1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season
# 1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the tenth 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 | 130 | 77 | 48 | 5 | .612 | — |
| Osaka Tigers | 130 | 62 | 59 | 9 | .512 | 13.0 |
| Chunichi Dragons | 130 | 64 | 61 | 5 | .512 | 13.0 |
| Kokutetsu Swallows | 130 | 63 | 65 | 2 | .492 | 15.5 |
| Hiroshima Carp | 130 | 59 | 64 | 7 | .481 | 17.0 |
| Taiyo Whales | 130 | 49 | 77 | 4 | .392 | 28.5 |

Pacific League regular season standings :

| Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nankai Hawks | 134 | 88 | 42 | 4 | .677 | — |
| Daimai Orions | 136 | 82 | 48 | 6 | .631 | 6.0 |
| Toei Flyers | 135 | 67 | 63 | 5 | .515 | 21.0 |
| Nishitetsu Lions | 144 | 66 | 64 | 14 | .508 | 22.0 |
| Hankyu Braves | 134 | 48 | 82 | 4 | .369 | 40.0 |
| Kintetsu Buffaloes | 133 | 39 | 91 | 3 | .300 | 49.0 |

## Postseason

### Japan Series

PL Nankai Hawks (4) vs. CL Yomiuri Giants (0)

| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | October 24 | Yomiuri Giants – 7, Nankai Hawks – 10 | Osaka Stadium | 3:13 | 30,038 |
| 2 | October 25 | Yomiuri Giants – 3, Nankai Hawks – 6 | Osaka Stadium | 2:33 | 30,288 |
| 3 | October 27 | Nankai Hawks – 3, Yomiuri Giants – 2 | Korakuen Stadium | 2:47 | 32,056 |
| 4 | October 29 | Nankai Hawks – 3, Yomiuri Giants – 0 | Korakuen Stadium | 2:23 | 32,266 |

## League leaders

### Central League

Batting leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Batting average | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri Giants | .334 |
| Home runs | Toru Mori Takeshi Kuwata [ja] | Chunichi Dragons Taiyo Whales | 31 |
| Runs batted in | Toru Mori | Chunichi Dragons | 87 |
| Runs | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri Giants | 88 |
| Hits | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri Giants | 150 |
| Stolen bases | Hiroji Okajima | Chunichi Dragons | 41 |

Pitching leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wins | Motoshi Fujita | Yomiuri Giants | 27 |
| Losses | Noboru Akiyama | Taiyo Whales | 22 |
| Earned run average | Minoru Murayama | Osaka Tigers | 1.19 |
| Strikeouts | Masaichi Kaneda | Kokutetsu Swallows | 313 |
| Innings pitched | Masaaki Koyama | Osaka Tigers | 344 |

### Pacific League

Batting leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Batting average | Kohei Sugiyama | Nankai Hawks | .323 |
| Home runs | Kazuhiro Yamauchi | Daimai Orions | 25 |
| Runs batted in | Takao Katsuragi | Daimai Orions | 95 |
| Runs | Yoshinori Hirose | Nankai Hawks | 86 |
| Hits | Takao Katsuragi | Daimai Orions | 163 |
| Stolen bases | Chico Barbon | Hankyu Braves | 38 |

Pitching leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wins | Tadashi Sugiura | Nankai Hawks | 38 |
| Losses | Tetsuya Yoneda | Hankyu Braves | 24 |
| Earned run average | Tadashi Sugiura | Nankai Hawks | 1.40 |
| Strikeouts | Tadashi Sugiura | Nankai Hawks | 336 |
| Innings pitched | Kazuhisa Inao | Nishitetsu Lions | 4021⁄3 |

## Awards

* Baseball Hall of Fame
   * Matsutaro Shoriki
   * Hiroshi Hiraoka
   * Yukio Aoi
   * Shin Hashido
   * Kiyoshi Oshikawa
   * Jiro Kuji
   * Eiji Sawamura
   * Iso Abe
* Most Valuable Player
   * Motoshi Fujita, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
   * Tadashi Sugiura, Nankai Hawks (PL)
* Rookie of the Year
   * Takeshi Kuwata, Taiyo Whales (CL)
   * Isao Harimoto, Toei Flyers (PL)
* Eiji Sawamura Award
   * Minoru Murayama, Osaka Tigers (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners :

| Position | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Pitcher | Motoshi Fujita | Yomiuri Giants |
| Catcher | Shigeru Fujio | Yomiuri Giants |
| First baseman | Katsumi Fujimoto | Osaka Tigers |
| Second baseman | Masataka Tsuchiya | Yomiuri Giants |
| Third baseman | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri Giants |
| Shortstop | Yoshio Yoshida | Osaka Tigers |
| Outfielder | Toru Mori | Chunichi Dragons |
| Outfielder | Kazuhiko Sakazaki | Yomiuri Giants |
| Outfielder | Akira Owada | Hiroshima Carp |

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners :

| Position | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Pitcher | Tadashi Sugiura | Nankai Hawks |
| Catcher | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai Hawks |
| First baseman | Kihachi Enomoto | Daimai Orions |
| Second baseman | Isami Okamoto | Nankai Hawks |
| Third baseman | Takao Katsuragi | Daimai Orions |
| Shortstop | Yasumitsu Toyoda | Nishitetsu Lions |
| Outfielder | Seiji Sekiguchi | Nishitetsu Lions |
| Outfielder | Kohei Sugiyama | Nankai Hawks |
| Outfielder | Teruyuki Takakura | Nishitetsu Lions |
