The 1951 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the second season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). 1951 saw the best season in terms of winning percentage in NPB history, with the Nankai Hawks going 72-24-8, good enough for a .750 winning percentage, on their way to their first Japan Series appearance in franchise history. The Yomiuri Giants would defeat the Nankai Hawks in the Japan Series 4 games to 1, marking the first of 22 Japan Series championships for the Giants.
Regular season
Standings + Central League regular season standings Team G W L T Pct. GBYomiuri Giants 114 79 29 6 .731 —Nagoya Dragons 113 62 48 3 .564 18.0Osaka Tigers 116 61 52 3 .540 20.5Shochiku Robins 115 53 57 5 .482 27.0Kokutetsu Swallows 107 46 59 2 .438 31.5Taiyo Whales 108 40 64 4 .385 37.0Hiroshima Carp 99 32 64 3 .333 41.0
+ Pacific League regular season standings Team G W L T Pct. GBNankai Hawks 104 72 24 8 .750 —Nishitetsu Lions 105 53 42 10 .558 18.5Mainichi Orions 110 54 51 5 .514 22.5Daiei Stars 101 41 52 8 .441 29.5Hankyu Braves 96 37 51 8 .420 31.0Tokyu Flyers 102 38 56 8 .404 33.0Kintetsu Pearls 98 37 56 5 .398 33.5
Postseason
Japan Series
League leaders
Central League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants .377 Home runs Noboru Aota Yomiuri Giants 32 Runs batted in Noboru Aota Yomiuri Giants 105 Runs Noboru Aota Yomiuri Giants 101 Hits Tsuguo Goto Osaka Tigers 155 Stolen bases Goro Tsuchiya Kokutetsu Swallows 52
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Shigeru Sugishita Nagoya Dragons 28 Losses Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 21 Earned run average Kiyoshi Matsuda Yomiuri Giants 2.01 Strikeouts Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 233 Innings pitched Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 350
Pacific League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Hiroshi Oshita Tokyu Flyers .383 Home runs Hiroshi Oshita Tokyu Flyers 26 Runs batted in Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks 87 Runs Kazuo Yamamoto Nankai Hawks 97 Hits Chusuke Kizuka Nankai Hawks 130 Stolen bases Chusuke Kizuka Nankai Hawks 55
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Tadashi Eto Nankai Hawks 24 Losses Mitsuro Sawafuji Kintetsu Pearls 16 Earned run average Takeo Hattori Nankai Hawks 2.03 Strikeouts Hachiro Abe Hankyu Braves 150 Innings pitched Yasuo Yonekawa Tokyu Flyers 294
Awards Most Valuable Player Tetsuharu Kawakami, Yomiuri Giants (CL) Kazuto Yamamoto, Nankai Hawks (PL) Rookie of the Year Kiyoshi Matsuda, Yomiuri Giants (CL) Kazuo Kageyama, Nankai Hawks (PL) Eiji Sawamura Award Shigeru Sugishita, Nagoya Dragons (CL)
+ Central League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Takehiko Bessho Yomiuri Giants Catcher Akira Noguchi Nagoya Dragons First baseman Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants Second baseman Shigeru Chiba Yomiuri Giants Third baseman Fumio Fujimura Osaka Tigers Shortstop Masaaki Hirai Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder Masayasu Kaneda Osaka Tigers Noboru Aota Yomiuri Giants Yoshiyuki Iwamoto Shochiku Robins
+ Pacific League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Tadashi Eto Nankai Hawks Catcher Takeshi Doigaki Mainichi Orions First baseman Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks Second baseman Kazuto Yamamoto Nankai Hawks Third baseman Kazuo Kageyama Nankai Hawks Shortstop Chusuke Kizuka Nankai HawksOutfielder Kaoru Betto Mainichi Orions Hiroshi Oshita Tokyu Flyers Shigeya Iijima Daiei Stars
See also 1951 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season 1951 Major League Baseball season
References