1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1966 in baseball.

The 1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 17th season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

1966 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	Nankai Hawks
Runners-up	Nishitetsu Lions
Season MVP	Katsuya Nomura (NAN)
Japan Series
Champions	Yomiuri Giants
Runners-up	Nankai Hawks
Finals MVP	Isao Shibata (YOM)

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 Koji Yamamoto Hankyu 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 Shoichi Busujima Toei Teruyuki Takakura Nishitetsu

See also

• 1966 Major League Baseball season

References

• Johnson, Daniel E. (July 2006). Japanese Baseball: A Statistical Handbook. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2841-0.