2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Last updated

2021 NPB season
League Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport Baseball
DurationMarch 26 – November 21
Number of games143
Number of teams12
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
Champions Tokyo Yakult Swallows
  Runners-up Orix Buffaloes
Finals MVP Yuhei Nakamura (Yakult)
NPB seasons

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.

Contents

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

Central League regular season standings [1]
RankTeam G W L T Pct. GB HomeRoad
1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 143735218.584—36–29–737–23–11
2 Hanshin Tigers 143775610.579036–31–441–25–6
3 Yomiuri Giants 143616220.4961132–30–1029–32–10
4 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 143636812.4811330–34–833–34–4
5 Chunichi Dragons 143557117.43718½33–27–1122–44–6
6 Yokohama DeNA BayStars 143547316.4252027–37–727–36–9
Pacific League regular season standings [2]
RankTeam G W L T Pct. GB HomeRoad
1 Orix Buffaloes 143705518.560—38–22–1232–33–6
2 Chiba Lotte Marines 143675719.5402½33–32–734–25–12
3 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 143666215.5145½31–33–835–29–7
4 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 143606221.4928½31–29–1129–33–10
5 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 143556820.4471425–36–1030–32–10
6 Saitama Seibu Lions 143557018.4401530–34–725–36–11

Interleague

Regular season interleague standings [3]
TeamG W L T Win% GB HomeAway
Orix Buffaloes 181251.706—7–1–15–4
Hanshin Tigers 181170.6111½3–68–1
Yokohama DeNA BayStars 18963.60026–2–13–4–2
Chunichi Dragons 18972.5632½5–2–24–5
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 181080.5562½5–45–4
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 18981.52933–5–16–3
Saitama Seibu Lions 18774.5003½5–3–12–4–3
Chiba Lotte Marines 18891.47145–43–5–1
Yomiuri Giants 18783.46744–3–23–5–1
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 187110.3895½2–75–4
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 18594.3575½3–4–22–5–2
Hiroshima Toyo Carp 183123.20082–6–11–6–2

Climax Series

First StageFinal Stage Japan Series
Central League
1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3
2 Hanshin Tigers 03 Yomiuri Giants 0
3 Yomiuri Giants 2CL1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4
PL1 Orix Buffaloes 2
Pacific League
1 Orix Buffaloes 3
2 Chiba Lotte Marines 12 Chiba Lotte Marines 0
3 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 0

First stage

Central League

Yomiuri Giants won the series, 2–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1November 6Yomiuri Giants − 4, Hanshin Tigers − 0 Koshien Stadium 3:1121,478 [4]  
2November 7Yomiuri Giants − 4, Hanshin Tigers − 2Koshien Stadium3:3321,492 [5]

Pacific League

Chiba Lotte Marines won the series, 1−0−1 as a higher seed.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1November 6Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles − 4, Chiba Lotte Marines − 5 Zozo Marine Stadium 3:1014,904 [6]  
2November 7Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles − 4, Chiba Lotte Marines − 4Zozo Marine Stadium3:0714,891 [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.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1November 10Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 4, Yomiuri Giants − 0 Meiji Jingu Stadium 2:3817,792 [8]  
2November 11Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 5, Yomiuri Giants − 0Meiji Jingu Stadium3:1917,230 [9]  
3November 12Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 2, Yomiuri Giants − 2Meiji Jingu Stadium3:0819,022 [10]

Pacific League

Orix Buffaloes won the series, 3−0−1 as a higher seed.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1November 10Orix Buffaloes − 1, Chiba Lotte Marines − 0 Kyocera Dome Osaka 2:2317,915 [11]  
2November 11Orix Buffaloes − 2, Chiba Lotte Marines − 0Kyocera Dome Osaka2:4217,913 [12]  
3November 12Orix Buffaloes − 3, Chiba Lotte Marines − 3Kyocera Dome Osaka3:3318,006 [13]

Japan Series

Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the series, 4–2.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1November 20Orix Buffaloes – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3 Kyocera Dome Osaka 3:4619,297 [14]  
2November 21Orix Buffaloes – 0, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2Kyocera Dome Osaka2:5617,075 [15]  
3November 23Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 5, Orix Buffaloes − 4 Tokyo Dome 3:4524,565 [16]  
4November 24Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2, Orix Buffaloes – 1Tokyo Dome2:5020,617 [17]  
5November 25Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 5, Orix Buffaloes – 6Tokyo Dome3:1620,580 [18]  
6November 27Orix Buffaloes – 1, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2(12) Hotto Motto Field 5:0015,239 [19]

League leaders

Central League

Pacific League

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "2021 Central League Standings". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "2021 Pacific League Standings". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. ↑ "2021年度 交流戦" [2021 Interleague Play] (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Saturday, November 6, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sunday, November 7, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Saturday, November 6, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Sunday, November 7, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Wednesday, November 10, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Thursday, November 11, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Friday, November 12, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Wednesday, November 10, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Thursday, November 11, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Friday, November 12, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Saturday, November 20, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sunday, November 21, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Tuesday, November 23, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Wednesday, November 24, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Thursday, November 25, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Saturday, November 27, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball . Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  20. ↑ "2021 Central League Qualifiers for Batting Championship". npb.jp.
  21. ↑ "2021 Central League Qualifiers for Earned-Run Average Title & Top Relief Pitchers". npb.jp.
  22. ↑ "2021 Pacific League Qualifiers for Batting Championship". npb.jp.
  23. ↑ "2021 Pacific League Qualifiers for Earned-Run Average Title & Top Relief Pitchers". npb.jp.
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