1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1954 in baseball.

1954 NPB season
League	Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Central League Pennant
League champions	Chunichi Dragons
Runners-up	Yomiuri Giants
Season MVP	Shigeru Sugishita (CHU)
Pacific League Pennant
League champions	Nishitetsu Lions
Runners-up	Nankai Hawks
Season MVP	Hiroshi Oshita (NIS)
Japan Series
Champions	Chunichi Dragons
Runners-up	Nishitetsu Lions
Japan Series MVP	Shigeru Sugishita (CHU)

The 1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the fifth season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Regular season

Standings

Central League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Chunichi Dragons	130	86	40	4	.683	—
Yomiuri Giants	130	82	47	1	.636	5.5
Osaka Tigers	130	71	57	2	.555	16.0
Hiroshima Carp	130	56	69	5	.448	29.5
Kokutetsu Swallows	130	55	73	2	.430	32.0
Yosho Robins	130	32	96	2	.250	55.0

Pacific League regular season standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Nishitetsu Lions	140	90	47	3	.657	—
Nankai Hawks	140	91	49	0	.650	0.5
Mainichi Orions	140	79	57	4	.581	10.5
Kintetsu Pearls	140	74	63	3	.540	16.0
Hankyu Braves	140	66	70	4	.485	23.5
Takahashi Unions	140	53	84	3	.387	37.0
Toei Flyers	140	52	86	2	.377	38.5
Daiei Stars	140	43	92	5	.319	46.0

Postseason

Japan Series

CL Chunichi Dragons (4) vs. PL Nishitetsu Lions (3)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 30	Nishitetsu Lions – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 5	Nagoya Baseball Stadium	2:15	29,245[1]
2	October 31	Nishitetsu Lions – 0, Chunichi Dragons – 5	Nagoya Baseball Stadium	2:21	30,303[1]
3	November 2	Chunichi Dragons – 0, Nishitetsu Lions – 5	Heiwadai Stadium	2:19	23,994[1]
4	November 3	Chunichi Dragons – 0, Nishitetsu Lions – 3	Heiwadai Stadium	1:36	25,185[1]
5	November 4	Chunichi Dragons – 3, Nishitetsu Lions – 2	Heiwadai Stadium	2:15	19,771[1]
6	November 6	Nishitetsu Lions – 4, Chunichi Dragons – 1	Nagoya Baseball Stadium	2:16	27,776[1]
7	November 7	Nishitetsu Lions – 0, Chunichi Dragons – 1	Nagoya Baseball Stadium	1:38	23,215[1]

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants .361 Home runs Noboru Aota Yosho Robins 31 Runs batted in Niroyuki Watanabe Satoshi Sugiyama Osaka Tigers Chunichi Dragons 91 Runs Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants 93 Hits Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants 172 Stolen bases Yoshio Yoshida Osaka Tigers 51

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Shigeru Sugishita Chunichi Dragons 32 Losses Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 23 Earned run average Shigeru Sugishita Chunichi Dragons 1.39 Strikeouts Shigeru Sugishita Chunichi Dragons 273 Innings pitched Shigeru Sugishita Chunichi Dragons 395^1⁄3

Pacific League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Larry Raines Hankyu Braves .337 Home runs Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions 31 Runs batted in Kazuhiro Yamauchi Mainichi Orions 97 Runs Larry Raines Hankyu Braves 96 Hits Larry Raines Hankyu Braves 184 Stolen bases Takeshi Suzuki Kintetsu Pearls 71

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Motoji Takuwa Fumio Tanaka Nankai Hawks Kintetsu Pearls 26 Losses Takeshi Nomura Takahashi Unions 23 Earned run average Motoji Takuwa Nankai Hawks 1.58 Strikeouts Motoji Takuwa Nankai Hawks 275 Innings pitched Motoji Takuwa Nankai Hawks 329^2⁄3

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
  • Shigeru Sugishita, Chunichi Dragons (CL)
  • Hiroshi Oshita, Nishitetsu Lions (PL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Tatsuro Hirooka, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
  • Motoji Takuwa, Nankai Hawks (PL)
• Eiji Sawamura Award
  • Shigeru Sugishita, Chunichi Dragons (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Shigeru Sugishita Chunichi Dragons Catcher Jun Hirota Yomiuri Giants First baseman Michio Nishizawa Chunichi Dragons Second baseman Hiroshi Hakoda Kokutetsu Swallows Third baseman Mitsuo Uno Kokutetsu Swallows Shortstop Tatsuro Hirooka Yomiuri Giants Outfielder Hiroyuki Watanabe Osaka Tigers Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants Satoshi Sugiyama Chunichi Dragons

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Sadaaki Nishimura Nishitetsu Lions Catcher Charlie Lewis Mainichi Orions First baseman Kozo Kawai Hankyu Braves Second baseman Masao Morishita Nankai Hawks Third baseman Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions Shortstop Larry Raines Hankyu Braves Outfielder Kazuhiro Yamauchi Mainichi Orions Seiji Sekiguchi Nishitetsu Lions Hiroshi Oshita Nishitetsu Lions

References

1. "1954年度日本シリーズ　試合結果" (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.

• Johnson, Daniel E. (July 2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2841-0.