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2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season

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(Redirected from 2021 NPB season) 72nd annual season of Nippon Professional Baseball

This article is about the 2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2021 in baseball. Sports season
2021 NPB season
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationMarch 26 – November 21
Number of games143
Number of teams12
Central League Pennant
League championsTokyo Yakult Swallows
  Runners-upHanshin Tigers
Season MVPMunetaka Murakami (Yakult)
Pacific League Pennant
League championsOrix Buffaloes
  Runners-upChiba Lotte Marines
Season MVPYoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix)
Climax Series
CL championsTokyo Yakult Swallows
  CL runners-upYomiuri Giants
PL championsOrix Buffaloes
  PL runners-upChiba Lotte Marines
Japan Series
ChampionsTokyo Yakult Swallows
  Runners-upOrix Buffaloes
Finals MVPYuhei Nakamura (Yakult)
NPB seasons
← 20202022 →

The 2021 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 72nd season of professional baseball in Japan since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There were 12 NPB teams, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League.

Following the All-Star Series held on 16–17 July, the regular season went on hiatus in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics baseball tournament. The season resumed on 13 August. In the postseason, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows defeated the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Series.

Regular season standings

Central League regular season standings
Rank Team G W L T Pct. GB Home Road
1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 143 73 52 18 .584 — 36–29–7 37–23–11
2 Hanshin Tigers 143 77 56 10 .579 0 36–31–4 41–25–6
3 Yomiuri Giants 143 61 62 20 .496 11 32–30–10 29–32–10
4 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 143 63 68 12 .481 13 30–34–8 33–34–4
5 Chunichi Dragons 143 55 71 17 .437 18½ 33–27–11 22–44–6
6 Yokohama DeNA BayStars 143 54 73 16 .425 20 27–37–7 27–36–9
Pacific League regular season standings
Rank Team G W L T Pct. GB Home Road
1 Orix Buffaloes 143 70 55 18 .560 — 38–22–12 32–33–6
2 Chiba Lotte Marines 143 67 57 19 .540 2½ 33–32–7 34–25–12
3 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 143 66 62 15 .514 5½ 31–33–8 35–29–7
4 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 143 60 62 21 .492 8½ 31–29–11 29–33–10
5 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 143 55 68 20 .447 14 25–36–10 30–32–10
6 Saitama Seibu Lions 143 55 70 18 .440 15 30–34–7 25–36–11

Interleague

Regular season interleague standings
Team G W L T Win% GB Home Away
Orix Buffaloes 18 12 5 1 .706 — 7–1–1 5–4
Hanshin Tigers 18 11 7 0 .611 1½ 3–6 8–1
Yokohama DeNA BayStars 18 9 6 3 .600 2 6–2–1 3–4–2
Chunichi Dragons 18 9 7 2 .563 2½ 5–2–2 4–5
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 18 10 8 0 .556 2½ 5–4 5–4
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 18 9 8 1 .529 3 3–5–1 6–3
Saitama Seibu Lions 18 7 7 4 .500 3½ 5–3–1 2–4–3
Chiba Lotte Marines 18 8 9 1 .471 4 5–4 3–5–1
Yomiuri Giants 18 7 8 3 .467 4 4–3–2 3–5–1
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 18 7 11 0 .389 5½ 2–7 5–4
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 18 5 9 4 .357 5½ 3–4–2 2–5–2
Hiroshima Toyo Carp 18 3 12 3 .200 8 2–6–1 1–6–2

Climax Series

Main articles: 2021 Pacific League Climax Series and 2021 Central League Climax Series
First StageFinal StageJapan Series
Central League1Tokyo Yakult Swallows3
2Hanshin Tigers03Yomiuri Giants0
3Yomiuri Giants2CL1Tokyo Yakult Swallows4
PL1Orix Buffaloes2
Pacific League1Orix Buffaloes3
2Chiba Lotte Marines12Chiba Lotte Marines0
3Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles0

First stage

Central League

Yomiuri Giants won the series, 2–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 6 Yomiuri Giants − 4, Hanshin Tigers − 0 Koshien Stadium 3:11 21,478 
2 November 7 Yomiuri Giants − 4, Hanshin Tigers − 2 Koshien Stadium 3:33 21,492

Pacific League

Chiba Lotte Marines won the series, 1−0−1 as a higher seed.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 6 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles − 4, Chiba Lotte Marines − 5 Zozo Marine Stadium 3:10 14,904 
2 November 7 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles − 4, Chiba Lotte Marines − 4 Zozo Marine Stadium 3:07 14,891

Final Stage

The series started with a 1–0 advantage for the first-placed team.

Central League

Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the series, 3−0−1 as a higher seed.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 10 Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 4, Yomiuri Giants − 0 Meiji Jingu Stadium 2:38 17,792 
2 November 11 Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 5, Yomiuri Giants − 0 Meiji Jingu Stadium 3:19 17,230 
3 November 12 Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 2, Yomiuri Giants − 2 Meiji Jingu Stadium 3:08 19,022

Pacific League

Orix Buffaloes won the series, 3−0−1 as a higher seed.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 10 Orix Buffaloes − 1, Chiba Lotte Marines − 0 Kyocera Dome Osaka 2:23 17,915 
2 November 11 Orix Buffaloes − 2, Chiba Lotte Marines − 0 Kyocera Dome Osaka 2:42 17,913 
3 November 12 Orix Buffaloes − 3, Chiba Lotte Marines − 3 Kyocera Dome Osaka 3:33 18,006

Japan Series

Main article: 2021 Japan Series

Tokyo Yakult Swallows won the series, 4–2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 20 Orix Buffaloes – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3 Kyocera Dome Osaka 3:46 19,297 
2 November 21 Orix Buffaloes – 0, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2 Kyocera Dome Osaka 2:56 17,075 
3 November 23 Tokyo Yakult Swallows − 5, Orix Buffaloes − 4 Tokyo Dome 3:45 24,565 
4 November 24 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2, Orix Buffaloes – 1 Tokyo Dome 2:50 20,617 
5 November 25 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 5, Orix Buffaloes – 6 Tokyo Dome 3:16 20,580 
6 November 27 Orix Buffaloes – 1, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2 (12) Hotto Motto Field 5:00 15,239

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Batting average Seiya Suzuki Hiroshima Toyo Carp .317
Home runs Munetaka Murakami
Kazuma Okamoto		 Tokyo Yakult Swallows
Yomiuri Giants		 39
Runs batted in Kazuma Okamoto Yomiuri Giants 113
Hits Kōji Chikamoto Hanshin Tigers 178
Stolen bases Takumu Nakano Hanshin Tigers 30
On-base percentage Seiya Suzuki Hiroshima Toyo Carp .433
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Wins Kōyō Aoyagi
Aren Kuri		 Hanshin Tigers
Hiroshima Toyo Carp		 13
Earned run average Yūya Yanagi Chunichi Dragons 2.20
Strikeouts Yūya Yanagi Chunichi Dragons 168
Saves Robert Suárez Hanshin Tigers 42
Holds Noboru Shimizu Tokyo Yakult Swallows 53
Winning percentage Kōyō Aoyagi Hanshin Tigers .684

Pacific League

Batting leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Batting average Masataka Yoshida Orix Buffaloes .339
Home runs Yutaro Sugimoto Orix Buffaloes 32
Runs batted in Hiroaki Shimauchi Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 96
Hits Takashi Ogino Chiba Lotte Marines 169
Stolen bases Sōsuke Genda
Takashi Ogino
Koshiro Wada
Haruki Nishikawa		 Saitama Seibu Lions
Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters		 24
On-base percentage Masataka Yoshida Orix Buffaloes .429
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Team Total
Wins Yoshinobu Yamamoto Orix Buffaloes 18
Earned run average Yoshinobu Yamamoto Orix Buffaloes 1.39
Strikeouts Yoshinobu Yamamoto Orix Buffaloes 206
Saves Naoya Masuda Chiba Lotte Marines 38
Holds Mizuki Hori Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 42
Winning percentage Yoshinobu Yamamoto Orix Buffaloes .783

See also

References

  1. "2021 Central League Standings". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  2. "2021 Pacific League Standings". Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. "2021年度 交流戦" [2021 Interleague Play] (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  4. "Saturday, November 6, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  5. "Sunday, November 7, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  6. "Saturday, November 6, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  7. "Sunday, November 7, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  8. "Wednesday, November 10, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  9. "Thursday, November 11, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  10. "Friday, November 12, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  11. "Wednesday, November 10, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  12. "Thursday, November 11, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  13. "Friday, November 12, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  14. "Saturday, November 20, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  15. "Sunday, November 21, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  16. "Tuesday, November 23, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  17. "Wednesday, November 24, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  18. "Thursday, November 25, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  19. "Saturday, November 27, 2021". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  20. "2021 Central League Qualifiers for Batting Championship". npb.jp.
  21. "2021 Central League Qualifiers for Earned-Run Average Title & Top Relief Pitchers". npb.jp.
  22. "2021 Pacific League Qualifiers for Batting Championship". npb.jp.
  23. "2021 Pacific League Qualifiers for Earned-Run Average Title & Top Relief Pitchers". npb.jp.
Nippon Professional Baseball seasons
1930s–1940s
(Japanese Baseball League)
1950s–1960s
1970s–1980s
1990s–2000s
2010s–2020s
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