The 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball season began on March 29. It was the 70th season since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There are 12 teams NPB, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League. The 2019 NPB season was 143 games long; teams in each league played 125 games against each other and 18 interleague games. The regular season was scheduled to end on September 24 except for any make-up games scheduled after it; the regular season eventually concluded on September 30. The top three teams in each league proceed to the Climax Series, NPB's postseason system.
Regular season standings + Central League regular season standings Rank Team G W L T Pct. GB Home Road1Yomiuri Giants14377642-39–32–038–32–22Yokohama DeNA BayStars143716934.542–25–126–38–23Hanshin Tigers143696866.039–32–130–36–54Hiroshima Toyo Carp143707036.539–31–131–39–25Chunichi Dragons143687329.039–31–229–42–06Tokyo Yakult Swallows1435982218.028–41–231-41–0
+ Pacific League regular season standings Rank Team G W L T Pct. GB Home Road1Saitama Seibu Lions14380621-43–29–037–33–12Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks143766252.042–27–334–35-23Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles143716847.536–33–235–35–2 4Chiba Lotte Marines143697049.537–32–232–38–25Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters1436573512.035–34–330–39–26Orix Buffaloes1436175714.032–34–529–41–2
Climax Series
First stage
Central League
Pacific League
Final stage
Central League
Pacific League
Japan Series
League leaders
Central League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Seiya Suzuki Hiroshima Toyo Carp .335 Home runs Neftali Soto Yokohama DeNA BayStars 43 Runs batted in Neftali Soto Yokohama DeNA BayStars 108 Runs Seiya Suzuki Hiroshima Toyo Carp 112 Hits Yohei Oshima Chunichi Dragons 174 Stolen bases Kōji Chikamoto Hanshin Tigers 36 On-base percentage Seiya Suzuki Hiroshima Toyo Carp .453 Slugging percentage Hayato Sakamoto Yomiuri Giants .575
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Shun Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants 15 Earned run average Yudai Ono Chunichi Dragons 2.58 Strikeouts Shun Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants 188 Innings pitched Yudai Ono Chunichi Dragons 177.2 Saves Yasuaki Yamasaki Yokohama DeNA BayStars 30 Holds Joely Rodríguez Chunichi Dragons 41 Winning percentage Shun Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants .789
Pacific League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Tomoya Mori Saitama Seibu Lions .329 Home runs Hotaka Yamakawa Saitama Seibu Lions 43 Runs batted in Takeya Nakamura Saitama Seibu Lions 123 Runs Shogo Akiyama Saitama Seibu Lions 112 Hits Shogo Akiyama Saitama Seibu Lions 179 Stolen bases Yuji Kaneko Saitama Seibu Lions 41 On-base percentage Kensuke Kondo Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters .422 Slugging percentage Tomoya Mori Saitama Seibu Lions .547
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Kohei Arihara Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 15 Earned run average Yoshinobu Yamamoto Orix Buffaloes 1.95 Strikeouts Kodai Senga Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 227 Innings pitched Kodai Senga Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 180.1 Saves Yuki Matsui Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 38 Holds Naoki Miyanishi Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 43 Winning percentage Taisuke Yamaoka Orix Buffaloes .765
Awards
Regular season + NPB Awards Central League Pacific League Award Player Team Player Team Rookie of the Year Munetaka Murakami Tokyo Yakult Swallows Rei Takahashi Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Most Valuable Player Hayato Sakamoto Yomiuri Giants Tomoya Mori Saitama Seibu Lions Eiji Sawamura Award Not awarded Not awarded Best Relief Pitcher Joely Rodríguez Chunichi Dragons Naoki Miyanishi Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Matsutaro Shoriki Award Kimiyasu Kudo Fukuoka SoftBank HawksBest Nine Award Position Player Team Player Team Pitcher Shun Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants Kodai Senga Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Catcher Tsubasa Aizawa Hiroshima Toyo Carp Tomoya Mori Saitama Seibu Lions 1st Base Dayán Viciedo Chunichi Dragons Hotaka Yamakawa Saitama Seibu Lions 2nd Base Tetsuto Yamada Tokyo Yakult Swallows Hideto Asamura Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3rd Base Shuhei Takahashi Chunichi Dragons Takeya Nakamura Saitama Seibu Lions Shortstop Hayato Sakamoto Yomiuri Giants Sosuke Genda Saitama Seibu LionsOutfield Yoshihiro Maru Yomiuri Giants Shogo Akiyama Saitama Seibu LionsSeiya Suzuki Hiroshima Toyo Carp Masataka Yoshida Orix BuffaloesNeftalí Soto Yokohama DeNA BayStars Takashi Ogino Chiba Lotte Marines Designated hitter Not applicable Alfredo Despaigne Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
+ Mitsui Golden Glove Award Central League Pacific League Position Player Team Player Team Pitcher Yuki Nishi Hanshin Tigers Kodai Senga Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Catcher Ryutaro Umeno Hanshin Tigers Takuya Kai Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 1st Base José López Yokohama DeNA BayStars Seiichi Uchikawa Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2nd Base Ryosuke Kikuchi Hiroshima Toyo Carp Hideto Asamura Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3rd Base Shuhei Takahashi Chunichi Dragons Nobuhiro Matsuda Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Shortstop Hayato Sakamoto Yomiuri Giants Sosuke Genda Saitama Seibu Lions
Monthly MVPs
+ Position players Central League Pacific League Month Player Team Player Team March/April Hayato Sakamoto Yomiuri Giants Hotaka Yamakawa Saitama Seibu Lions May Shuhei Takahashi Chunichi Dragons Shogo Akiyama Saitama Seibu Lions June Yoshio Itoi Hanshin Tigers Daichi Suzuki Chiba Lotte Marines July José López Yokohama DeNA BayStars Masataka Yoshida Orix Buffaloes August Ryoma Nishikawa Hiroshima Toyo Carp Tomoya Mori Saitama Seibu Lions September Nobumasa Fukuda Chunichi Dragons Masataka Yoshida Orix Buffaloes
+ Pitchers Central League Pacific League Month Player Team Player Team March/April Shun Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants Kohei Arihara Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters May Shota Imanaga Yokohama DeNA BayStars Kodai Senga Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks June Shun Yamaguchi Yomiuri Giants Kodai Senga Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks July Yasuaki Yamasaki Yokohama DeNA BayStars Taisuke Yamaoka Orix Buffaloes August David Buchanan Tokyo Yakult Swallows Alan Busenitz Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles September Yuki Nishi Hanshin Tigers Zach Neal Saitama Seibu Lions
Attendances
# Team Average 1 Hanshin Tigers 42,935 2 Yomiuri Giants 42,643 3 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 36,891 4 Chunichi Dragons 31,741 5 Yokohama DeNA BayStars 31,716 6 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 31,319 7 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 27,543 8 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 27,368 9 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 25,659 10 Saitama Seibu Lions 25,299 11 ORIX Buffaloes 24,423 12 Chiba Lotte Marines 23,463 Source:
See also 2019 KBO League season 2019 Major League Baseball season
References