2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season
- This article is about the 2006 Nippon Professional Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 2006 in baseball.
| 2006 NPB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | March 25, 2006 – October 26, 2006 |
| Regular Season | |
| Season MVP |
CL: Kosuke Fukudome (CHU) PL: Michihiro Ogasawara (NIP) |
| League Postseason | |
| CL champions | Chunichi Dragons |
| CL runners-up | Hanshin Tigers |
| PL champions | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters |
| PL runners-up | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Japan Series | |
| Champions | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Runners-up | Chunichi Dragons |
| Japan Series MVP | Atsunori Inaba (NIP) |
In 2006 the Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Pacific League defeat the Chunichi Dragons of the Central League in the Japan Series.
Format
Central League
- Season Format
- Regular Season
- Regular Season 1st place are the champions
Pacific League
- Season Format
- Regular Season
- Playoff 1st Stage: Regular Season 2nd place vs. Regular Season 3rd place - Best of 3
- Playoff 2nd Stage: Regular Season 1st place vs. Playoff 1st Stage winners - Best of 5 (Regular Season 1st place take a one-win advantage)
- Playoff 2nd Stage winners are the champions
Japan Series
- Central League champions vs. Pacific League champions - Best of 7
Standings
Central League
- Champions: Chunichi Dragons
Regular Season
| Central League | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chunichi Dragons | 146 | 87 | 54 | 5 | 0.617 | -- |
| Hanshin Tigers | 146 | 84 | 58 | 4 | 0.592 | 3.5 |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 146 | 70 | 73 | 3 | 0.490 | 18 |
| Yomiuri Giants | 146 | 65 | 79 | 2 | 0.451 | 23.5 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 146 | 62 | 79 | 5 | 0.440 | 25 |
| Yokohama BayStars | 146 | 58 | 84 | 4 | 0.408 | 29.5 |
Pacific League
- Champions: Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Regular Season
| Pacific League | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters | 136 | 82 | 54 | 0 | 0.603 | -- |
| Seibu Lions | 136 | 80 | 54 | 2 | 0.597 | 1 |
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 136 | 75 | 56 | 5 | 0.573 | 4.5 |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 136 | 65 | 70 | 1 | 0.481 | 16.5 |
| Orix Buffaloes | 136 | 52 | 81 | 3 | 0.391 | 28.5 |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 136 | 47 | 85 | 4 | 0.356 | 33 |
Playoff 1st Stage
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks win the series, 2-1
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks - 0, Seibu Lions - 1 | October 7 | Invoice Seibu Dome | 29,187[1] |
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks - 11, Seibu Lions - 3 | October 8 | Invoice Seibu Dome | 31,338[2] |
| 3 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks - 6, Seibu Lions - 1 | October 9 | Invoice Seibu Dome | 27,344[3] |
Playoff 2nd Stage
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters win the series, 3-0 (Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have a one-win advantage)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks - 1, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters - 3 | October 11 | Sapporo Dome | 42,380[4] |
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks - 0, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters - 1 | October 12 | Sapporo Dome | 42,380[5] |
Japan Series
In the 2006 Japan Series, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeated the Chunichi Dragons 4 games to 1 in five games.
After the Japan Series, the Fighters moved on to the Asian Series, a series which determines the champion of the four major Asian baseball leagues.
Awards
The Eiji Sawamura Award, the award given to the top pitcher in Japan, was given to pitcher Kazumi Saito of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He had a win-loss record of 18-5, 205 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.75 in 201.0 innings, winning the Pacific League's pitching triple crown.
Best Nine Awards
Central League
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| P | Kenshin Kawakami | Chunichi Dragons |
| C | Akihiro Yano | Hanshin Tigers |
| 1B | Tyrone Woods | Chunichi Dragons |
| 2B | Masahiro Araki | Chunichi Dragons |
| 3B | Akinori Iwamura | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| SS | Hirokazu Ibata | Chunichi Dragons |
| OF | Norichika Aoki | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| OF | Kosuke Fukudome | Chunichi Dragons |
| OF | Tomoaki Kanemoto | Hanshin Tigers |
Pacific League
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| P | Kazumi Saitoh | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| C | Tomoya Satozaki | Chiba Lotte Marines |
| 1B | Michihiro Ogasawara | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| 2B | Kensuke Tanaka | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| 3B | Jose Fernandez | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| SS | Munenori Kawasaki | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| OF | Atsunori Inaba | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| OF | Nobuhiko Matsunaka | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| OF | Kazuhiro Wada | Seibu Lions |
| DH | Fernando Seguignol | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
Gold Gloves
Central League
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| P | Kenshin Kawakami | Chunichi Dragons |
| C | Motonobu Tanishige | Chunichi Dragons |
| 1B | Andy Sheets | Hanshin Tigers |
| 2B | Masahiro Araki | Chunichi Dragons |
| 3B | Akinori Iwamura | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| SS | Hirokazu Ibata | Chunichi Dragons |
| OF | Norihiro Akahoshi | Hanshin Tigers |
| OF | Norichika Aoki | Tokyo Yakult Swallows |
| OF | Kosuke Fukudome | Chunichi Dragons |
Pacific League
References
- 2006 NPB Final standings (Japanese)
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