1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1959 in baseball.

1959 NPB season
League	Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Central League Pennant
League champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Osaka Tigers
Season MVP	Motoshi Fujita (YOM)
Pacific League Pennant
League champions	Nankai Hawks
Runners-up	Daimai Orions
Season MVP	Tadashi Sugiura (NAN)
Japan Series
Champions	Nankai Hawks
Runners-up	Yomiuri Giants
Finals MVP	Tadashi Sugiura (NAN)
NPB seasons
← 1958 1960 →

The 1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the tenth 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	77	48	5	.612	—
Osaka Tigers	130	62	59	9	.512	13.0
Chunichi Dragons	130	64	61	5	.512	13.0
Kokutetsu Swallows	130	63	65	2	.492	15.5
Hiroshima Carp	130	59	64	7	.481	17.0
Taiyo Whales	130	49	77	4	.392	28.5

Pacific League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Nankai Hawks	134	88	42	4	.677	—
Daimai Orions	136	82	48	6	.631	6.0
Toei Flyers	135	67	63	5	.515	21.0
Nishitetsu Lions	144	66	64	14	.508	22.0
Hankyu Braves	134	48	82	4	.369	40.0
Kintetsu Buffaloes	133	39	91	3	.300	49.0

Postseason

Japan Series

Main article: 1959 Japan Series

PL Nankai Hawks (4) vs. CL Yomiuri Giants (0)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 24	Yomiuri Giants – 7, Nankai Hawks – 10	Osaka Stadium	3:13	30,038 [1]
2	October 25	Yomiuri Giants – 3, Nankai Hawks – 6	Osaka Stadium	2:33	30,288 [1]
3	October 27	Nankai Hawks – 3, Yomiuri Giants – 2	Korakuen Stadium	2:47	32,056 [1]
4	October 29	Nankai Hawks – 3, Yomiuri Giants – 0	Korakuen Stadium	2:23	32,266 [1]

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri Giants .334 Home runs Toru Mori Takeshi Kuwata  [ ja ] Chunichi Dragons Taiyo Whales 31 Runs batted in Toru Mori Chunichi Dragons 87 Runs Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri Giants 88 Hits Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri Giants 150 Stolen bases Hiroji Okajima Chunichi Dragons 41

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Motoshi Fujita Yomiuri Giants 27 Losses Noboru Akiyama Taiyo Whales 22 Earned run average Minoru Murayama Osaka Tigers 1.19 Strikeouts Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 313 Innings pitched Masaaki Koyama Osaka Tigers 344

Pacific League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Kohei Sugiyama Nankai Hawks .323 Home runs Kazuhiro Yamauchi Daimai Orions 25 Runs batted in Takao Katsuragi Daimai Orions 95 Runs Yoshinori Hirose Nankai Hawks 86 Hits Takao Katsuragi Daimai Orions 163 Stolen bases Chico Barbon Hankyu Braves 38

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Tadashi Sugiura Nankai Hawks 38 Losses Tetsuya Yoneda Hankyu Braves 24 Earned run average Tadashi Sugiura Nankai Hawks 1.40 Strikeouts Tadashi Sugiura Nankai Hawks 336 Innings pitched Kazuhisa Inao Nishitetsu Lions 4021⁄3

Awards

• Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Matsutaro Shoriki
  • Hiroshi Hiraoka
  • Yukio Aoi
  • Shin Hashido
  • Kiyoshi Oshikawa
  • Jiro Kuji
  • Eiji Sawamura
  • Iso Abe
• Most Valuable Player
  • Motoshi Fujita, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
  • Tadashi Sugiura, Nankai Hawks (PL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Takeshi Kuwata, Taiyo Whales (CL)
  • Isao Harimoto, Toei Flyers (PL)
• Eiji Sawamura Award
  • Minoru Murayama, Osaka Tigers (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Motoshi Fujita Yomiuri Giants Catcher Shigeru Fujio Yomiuri Giants First baseman Katsumi Fujimoto Osaka Tigers Second baseman Masataka Tsuchiya Yomiuri Giants Third baseman Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri Giants Shortstop Yoshio Yoshida Osaka Tigers Outfielder Toru Mori Chunichi Dragons Kazuhiko Sakazaki Yomiuri Giants Akira Owada Hiroshima Carp

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Tadashi Sugiura Nankai Hawks Catcher Katsuya Nomura Nankai Hawks First baseman Kihachi Enomoto Daimai Orions Second baseman Isami Okamoto Nankai Hawks Third baseman Takao Katsuragi Daimai Orions Shortstop Yasumitsu Toyoda Nishitetsu Lions Outfielder Seiji Sekiguchi Nishitetsu Lions Kohei Sugiyama Nankai Hawks Teruyuki Takakura Nishitetsu Lions

See also

• 1959 Major League Baseball season

References

1. 1959年度日本シリーズ　試合結果 (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved April 21, 2010.

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