1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season
# 1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 17th 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 | 134 | 89 | 41 | 4 | .685 | — |
| Chunichi Dragons | 132 | 76 | 54 | 2 | .585 | 13.0 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 135 | 64 | 66 | 5 | .492 | 25.0 |
| Hiroshima Carp | 136 | 57 | 73 | 6 | .438 | 32.0 |
| Taiyo Whales | 130 | 52 | 78 | 0 | .400 | 37.0 |
| Sankei Atoms | 135 | 52 | 78 | 5 | .400 | 37.0 |

Pacific League regular season standings :

| Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nankai Hawks | 133 | 79 | 51 | 3 | .608 | — |
| Nishitetsu Lions | 138 | 75 | 55 | 8 | .577 | 4.0 |
| Toei Flyers | 136 | 70 | 60 | 6 | .538 | 9.0 |
| Tokyo Orions | 134 | 61 | 69 | 4 | .469 | 18.0 |
| Hankyu Braves | 134 | 57 | 73 | 4 | .438 | 22.0 |
| Kintetsu Buffaloes | 133 | 48 | 62 | 3 | .369 | 31.0 |

## League leaders

### Central League

Batting leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Batting average | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri | .344 |
| Home runs | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri | 48 |
| Runs batted in | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri | 116 |
| Runs | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri | 111 |
| Hits | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri | 163 |
| Stolen bases | Isao Shibata | Yomiuri | 46 |

Pitching leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wins | Minoru Murayama | Hanshin | 24 |
| Losses | Susumu Oba Susumu Sato | Hiroshima Sankei | 18 |
| Earned run average | Tsuneo Horiuchi | Yomiuri | 1.39 |
| Strikeouts | Minoru Murayama | Hanshin | 207 |
| Innings pitched | Minoru Murayama | Hanshin | 2901⁄3 |

### Pacific League

Batting leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Batting average | Kihachi Enomoto | Tokyo | .351 |
| Home runs | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai | 34 |
| Runs batted in | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai | 97 |
| Runs | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai | 82 |
| Hits | Kihachi Enomoto | Tokyo | 167 |
| Stolen bases | Koji Yamamoto | Hankyu | 32 |

Pitching leaders :

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Wins | Tetsuya Yoneda | Hankyu | 25 |
| Losses | Shigemasa Yamamoto | Kintetsu | 19 |
| Earned run average | Kazuhisa Inao | Nishitetsu | 1.79 |
| Strikeouts | Tsutomu Tanaka | Nishitetsu | 217 |
| Innings pitched | Tetsuya Yoneda | Hankyu | 310 |

## Awards

* Most Valuable Player
   * Shigeo Nagashima, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
   * Katsuya Nomura, Nankai Hawks (PL)
* Rookie of the Year
   * Tsuneo Horiuchi, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
   * No PL recipient
* Eiji Sawamura Award
   * Minoru Murayama, Hanshin Tigers (CL) and Tsuneo Horiuchi, Yomiuri Giants (CL)

Central League Best Nine Award winners :

| Position | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Pitcher | Minoru Murayama | Hanshin |
| Catcher | Masahiko Mori | Yomiuri |
| First baseman | Sadaharu Oh | Yomiuri |
| Second baseman | Morimichi Takagi | Chunichi |
| Third baseman | Shigeo Nagashima | Yomiuri |
| Shortstop | Shuhei Ichieda | Chunichi |
| Outfielder | Shinichi Eto | Chunichi |
| Outfielder | Koji Yamamoto | Hankyu |
| Outfielder | Toshio Naka | Chunichi |

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners :

| Position | Player | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Pitcher | Tsutomu Tanaka | Nishitetsu |
| Catcher | Katsuya Nomura | Nankai |
| First baseman | Kihachi Enomoto | Tokyo |
| Second baseman | Yasunori Kunisada | Nankai |
| Third baseman | Tony Roig | Nishitetsu |
| Shortstop | Kenji Koike | Nankai |
| Outfielder | Isao Harimoto | Toei |
| Outfielder | Shoichi Busujima | Toei |
| Outfielder | Teruyuki Takakura | Nishitetsu |
