1952 Nippon Professional Baseball season

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

This article is about the 1952 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1952 in baseball.
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)

Regular season

Standings
Central League regular season standings
Team G W L T Pct. GB
Yomiuri Giants 12083370.692—
Osaka Tigers 12079401.6643.5
Nagoya Dragons 12075432.6367.0
Taiyo Whales 12058620.48325.0
Kokutetsu Swallows 12050700.41733.0
Hiroshima Carp 12037803.31644.5
Shochiku Robins 12034842.28848.0
Pacific League regular season standings
Team G W L T Pct. GB
Nankai Hawks 12176441.633—
Mainichi Orions 12075450.6251.0
Nishitetsu Lions 12067521.5638.5
Daiei Stars 12155651.45821.0
Hankyu Braves 10849581.45820.5
Tokyu Flyers 10849590.45421.0
Kintetsu Pearls 10830780.27840.0

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 10870371.653
2 Mainichi Orions 10865430.602
3 Nishitetsu Lions 10861461.569
4 Daiei Stars 10852551.486
5 Hankyu Braves 10849581.458
6 Tokyu Flyers 10849590.454
7 Kintetsu Pearls 10830780.278

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 12102.833—3–13–14–0
Nishitetsu Lions 1266.5001–3—2–23–1
Nankai Hawks 1257.4171–32–2—2–2
Daiei Stars 1239.2500–41–32–2—

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
Main article: 1952 Japan Series

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

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 11Nankai Hawks – 3, Yomiuri Giants – 6Korakuen Stadium1:5723,794[1] 
2October 12Nankai Hawks – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 11Korakuen Stadium1:5626,799[1] 
3October 14Yomiuri Giants – 0, Nankai Hawks – 4Osaka Stadium2:1223,744[1] 
4October 15Yomiuri Giants – 6, Nankai Hawks – 2Osaka Stadium2:0420,117[1] 
5October 16Yomiuri Giants – 1, Nankai Hawks – 4Osaka Stadium1:3515,297[1] 
6October 18Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 3Korakuen Stadium2:0234,595[1]

League leaders

Central League

Pacific League

Awards

See also

References
  1. 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.