The 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 62nd season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950. The season was delayed by the Tohoku earthquake. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, based in northern Japan, and coached by Senichi Hoshino, were particularly affected by the quake, as the Miyagi Baseball Stadium was badly damaged.
Because of energy concerns following the earthquake, NPB also imposed restrictions on games during the regular season. A three-hour-thirty-minute rule was imposed. If a game went past the 3:30 mark, regardless of inning, the inning in question would be the last inning. A game would be called should any blackout occur during the game. The 3:30 clock starts at the first pitch of the game and continues in case of any delay.
At the season's end, the Yokohama BayStars was renamed as Yokohama DeNA BayStars as the owner changes.
Regular season standings + Central League regular season standings Team G W L T Pct. GBChunichi Dragons 144 75 59 10 .560 —Tokyo Yakult Swallows 144 70 59 15 .543 2.5Yomiuri Giants 144 71 62 11 .534 3.5Hanshin Tigers 144 68 70 6 .493 9.0Hiroshima Toyo Carp 144 60 76 8 .441 16.0Yokohama BayStars 144 47 86 11 .353 27.5
+ Pacific League regular season standings Team G W L T Pct. GBFukuoka SoftBank Hawks 144 88 46 10 .657 —Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 144 72 65 7 .526 17.5Saitama Seibu Lions 144 68 67 9 .504 20.5Orix Buffaloes 144 69 68 7 .504 20.5Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 144 66 71 7 .482 23.5Chiba Lotte Marines 144 54 79 11 .406 33.5
Climax Series
Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.
First stage The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), received byes to the championship round.
Central League
Pacific League
Final stage The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), received a one-game advantage.
Central League
Pacific League
Japan Series
League leaders
Central League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Hisayoshi Chono Yomiuri Giants .316 Home runs Wladimir Balentien Tokyo Yakult Swallows 31 Runs batted in Takahiro Arai Hanshin Tigers 93 Runs Norichika Aoki Tokyo Yakult Swallows 73 Hits Matt Murton Hanshin Tigers 180 Stolen bases Daisuke Fujimura Yomiuri Giants 28
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Tetsuya UtsumiKazuki Yoshimi Yomiuri GiantsChunichi Dragons 18 Losses Kentaro Takasaki Yokohama BayStars 15 Earned run average Kazuki Yoshimi Chunichi Dragons 1.65 Strikeouts Kenta Maeda Hiroshima Toyo Carp 192 Innings pitched Kenta Maeda Hiroshima Toyo Carp 216 Saves Kyuji Fujikawa Hanshin Tigers 41
Pacific League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Seiichi Uchikawa Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks .338 Home runs Takeya Nakamura Saitama Seibu Lions 48 Runs batted in Takeya Nakamura Saitama Seibu Lions 116 Runs Takeya Nakamura Saitama Seibu Lions 97 Hits Tomotaka Sakaguchi Orix Buffaloes 175 Stolen bases Yuichi Honda Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 60
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins D. J. HoultonMasahiro Tanaka Fukuoka SoftBank HawksTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 19 Losses Yoshihisa NaruseMasaru TakedaHideaki Wakui Chiba Lotte MarinesHokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersSaitama Seibu Lions 12 Earned run average Masahiro Tanaka Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 1.27 Strikeouts Yu Darvish Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 276 Innings pitched Yu Darvish Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 232 Saves Hisashi Takeda Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 37
See also 2011 Korea Professional Baseball season 2011 Major League Baseball season
References