1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season
# 1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season

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 |
| 2 | October 31 | Nishitetsu Lions – 0, Chunichi Dragons – 5 | Nagoya Baseball Stadium | 2:21 | 30,303 |
| 3 | November 2 | Chunichi Dragons – 0, Nishitetsu Lions – 5 | Heiwadai Stadium | 2:19 | 23,994 |
| 4 | November 3 | Chunichi Dragons – 0, Nishitetsu Lions – 3 | Heiwadai Stadium | 1:36 | 25,185 |
| 5 | November 4 | Chunichi Dragons – 3, Nishitetsu Lions – 2 | Heiwadai Stadium | 2:15 | 19,771 |
| 6 | November 6 | Nishitetsu Lions – 4, Chunichi Dragons – 1 | Nagoya Baseball Stadium | 2:16 | 27,776 |
| 7 | November 7 | Nishitetsu Lions – 0, Chunichi Dragons – 1 | Nagoya Baseball Stadium | 1:38 | 23,215 |

## 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 | 3951⁄3 |

### 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 | 3292⁄3 |

## 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 |
| Outfielder | Wally Yonamine | Yomiuri Giants |
| Outfielder | 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 |
| Outfielder | Seiji Sekiguchi | Nishitetsu Lions |
| Outfielder | Hiroshi Oshita | Nishitetsu Lions |
