1971 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 1971 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1971 in baseball.

The 1971 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 22nd season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

1971 NPB season
League	Nippon Professional Baseball
Sport	Baseball
Central League pennant
League champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Chunichi Dragons
Season MVP	Shigeo Nagashima (YOM)
Pacific League pennant
League champions	Hankyu Braves
Runners-up	Lotte Orions
Season MVP	Tokuji Nagaike (HAU)
Japan Series
Champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Hankyu Braves
Finals MVP	Toshimitsu Suetsugu (YOM)

Regular season

Standings

Central League regular season standings^[1]

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Yomiuri Giants	130	70	52	8	.574	—
Chunichi Dragons	130	65	60	5	.520	6.5
Taiyo Whales	130	61	59	10	.508	8.0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	130	63	61	6	.508	8.0
Hanshin Tigers	130	57	64	9	.471	12.5
Yakult Atoms	130	52	72	6	.419	19.0

Pacific League regular season standings^[2]

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Hankyu Braves	130	80	39	11	.672	—
Lotte Orions	130	80	46	4	.635	3.5
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	130	65	60	5	.520	18.0
Nankai Hawks	130	61	65	4	.484	22.5
Toei Flyers	130	44	74	12	.373	35.5
Nishitetsu Lions	130	38	84	8	.311	43.5

League leaders

Central League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri .320 Home runs Sadaharu Oh Yomiuri 39 Runs batted in Sadaharu Oh Yomiuri 101 Runs Sadaharu Oh Yomiuri 92 Hits Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri 155 Stolen bases Shigeru Takada Yomiuri 38

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Masaji Hiramatsu Taiyo 17 Losses Hiromu Matsuoka Yakult 15 Earned run average Kazuhiro Fujimoto Hiroshima 1.71 Strikeouts Yutaka Enatsu Hankyu 267 Innings pitched Hiromu Matsuoka Yakult 2812⁄3

Pacific League

Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Shinichi Eto Lotte .337 Home runs Katsuo Osugi Toei 41 Runs batted in Hiromitsu Kadota Nankai 120 Runs Atsushi Nagaike Hankyu 87 Hits Katsuo Osugi Toei 154 Stolen bases Yutaka Fukumoto Hankyu 67

Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Masaaki Kitaru Lotte 24 Losses Osamu Higashio Akira Kawahara Nishitetsu Nishitetsu 16 16 Earned run average Hisashi Yamada Hankyu 2.37 Strikeouts Keishi Suzuki Osaka 269 Innings pitched Keishi Suzuki Osaka 2911⁄3

Awards

• Most Valuable Player
  • Shigeo Nagashima, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
  • Tokuji Nagaike, Hankyu Braves (PL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Shitoshi Sekimoto, Yomiuri Giants (CL)
  • Yasuo Minagawa, Toei Flyers (PL)
• Eiji Sawamura Award
  • Not awarded

Central League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Masaji Hiramatsu Taiyo Catcher Tatsuhiko Kimata Chunichi First baseman Sadaharu Oh Yomiuri Second baseman Yasuhiro Kunisada Hiroshima Third baseman Shigeo Nagashima Yomiuri Shortstop Taira Fujita Hanshin Outfielder Jitsuo Mizutani Hiroshima Isao Shibata Yomiuri Shigeru Takada Yomiuri

Pacific League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Hisashi Yamada Hankyu Catcher Katsuya Nomura Nankai First baseman Katsuo Osugi Toei Second baseman Hiroyuki Yamazaki Lotte Third baseman Michiyo Arito Lotte Shortstop Toshizo Sakamoto Hankyu Outfielder George Altman Lotte Hiromitsu Kadota Nankai Tokuji Nagaike Hankyu