1952 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Sports season
1952 NPB season
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
Central League Pennant
League championsYomiuri Giants
  Runners-upOsaka Tigers
Season MVPTakehiko Bessho (YOM)
Pacific League Pennant
League championsNankai Hawks
  Runners-upMainichi Orions
Season MVPSusumu Yuki (NAN)
Japan Series
ChampionsYomiuri Giants
  Runners-upNankai Hawks
Finals MVPTakehiko Bessho (YOM)
NPB seasons

The 1952 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the third season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Regular season

Standings

Central League regular season standings
Team G W L T Pct. GB
Yomiuri Giants 120 83 37 0 .692 —
Osaka Tigers 120 79 40 1 .664 3.5
Nagoya Dragons 120 75 43 2 .636 7.0
Taiyo Whales 120 58 62 0 .483 25.0
Kokutetsu Swallows 120 50 70 0 .417 33.0
Hiroshima Carp 120 37 80 3 .316 44.5
Shochiku Robins 120 34 84 2 .288 48.0
Pacific League regular season standings
Team G W L T Pct. GB
Nankai Hawks 121 76 44 1 .633 —
Mainichi Orions 120 75 45 0 .625 1.0
Nishitetsu Lions 120 67 52 1 .563 8.5
Daiei Stars 121 55 65 1 .458 21.0
Hankyu Braves 108 49 58 1 .458 20.5
Tokyu Flyers 108 49 59 0 .454 21.0
Kintetsu Pearls 108 30 78 0 .278 40.0

Postseason

Pacific League

For the first time, the Pacific League implemented a type of end-of-season playoff system. After the 108-game regular season, the four teams with the best winning percentages played an extra twelve regular season games to determine the league's champion. After the 108th game, the standings were:

Pos Team G W L T Pct.
1 Nankai Hawks 108 70 37 1 .653
2 Mainichi Orions 108 65 43 0 .602
3 Nishitetsu Lions 108 61 46 1 .569
4 Daiei Stars 108 52 55 1 .486
5 Hankyu Braves 108 49 58 1 .458
6 Tokyu Flyers 108 49 59 0 .454
7 Kintetsu Pearls 108 30 78 0 .278

The four qualifying teams were the Nankai Hawks, the Mainichi Orions, the Nishitetsu Lions, and the Daiei Stars. These four teams proceeded to play in a twelve game "round-robin" stage, with three games versus each opponent, in late September and early October. The results of this stage were:

Team G W L Pct. vs. Mainichi vs. Nishitetsu vs. Nankai vs. Daiei
Mainichi Orions 12 10 2 .833 — 3–1 3–1 4–0
Nishitetsu Lions 12 6 6 .500 1–3 — 2–2 3–1
Nankai Hawks 12 5 7 .417 1–3 2–2 — 2–2
Daiei Stars 12 3 9 .250 0–4 1–3 2–2 —

The Mainichi Orions' won ten of the twelve extra games, which put them into a tie for the first place with the Nankai Hawks. Both teams had 75 wins, however the Hawks had one less loss than the Orions because of a game against the Daiei Stars that ended in a tie earlier in the season. Because of the impact the tie had on the pennant race, the Hawks and the Stars played an extra 121st game. The Hawks won the game, giving them sole claim to Pacific League title. After the season, this faux playoff system was scrapped because of criticism that it was unfair to the three non-qualifying teams that had their seasons truncated.

Japan Series

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

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 11 Nankai Hawks – 3, Yomiuri Giants – 6 Korakuen Stadium 1:57 23,794[1] 
2 October 12 Nankai Hawks – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 11 Korakuen Stadium 1:56 26,799[1] 
3 October 14 Yomiuri Giants – 0, Nankai Hawks – 4 Osaka Stadium 2:12 23,744[1] 
4 October 15 Yomiuri Giants – 6, Nankai Hawks – 2 Osaka Stadium 2:04 20,117[1] 
5 October 16 Yomiuri Giants – 1, Nankai Hawks – 4 Osaka Stadium 1:35 15,297[1] 
6 October 18 Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 3 Korakuen Stadium 2:02 34,595[1]

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Batting average Michio Nishizawa Nagoya Dragons .353
Home runs Satoshi Sugiyama Nagoya Dragons 27
Runs batted in Michio Nishizawa Nagoya Dragons 98
Runs Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants 104
Hits Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants 163
Stolen bases Jiro Kanayama Shochiku Robins 63
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Wins Takehiko Bessho Yomiuri Giants 33
Losses Tsuneo Kobayashi Shochiku Robins 27
Earned run average Tadayoshi Kajioka Osaka Tigers 1.71
Strikeouts Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 269
Innings pitched Takehiko Bessho Yomiuri Giants 3711⁄3

Pacific League

Batting leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Batting average Shigeya Iijima Daiei Stars .336
Home runs Yasuhiro Fukami Nishitetsu Lions,
Tokyu Flyers		 25
Runs batted in Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks 86
Runs Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks 100
Hits Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks 153
Stolen bases Chusuke Kizuka Nankai Hawks 55
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Wins Masaaki Noguchi Nishitetsu Lions 23
Losses Mitsuro Sawafuji Kintetsu Pearls 22
Earned run average Susumu Yuki Nankai Hawks 1.91
Strikeouts Susumu Yuki Nankai Hawks 104
Innings pitched Giichi Hayashi Daiei Stars 2692⁄3

Awards

Central League Best Nine Award winners
Position Player Team
Pitcher Takehiko Bessho Yomiuri Giants
Catcher Akira Noguchi Nagoya Dragons
First baseman Michio Nishizawa Nagoya Dragons
Second baseman Shigeru Chiba Yomiuri Giants
Third baseman Fumio Fujimura Osaka Tigers
Shortstop Masaaki Hirai Yomiuri Giants
Outfielder Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants
Satoshi Sugiyama Nagoya Dragons
Fukashi Minamimura Yomiuri Giants
Pacific League Best Nine Award winners
Position Player Team
Pitcher Susumu Yuki Nankai Hawks
Catcher Takeshi Doigaki Mainichi Orions
First baseman Tokuji Iida Nankai Hawks
Second baseman Isami Okamoto Nankai Hawks
Third baseman Kazuo Kageyama Nankai Hawks
Shortstop Chusuke Kizuka Nankai Hawks
Outfielder Kaoru Betto Mainichi Orions
Hiroshi Oshita Tokyu Flyers
Shigeya Iijima Daiei Stars

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 1952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 7, 2010.
  • Johnson, Daniel E. (July 2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2841-0.