2021 in Japanese Baseball
After a reduced schedule in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan returned to a regular schedule for 2021. It was worst-to-first as the 2020 last-place teams, the Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes, each finished first in the regular season; both teams made it to the 2021 Japan Series like in the 1991 World Series. Meanwhile, the Softbank Hawks failed to make the playoffs after winning the four prior Japan Series and six of the prior seven (they still had the best run differential in the Pacific League).
Standings[edit]
- Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner; * indicates playoff team
Central League[edit]
Team | G | W | L | T | WPCT | GB | RS | RA | AVG | OBP | SLG | ERA | Manager(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yakult Swallows* | 142 | 73 | 51 | 10 | .589 | -- | 618 | 522 | .254 | .333 | .397 | 3.44 | Shingo Takatsu |
Hanshin Tigers* | 143 | 77 | 56 | 10 | .579 | .5 | 541 | 508 | .247 | .311 | .379 | 3.30 | Akihiro Yano |
Yomiuri Giants* | 143 | 61 | 62 | 20 | .496 | 11.5 | 552 | 541 | .242 | .310 | .399 | 3.63 | Tatsunori Hara |
Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 142 | 62 | 68 | 12 | .477 | 14 | 548 | 582 | .263 | .323 | .387 | 3.80 | Shinji Sasaoka |
Chunichi Dragons | 142 | 55 | 71 | 15 | .437 | 19 | 405 | 478 | .237 | .291 | .331 | 3.22 | Tsuyoshi Yoda |
Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 143 | 54 | 73 | 16 | .425 | 20.5 | 559 | 624 | .266 | .325 | .416 | 3.78 | Daisuke Miura |
Pacific League[edit]
Team | G | W | L | T | WPCT | GB | RS | RA | AVG | OBP | SLG | ERA | Manager(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orix Buffaloes* | 143 | 70 | 55 | 18 | .560 | -- | 551 | 500 | .247 | .312 | .378 | 3.31 | Satoshi Nakajima |
Chiba Lotte Marines* | 143 | 67 | 57 | 19 | .540 | 3.5 | 584 | 570 | .239 | .320 | .379 | 3.67 | Tadahito Iguchi |
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles* | 143 | 66 | 62 | 15 | .516 | 5.5 | 532 | 507 | .243 | .329 | .363 | 3.40 | Kazuhisa Ishii |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 143 | 60 | 62 | 21 | .492 | 8.5 | 564 | 493 | .247 | .314 | .385 | 3.25 | Kimiyasu Kudoh |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 143 | 55 | 68 | 20 | .447 | 14 | 454 | 515 | .231 | .301 | .336 | 3.32 | Hideki Kuriyama |
Saitama Seibu Lions | 143 | 55 | 70 | 15 | .440 | 15 | 521 | 589 | .239 | .310 | .363 | 3.94 | Hatsuhiko Tsuji |
Leaders[edit]
- Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record
Batting[edit]
Pitching[edit]
Statistic | Central League | Pacific League | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leader | Team | Number | Leader | Team | Number | |||
ERA | Yuya Yanagi | Chunichi Dragons | 2.20 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | 1.39 | ||
Wins | Koyo Aoyagi Aren Kuri |
Hanshin Tigers Hiroshima Carp |
13 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | 18 | ||
Losses | Yudai Ono | Chunichi Dragons | 11 | Takahide Ikeda Takayuki Kishi Sachiya Yamasaki |
Nippon Ham Fighters Rakuten Golden Eagles Rakuten Golden Eagles |
10 | ||
Saves | Robert Suárez | Hanshin Tigers | 42 | Naoya Masuda | Chiba Lotte Marines | 38 | ||
Innings Pitched | Yuya Yanagi | Chunichi Dragons | 172 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | 193 2/3 | ||
Appearances | Noboru Shimizu | Yakult Swallows | 72 | Naoya Masuda | Chiba Lotte Marines | 67 | ||
Hits Allowed | Aren Krui | Hiroshima Carp | 150 | Kona Takahashi | Seibu Lions | 157 | ||
Home Runs Allowed | Shosei Togo | Yomiuri Giants | 19 | Kota Futaki | Chiba Lotte Marines | 24 | ||
Strikeouts | Yuya Yanagi | Chunichi Dragons | 168 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | 206 | ||
Base-on-Balls | Yuki Takahashi | Yomirui Giants | 61 | Tatsuya Imai | Seibu Lions | 99 |
Awards[edit]
The winner of the 2021 Sawamura Award was Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Orix Buffaloes. He had a 18-5 win-loss record, 206 strikeouts, and a 1.39 ERA in 193 2/3 innings, leading the PL in ERA, wins, innings, strikeouts, complete games (6) and shutouts (4).
Award | League | Player | Team | Position | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | W - L | SV | IP | HA | HRA | BB | SO | ERA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player | CL | Munetaka Murakami | Yakult Swallows | 3B | 500 | 82 | 139 | 39 | 112 | 12 | .278 | .408 | .566 | Did not pitch | |||||||
PL | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 18-5 | 0 | 193 2/3 | 124 | 7 | 40 | 206 | 1.39 | |
Rookie of the Year | CL | Ryoji Kuribayashi | Hiroshima Carp | P | Did not bat | 0-1 | 37 | 52 1/3 | 23 | 1 | 28 | 81 | 0.86 | ||||||||
PL | Hiroya Miyagi | Orix Buffaloes | P | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | 13-4 | 0 | 147 | 118 | 9 | 39 | 131 | 2.51 |
Best Nine[edit]
The following players were part of the 2021 Best Nine teams.
Gold Gloves[edit]
The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2020.
International Baseball[edit]
Japan won Gold in the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021, but retaining the 2020 name; they had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Hall of Fame[edit]
The following people were elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame:
- Katsuji Kawashima, by the Special Committee
- Kazuo Sayama, by the Special Committee
Japanese Baseball Seasons
Pre-Professional Era
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