1953_Nippon_Professional_Baseball_season Knowpia

1953 NPB season
1953 NPB season
League	Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Central League Pennant
League champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Osaka Tigers
Season MVP	Takumi Otomo (YOM)
Pacific League Pennant
League champions	Nankai Hawks
Runners-up	Hankyu Braves
Season MVP	Isami Okamoto (NAN)
Japan Series
Champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Nankai Hawks
Finals MVP	Tetsuharu Kawakami (YOM)
NPB seasons
	← 1952 1954 →

The 1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the fourth season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

That season would be the first to be televised on the young NHK General TV - which opened that year. The young channel and its then few national relay stations aired some games during the year, tying baseball to the young TV industry and thus beginning the sports connection to Japanese television, as well as its transformation into the top sport of the nation.

Regular season edit

Standings edit

Central League regular season standings
Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Yomiuri Giants	125	87	37	1	.702	—
Osaka Tigers	130	74	56	0	.569	16.0
Chunichi Dragons	130	70	57	3	.551	18.5
Hiroshima Carp	130	53	75	2	.414	36.0
Taiyo Shochiku Robins	130	52	77	1	.403	37.5
Kokutetsu Swallows	125	45	79	1	.363	42.0

Pacific League regular season standings
Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Nankai Hawks	120	71	48	1	.597	—
Hankyu Braves	120	67	52	1	.563	4.0
Daiei Stars	120	63	53	4	.543	6.5
Nishitetsu Lions	120	57	61	2	.483	13.5
Mainichi Orions	120	56	62	2	.475	14.5
Tokyu Flyers	120	50	67	3	.427	20.0
Kintetsu Pearls	120	48	69	3	.410	22.0

Postseason edit

Japan Series edit

CL Yomiuri Giants (4) vs. PL Nankai Hawks (2)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 10	Yomiuri Giants – 3, Nankai Hawks – 4	Osaka Stadium	3:15	24,913^[1]
2	October 11	Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 3	Osaka Stadium	2:33	30,524^[1]
3	October 12	Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 2	Korakuen Stadium	2:21	22,546^[1]
4	October 13	Nankai Hawks – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 3	Korakuen Stadium	1:45	25,953^[1]
5	October 14	Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 0	Osaka Stadium	2:04	21,652^[1]
6	October 15	Yomiuri Giants – 0, Nankai Hawks – 2	Koshien Stadium	1:55	6,346^[1]
7	October 16	Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 4	Korakuen Stadium	1:36	21,332^[1]

League leaders edit

Central League edit

Batting leaders
Stat	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants	.347
Home runs	Fumio Fujimura	Osaka Tigers	27
Runs batted in	Fumio Fujimura	Osaka Tigers	98
Runs	Saburo Hirai	Yomiuri Giants	97
Hits	Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants	162
Stolen bases	Jiro Kanayama	Hiroshima Carp	58

Pitching leaders
Stat	Player	Team	Total
Wins	Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants	27
Losses	Yoshiaki Inoue	Kokutetsu Swallows	26
Earned run average	Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants	1.85
Strikeouts	Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	229
Innings pitched	Masaichi Kaneda	Kokutetsu Swallows	3032⁄3

Pacific League edit

Batting leaders
Stat	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Isami Okamoto	Nankai Hawks	.318
Home runs	Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	36
Runs batted in	Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	86
Runs	Futoshi Nakanishi Larry Raines	Nishitetsu Lions Hankyu Braves	92
Hits	Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions	146
Stolen bases	Larry Raines	Hankyu Braves	61

Pitching leaders
Stat	Player	Team	Total
Wins	Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions	24
Losses	Yasuo Yonekawa	Tokyu Flyers	21
Earned run average	Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions	1.98
Strikeouts	Yasuo Yonekawa	Tokyu Flyers	180
Innings pitched	Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions	2941⁄3

Awards edit

Most Valuable Player
- Takumi Otomo, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
- Isami Okamoto, Nankai Hawks (PL)
Rookie of the Year
- Masatoshi Gondo, Taiyo Shochiku Robins (CL)
- Yasumitsu Toyoda, Nishitetsu Lions (PL)
Eiji Sawamura Award
- Takumi Otomo, Yomiuri Giants (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners
Position	Player	Team
Pitcher	Takumi Otomo	Yomiuri Giants
Catcher	Jun Hirota	Yomiuri Giants
First baseman	Tetsuharu Kawakami	Yomiuri Giants
Second baseman	Shigeru Chiba	Yomiuri Giants
Third baseman	Larry Yogi	Osaka Tigers
Shortstop	Saburo Hirai	Yomiuri Giants
Outfielder	Masayasu Kaneda	Osaka Tigers
	Wally Yonamine	Yomiuri Giants
	Fukashi Minamimura	Yomiuri Giants

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners
Position	Player	Team
Pitcher	Tokuji Kawasaki	Nishitetsu Lions
Catcher	Jun Matsui	Nankai Hawks
First baseman	Tokuji Iida	Nankai Hawks
Second baseman	Isami Okamoto	Nankai Hawks
Third baseman	Futoshi Nakanishi	Nishitetsu Lions
Shortstop	Chusuke Kizuka	Nankai Hawks
Outfielder	Kaoru Betto	Mainichi Orions
	Hazuo Horii	Nankai Hawks
	Hiroshi Oshita	Tokyu Flyers

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 1953年度日本シリーズ　試合結果 (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.