| 1981 NPB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Regular Season | |
| Season MVP | CL: Suguru Egawa (YOM) PL: Yutaka Enatsu (NIP) |
| League Postseason | |
| CL champions | Yomiuri Giants |
| CL runners-up | Hiroshima Toyo Carp |
| PL champions | Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| PL runners-up | Lotte Orions |
| Japan Series | |
| Champions | Yomiuri Giants |
| Runners-up | Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Finals MVP | Takashi Nishimoto (YOM) |
The 1981 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 32nd season of operation for the league.
| Central League [1] | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri Giants | 130 | 73 | 48 | 9 | .603 | -- |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 130 | 67 | 54 | 9 | .554 | 6.0 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 130 | 67 | 58 | 5 | .536 | 8.0 |
| Yakult Swallows | 130 | 56 | 58 | 16 | .491 | 13.5 |
| Chunichi Dragons | 130 | 58 | 65 | 7 | .472 | 16.0 |
| Yokohama Taiyo Whales | 130 | 42 | 80 | 8 | .344 | 31.5 |
| Pacific League [2] | G | W | L | T | Pct. | 1st Half Ranking | 2nd Half Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon-Ham Fighters | 130 | 68 | 54 | 8 | .557 | 4 | 1 |
| Hankyu Braves | 130 | 68 | 58 | 4 | .540 | 3 | 2 |
| Lotte Orions | 130 | 63 | 57 | 10 | .525 | 1 | 3 |
| Seibu Lions | 130 | 61 | 61 | 8 | .500 | 2 | 5 |
| Nankai Hawks | 130 | 53 | 65 | 12 | .449 | 5 | 6 |
| Kintetsu Buffaloes | 130 | 54 | 72 | 4 | .429 | 6 | 4 |
The Pacific League teams with the best first and second-half records met in a best-of-five playoff series to determine the league representative in the Japan Series.
Nippon-Ham Fighters won the series 3-1-1.
| Game | Score | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orions – 1, Fighters – 4 | October 7 | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 2 | Orions – 5, Fighters – 5 | October 10 | Kawasaki Stadium |
| 3 | Fighters – 4, Orions – 1 | October 11 | Korakuen Stadium |
| 4 | Fighters – 6, Orions – 11 | October 12 | Korakuen Stadium |
| 5 | Fighters – 8, Orions – 4 | October 13 | Korakuen Stadium |
Yomiuri Giants won the series 4-2.
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fighters – 6, Giants – 5 | October 17 | Korakuen Stadium | 36,056 [3] |
| 2 | Fighters – 1, Giants – 2 | October 18 | Korakuen Stadium | 42,376 [3] |
| 3 | Giants – 2, Fighters – 3 | October 20 | Korakuen Stadium | 36,180 [3] |
| 4 | Giants – 8, Fighters – 2 | October 21 | Korakuen Stadium | 38,627 [3] |
| 5 | Giants – 9, Fighters – 0 | October 23 | Korakuen Stadium | 31,419 [3] |
| 6 | Fighters – 3, Giants – 6 | October 25 | Korakuen Stadium | 43,604 [3] |
The 2002 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Yomiuri Giants defeating the Seibu Lions in the 2002 Japan Series 4 games to 0.
The 2001 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Yakult Swallows defeating the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the 2001 Japan Series 4 games to 1.
The 2000 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 51st season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
The 1999 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 50th season of operation for the league.
The 1997 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 48th season of operation for the league.
The 1996 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 47th season of operation for the league.
The 1995 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 46th season of operation for the league.
The 1988 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 39th season of operation for the league.
The 1986 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 37th season of operation for the league.
The 1985 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 36th season of operation for the league.
The 1984 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 35th season of operation for the league.
The 1983 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 34th season of operation for the league.
The 1982 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 33rd season of operation for the league.
The 1980 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 31st season of operation for the league.
The 1979 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 30th season of operation for the league.
The 1978 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 29th season of operation for the league.
The 1977 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 28th season of operation for the league.
The 1976 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 27th season of operation for the league.
The 1975 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 26th season of operation for the league.
The 1974 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 25th season of operation for the league.