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1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season

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This article is about the 1953 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1953 in baseball. Sports season
1953 NPB season
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
Central League Pennant
League championsYomiuri Giants
  Runners-upOsaka Tigers
Season MVPTakumi Otomo (YOM)
Pacific League Pennant
League championsNankai Hawks
  Runners-upHankyu Braves
Season MVPIsami Okamoto (NAN)
Japan Series
ChampionsYomiuri Giants
  Runners-upNankai Hawks
Finals MVPTetsuharu Kawakami (YOM)
NPB seasons
← 19521954 →

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

Standings

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

Japan Series

Main article: 1953 Japan Series

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 
2 October 11 Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 3 Osaka Stadium 2:33 30,524 
3 October 12 Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 2 Korakuen Stadium 2:21 22,546 
4 October 13 Nankai Hawks – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 3 Korakuen Stadium 1:45 25,953 
5 October 14 Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 0 Osaka Stadium 2:04 21,652 
6 October 15 Yomiuri Giants – 0, Nankai Hawks – 2 Koshien Stadium 1:55 6,346 
7 October 16 Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 4 Korakuen Stadium 1:36 21,332

League leaders

Central League

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

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

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

See also

References

  1. ^ 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.
  • Johnson, Daniel E. (July 2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2841-0.
Nippon Professional Baseball seasons
1930s–1940s
(Japanese Baseball League)
1950s–1960s
1970s–1980s
1990s–2000s
2010s–2020s
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