1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1953 in baseball.

1953 NPB season
League	Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Central League Pennant
League champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Osaka Tigers
Season MVP	Takumi Otomo (YOM)
Pacific League Pennant
League champions	Nankai Hawks
Runners-up	Hankyu Braves
Season MVP	Isami Okamoto (NAN)
Japan Series
Champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Nankai Hawks
Finals MVP	Tetsuharu Kawakami (YOM)
NPB seasons
← 1952 1954 →

The 1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the fourth season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

That season would be the first to be televised on the young NHK General TV - which opened that year. The young channel and its then few national relay stations aired some games during the year, tying baseball to the young TV industry and thus beginning the sports connection to Japanese television, as well as its transformation into the top sport of the nation.

Regular season

Standings

Central League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Yomiuri Giants	125	87	37	1	.702	—
Osaka Tigers	130	74	56	0	.569	16.0
Chunichi Dragons	130	70	57	3	.551	18.5
Hiroshima Carp	130	53	75	2	.414	36.0
Taiyo Shochiku Robins	130	52	77	1	.403	37.5
Kokutetsu Swallows	125	45	79	1	.363	42.0

Pacific League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Nankai Hawks	120	71	48	1	.597	—
Hankyu Braves	120	67	52	1	.563	4.0
Daiei Stars	120	63	53	4	.543	6.5
Nishitetsu Lions	120	57	61	2	.483	13.5
Mainichi Orions	120	56	62	2	.475	14.5
Tokyu Flyers	120	50	67	3	.427	20.0
Kintetsu Pearls	120	48	69	3	.410	22.0

Postseason

Japan Series

Main article: 1953 Japan Series

CL Yomiuri Giants (4) vs. PL Nankai Hawks (2)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 10	Yomiuri Giants – 3, Nankai Hawks – 4	Osaka Stadium	3:15	24,913 [1]
2	October 11	Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 3	Osaka Stadium	2:33	30,524 [1]
3	October 12	Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 2	Korakuen Stadium	2:21	22,546 [1]
4	October 13	Nankai Hawks – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 3	Korakuen Stadium	1:45	25,953 [1]
5	October 14	Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 0	Osaka Stadium	2:04	21,652 [1]
6	October 15	Yomiuri Giants – 0, Nankai Hawks – 2	Koshien Stadium	1:55	6,346 [1]
7	October 16	Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 4	Korakuen Stadium	1:36	21,332 [1]

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants .347 Home runs Fumio Fujimura Osaka Tigers 27 Runs batted in Fumio Fujimura Osaka Tigers 98 Runs Saburo Hirai Yomiuri Giants 97 Hits Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants 162 Stolen bases Jiro Kanayama Hiroshima Carp 58

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Takumi Otomo Yomiuri Giants 27 Losses Yoshiaki Inoue Kokutetsu Swallows 26 Earned run average Takumi Otomo Yomiuri Giants 1.85 Strikeouts Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 229 Innings pitched Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 3032⁄3

Pacific League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Isami Okamoto Nankai Hawks .318 Home runs Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions 36 Runs batted in Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions 86 Runs Futoshi Nakanishi Larry Raines Nishitetsu Lions Hankyu Braves 92 Hits Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions 146 Stolen bases Larry Raines Hankyu Braves 61

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Tokuji Kawasaki Nishitetsu Lions 24 Losses Yasuo Yonekawa Tokyu Flyers 21 Earned run average Tokuji Kawasaki Nishitetsu Lions 1.98 Strikeouts Yasuo Yonekawa Tokyu Flyers 180 Innings pitched Tokuji Kawasaki Nishitetsu Lions 2941⁄3

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
  • Takumi Otomo, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
  • Isami Okamoto, Nankai Hawks (PL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Masatoshi Gondo, Taiyo Shochiku Robins (CL)
  • Yasumitsu Toyoda, Nishitetsu Lions (PL)
• Eiji Sawamura Award
  • Takumi Otomo, Yomiuri Giants (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Takumi Otomo Yomiuri Giants Catcher Jun Hirota Yomiuri Giants First baseman Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants Second baseman Shigeru Chiba Yomiuri Giants Third baseman Larry Yogi Osaka Tigers Shortstop Saburo Hirai Yomiuri Giants Outfielder Masayasu Kaneda Osaka Tigers Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants Fukashi Minamimura Yomiuri Giants

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Tokuji Kawasaki Nishitetsu Lions Catcher Jun Matsui Nankai Hawks First baseman Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks Second baseman Isami Okamoto Nankai Hawks Third baseman Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions Shortstop Chusuke Kizuka Nankai Hawks Outfielder Kaoru Betto Mainichi Orions Hazuo Horii Nankai Hawks Hiroshi Oshita Tokyu Flyers

See also

• 1953 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
• 1953 Major League Baseball season

References

1. 1953年度日本シリーズ　試合結果 (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.

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