5 | Tokyo Dome | 3:13 | 45,277[11] |
| 2 | October 10 | Hanshin Tigers – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 6 | Tokyo Dome | 2:43 | 45,168[12] |
| 3 | October 11 | Hanshin Tigers – 7, Yomiuri Giants – 6 | Tokyo Dome | 4:52 | 45,677[13] |
| 4 | October 13 | Hanshin Tigers – 1, Yomiuri Giants – 4 | Tokyo Dome | 2:58 | 45,931[14] |
Pacific League
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the series, 4–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 9 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 8, Saitama Seibu Lions – 4 | MetLife Dome | 3:38 | 29,679[15] |
| 2 | October 10 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 8, Saitama Seibu Lions – 6 | MetLife Dome | 4:26 | 30,599[16] |
| 3 | October 11 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 7, Saitama Seibu Lions – 0 | MetLife Dome | 3:34 | 29,828[17] |
| 4 | October 13 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 9, Saitama Seibu Lions – 3 | MetLife Dome | 4:00 | 29,146[18] |
Japan Series
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the series, 4–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 19 | Yomiuri Giants – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 7 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:15 | 37,198[19] |
| 2 | October 20 | Yomiuri Giants – 3, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 6 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:12 | 37,052[20] |
| 3 | October 22 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 6, Yomiuri Giants – 2 | Tokyo Dome | 3:38 | 44,411[21] |
| 4 | October 23 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4, Yomiuri Giants – 3 | Tokyo Dome | 3:22 | 44,708[22] |
League leaders
Central League
Pacific League
|
|
Awards
Regular season
| Central League | Pacific League | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Player | Team | Player | Team | ||||
| Rookie of the Year | Munetaka Murakami | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Rei Takahashi | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | ||||
| Most Valuable Player | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | Tomoya Mori | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||||
| Eiji Sawamura Award | Not awarded | Not awarded | ||||||
| Best Relief Pitcher | Joely Rodríguez | Chunichi Dragons | Naoki Miyanishi | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | ||||
| Matsutaro Shoriki Award | Kimiyasu Kudo | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | ||||||
| Best Nine Award | ||||||||
| Position | Player | Team | Player | Team | ||||
| Pitcher | Shun Yamaguchi | Yomiuri Giants | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | ||||
| Catcher | Tsubasa Aizawa | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Tomoya Mori | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||||
| 1st Base | Dayán Viciedo | Chunichi Dragons | Hotaka Yamakawa | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||||
| 2nd Base | Tetsuto Yamada | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Hideto Asamura | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | ||||
| 3rd Base | Shuhei Takahashi | Chunichi Dragons | Takeya Nakamura | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||||
| Shortstop | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | Sosuke Genda | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||||
| Outfield | Yoshihiro Maru | Yomiuri Giants | Shogo Akiyama | Saitama Seibu Lions | ||||
| Seiya Suzuki | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Masataka Yoshida | Orix Buffaloes | |||||
| Neftalí Soto | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Takashi Ogino | Chiba Lotte Marines | |||||
| Designated hitter | Not applicable | Alfredo Despaigne | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | |||||
| Central League | Pacific League | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Pitcher | Yuki Nishi | Hanshin Tigers | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Catcher | Ryutaro Umeno | Hanshin Tigers | Takuya Kai | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| 1st Base | José López | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Seiichi Uchikawa | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| 2nd Base | Ryosuke Kikuchi | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Hideto Asamura | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| 3rd Base | Shuhei Takahashi | Chunichi Dragons | Nobuhiro Matsuda | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Shortstop | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | Sosuke Genda | Saitama Seibu Lions |
Monthly MVPs
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Attendances
| # | Team | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanshin Tigers | 42,935 |
| 2 | Yomiuri Giants | 42,643 |
| 3 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 36,891 |
| 4 | Chunichi Dragons | 31,741 |
| 5 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 31,716 |
| 6 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 31,319 |
| 7 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 27,543 |
| 8 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 27,368 |
| 9 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 25,659 |
| 10 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 25,299 |
| 11 | ORIX Buffaloes | 24,423 |
| 12 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 23,463 |
Source:[27]