2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season

This article is about the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2011 in baseball.
2011 NPB season
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 12 – November 20
Central League Pennant
League championsChunichi Dragons
  Runners-upTokyo Yakult Swallows
Season MVPTakuya Asao (Chunichi)
Pacific League Pennant
League championsFukuoka SoftBank Hawks
  Runners-upHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
Season MVPSeiichi Uchikawa (SoftBank)
Climax Series
CL championsChunichi Dragons
  CL runners-upTokyo Yakult Swallows
PL championsFukuoka SoftBank Hawks
  PL runners-upSaitama Seibu Lions
Japan Series
ChampionsFukuoka SoftBank Hawks
  Runners-upChunichi Dragons
Finals MVPHiroki Kokubo (SoftBank)
NPB seasons

The 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 62nd season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950. The season was delayed by the Tohoku earthquake. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, based in northern Japan, and coached by Senichi Hoshino, were particularly affected by the quake, as the Miyagi Baseball Stadium was badly damaged. [citation needed]

Because of energy concerns following the earthquake, NPB also imposed restrictions on games during the regular season. A three-hour-thirty-minute rule was imposed. If a game went past the 3:30 mark, regardless of inning, the inning in question would be the last inning. A game would be called should any blackout occur during the game. The 3:30 clock starts at the first pitch of the game and continues in case of any delay.

[1]

At the season's end, the Yokohama BayStars was renamed as Yokohama DeNA BayStars as the owner changes.

Regular season standings

Central League regular season standings
Team G W L T Pct. GB
Chunichi Dragons 144 75 59 10 .560 —
Tokyo Yakult Swallows 144 70 59 15 .543 2.5
Yomiuri Giants 144 71 62 11 .534 3.5
Hanshin Tigers 144 68 70 6 .493 9.0
Hiroshima Toyo Carp 144 60 76 8 .441 16.0
Yokohama BayStars 144 47 86 11 .353 27.5
Pacific League regular season standings
Team G W L T Pct. GB
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 144 88 46 10 .657 —
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 144 72 65 7 .526 17.5
Saitama Seibu Lions 144 68 67 9 .504 20.5
Orix Buffaloes 144 69 68 7 .504 20.5
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 144 66 71 7 .482 23.5
Chiba Lotte Marines 144 54 79 11 .406 33.5

Climax Series

Main articles: 2011 Central League Climax Series and 2011 Pacific League Climax Series

Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.

First StageFinal StageJapan Series
Central League
1Chunichi Dragons4
2Tokyo Yakult Swallows22Tokyo Yakult Swallows2
3Yomiuri Giants1CL1Chunichi Dragons3
PL1Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks4
Pacific League
1Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks4
2Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters03Saitama Seibu Lions0
3Saitama Seibu Lions2

First stage

The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), received byes to the championship round.

Central League

Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2) vs. Yomiuri Giants (1)

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 29 Yomiuri Giants – 2, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3 Meiji Jingu Stadium 3:28 32,339[1] 
2 October 30 Yomiuri Giants – 6, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2 Meiji Jingu Stadium 3:24 32,148[2] 
3 October 31 Yomiuri Giants – 1, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3 Meiji Jingu Stadium 2:51 31,687[3]

Pacific League

Saitama Seibu Lions (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (0)

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 29 Saitama Seibu Lions – 5, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 2 Sapporo Dome 3:55 42,063[4] 
2 October 30 Saitama Seibu Lions – 8, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 1 Sapporo Dome 3:15 41,926[5]

Final stage

The regular season league champions, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (PL) and the Chunichi Dragons (CL), received a one-game advantage.

Central League

Chunichi Dragons (4) vs. Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2)

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 2 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 2 Nagoya Dome 3:05 34,689[6] 
2 November 3 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 3, Chunichi Dragons – 1 Nagoya Dome 2:53 38,414[7] 
3 November 4 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 2, Chunichi Dragons – 1 Nagoya Dome 3:50 37,599[8] 
4 November 5 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 5 Nagoya Dome 3:08 38,342[9] 
5 November 6 Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1, Chunichi Dragons – 2 Nagoya Dome 2:51 38,252[10]

Pacific League

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (4) vs. Saitama Seibu Lions (0)

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 3 Saitama Seibu Lions – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4 Yahoo Dome 2:57 37,025[11] 
2 November 4 Saitama Seibu Lions – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 7 Yahoo Dome 3:10 35,021[12] 
3 November 5 Saitama Seibu Lions – 1, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2 Yahoo Dome 4:00 37,025[13]

Japan Series

Main article: 2011 Japan Series

PL Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (4) vs. CL Chunichi Dragons (3)

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 November 12 Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1 Fukuoka Dome 3:31 34,457[14] 
2 November 13 Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1 Fukuoka Dome 3:44 34,758[15] 
3 November 15 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4, Chunichi Dragons – 2 Nagoya Dome 3:22 38,041[16] 
4 November 16 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2, Chunichi Dragons – 1 Nagoya Dome 3:40 38,041[17] 
5 November 17 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5, Chunichi Dragons – 0 Nagoya Dome 3:49 38,051[18] 
6 November 19 Chunichi Dragons – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1 Fukuoka Dome 3:07 34,927[19] 
7 November 20 Chunichi Dragons – 0, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 3 Fukuoka Dome 3:30 34,737[20]

League leaders

Central League

Pacific League

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2011 in Nippon Professional Baseball.
  1. ^ "Saturday, October 29, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  2. ^ "Sunday, October 30, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  3. ^ "Monday, October 31, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  4. ^ "Saturday, October 29, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  5. ^ "Sunday, October 30, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  6. ^ "Wednesday, November 2, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "Thursday, November 3, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  8. ^ "Friday, November 4, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  9. ^ "Saturday, November 5, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  10. ^ "Sunday, November 6, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  11. ^ "Thursday, November 3, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  12. ^ "Friday, November 4, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  13. ^ "Saturday, November 5, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  14. ^ "Saturday, November 12, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  15. ^ "Sunday, November 13, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  16. ^ "Tuesday, November 15, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  17. ^ "Wednesday, November 16, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  18. ^ "Thursday, November 17, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  19. ^ "Saturday, November 19, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  20. ^ "Sunday, November 20, 2011". Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 5, 2012.