2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season
72nd annual season of Nippon Professional Baseball
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The 2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 72nd season of professional baseball in Japan since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There were 12 NPB teams, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League.
| 2021 NPB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | March 26 – November 21 |
| Games | 143 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Central League pennant | |
| League champions | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| Runners-up | Hanshin Tigers |
| Season MVP | Munetaka Murakami (Yakult) |
| Pacific League pennant | |
| League champions | Orix Buffaloes |
| Runners-up | Chiba Lotte Marines |
| Season MVP | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix) |
| Climax Series | |
| CL champions | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| CL runners-up | Yomiuri Giants |
| PL champions | Orix Buffaloes |
| PL runners-up | Chiba Lotte Marines |
| Japan Series | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| Runners-up | Orix Buffaloes |
| Finals MVP | Yuhei Nakamura (Yakult) |
Following the All-Star Series held on 16–17 July, the regular season went on hiatus in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics baseball tournament. The season resumed on 13 August. In the postseason, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows defeated the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Series.
Regular season standings
| Rank | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 143 | 73 | 52 | 18 | .584 | — | 36–29–7 | 37–23–11 |
| 2 | Hanshin Tigers | 143 | 77 | 56 | 10 | .579 | 0 | 36–31–4 | 41–25–6 |
| 3 | Yomiuri Giants | 143 | 61 | 62 | 20 | .496 | 11 | 32–30–10 | 29–32–10 |
| 4 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 143 | 63 | 68 | 12 | .481 | 13 | 30–34–8 | 33–34–4 |
| 5 | Chunichi Dragons | 143 | 55 | 71 | 17 | .437 | 18½ | 33–27–11 | 22–44–6 |
| 6 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 143 | 54 | 73 | 16 | .425 | 20 | 27–37–7 | 27–36–9 |
| Rank | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orix Buffaloes | 143 | 70 | 55 | 18 | .560 | — | 38–22–12 | 32–33–6 |
| 2 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 143 | 67 | 57 | 19 | .540 | 2½ | 33–32–7 | 34–25–12 |
| 3 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 143 | 66 | 62 | 15 | .514 | 5½ | 31–33–8 | 35–29–7 |
| 4 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 143 | 60 | 62 | 21 | .492 | 8½ | 31–29–11 | 29–33–10 |
| 5 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 143 | 55 | 68 | 20 | .447 | 14 | 25–36–10 | 30–32–10 |
| 6 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 143 | 55 | 70 | 18 | .440 | 15 | 30–34–7 | 25–36–11 |
Interleague
| Team | G | W | L | T | Win% | GB | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orix Buffaloes | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | .706 | — | 7–1–1 | 5–4 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 1½ | 3–6 | 8–1 |
| Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | .600 | 2 | 6–2–1 | 3–4–2 |
| Chunichi Dragons | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | .563 | 2½ | 5–2–2 | 4–5 |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 2½ | 5–4 | 5–4 |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .529 | 3 | 3–5–1 | 6–3 |
| Saitama Seibu Lions | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | .500 | 3½ | 5–3–1 | 2–4–3 |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | .471 | 4 | 5–4 | 3–5–1 |
| Yomiuri Giants | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | .467 | 4 | 4–3–2 | 3–5–1 |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 5½ | 2–7 | 5–4 |
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 18 | 5 | 9 | 4 | .357 | 5½ | 3–4–2 | 2–5–2 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 18 | 3 | 12 | 3 | .200 | 8 | 2–6–1 | 1–6–2 |
Climax Series
First stage
Central League
Yomiuri Giants won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 6 | Yomiuri Giants − 4, Hanshin Tigers − 0 | Koshien Stadium | 3:11 | 21,478[4] |
| 2 | November 7 | Yomiuri Giants − 4, Hanshin Tigers − 2 | Koshien Stadium | 3:33 | 21,492[5] |
Pacific League
Chiba Lotte Marines won the series, 1−0−1 as a higher seed.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 6 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles − 4, Chiba Lotte Marines − 5 | Zozo Marine Stadium | 3:10 | 14,904[6] |
| 2 | November 7 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles − 4, Chiba Lotte Marines − 4 | Zozo Marine Stadium | 3:07 | 14,891[7] |
Final stage
The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the first-placed team.
Central League
Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the series, 3−0−1 as a higher seed.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 10 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 4, Yomiuri Giants − 0 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 2:38 | 17,792[8] |
| 2 | November 11 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 5, Yomiuri Giants − 0 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 3:19 | 17,230[9] |
| 3 | November 12 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 2, Yomiuri Giants − 2 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 3:08 | 19,022[10] |
Pacific League
Orix Buffaloes won the series, 3−0−1 as a higher seed.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 10 | Orix Buffaloes − 1, Chiba Lotte Marines − 0 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 2:23 | 17,915[11] |
| 2 | November 11 | Orix Buffaloes − 2, Chiba Lotte Marines − 0 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 2:42 | 17,913[12] |
| 3 | November 12 | Orix Buffaloes − 3, Chiba Lotte Marines − 3 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 3:33 | 18,006[13] |
Japan Series
Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the series, 4–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 20 | Orix Buffaloes – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 3:46 | 19,297[14] |
| 2 | November 21 | Orix Buffaloes – 0, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 2:56 | 17,075[15] |
| 3 | November 23 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 5, Orix Buffaloes − 4 | Tokyo Dome | 3:45 | 24,565[16] |
| 4 | November 24 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2, Orix Buffaloes – 1 | Tokyo Dome | 2:50 | 20,617[17] |
| 5 | November 25 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 5, Orix Buffaloes – 6 | Tokyo Dome | 3:16 | 20,580[18] |
| 6 | November 27 | Orix Buffaloes – 1, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2 (12) | Hotto Motto Field | 5:00 | 15,239[19] |
League leaders
Central League
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Pacific League
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