2016 Nippon Professional Baseball season
{{NPBseason|year=2016}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title =2016 NPB season
| league =Nippon Professional Baseball
| sport =Baseball
| duration =March 25 – October 29
| season2 =Central League Pennant
| league_champs2 =Hiroshima Toyo Carp
| second_place2 =Yomiuri Giants
| MVP2 =Takahiro Arai (Toyo)
| MVP_link2 =Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
| season3 =Pacific League Pennant
| league_champs3 =Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
| second_place3 =Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
| MVP3 =Shohei Ohtani (Nippon Ham)
| MVP_link3 =Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
| playoffs =Climax Series
| conf1 =CL
| conf1_link =2016 Central League Climax Series
| conf1_champ =Hiroshima Toyo Carp
| conf1_runner-up =Yokohama DeNA BayStars
| conf2 =PL
| conf2_link =2016 Pacific League Climax Series
| conf2_champ =Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
| conf2_runner-up =Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
| finals =Japan Series
| finals_link =2016 Japan Series
| finals_champ =Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
| finals_runner-up =Hiroshima Toyo Carp
| finals_MVP =Brandon Laird (Nippon Ham)
| finals_MVP_link =Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award
| seasonslist =List of Nippon Professional Baseball seasons
| seasonslistnames =NPB
| prevseason_link =2015 Nippon Professional Baseball season
| prevseason_year =2015
| nextseason_link =2017 Nippon Professional Baseball season
| nextseason_year =2017
}}
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB, 日本野球機構, Nippon Yakyū Kikō) is a professional baseball league, and the highest level of baseball in Japan. The NPB is organized into two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League. After the regular season, the top three teams of each league play off in the Climax Series, which determines which team from each league will play off in the Japan Series to determine the national championship team. The 2016 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 67th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950. The Japan Series championship competition was played between the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, with the Nippon-Ham fighters winning the overall championship.{{Cite web |last=Coskrey |first=Jason |date=2016-10-30 |title=Fighters wrap up Japan Series title with dramatic eighth-inning fireworks |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2016/10/30/baseball/japanese-baseball/fighters-wrap-japan-series-title-dramatic-eighth-inning-fireworks/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}
Incidents
A gambling scandal involving members of the Yomiuri Giants was reported in October. Pitchers Satoshi Fukuda, Shoki Kasahara, and Ryuya Matsumoto were found to have bet on both NPB games and Major League Baseball games, as well as high school baseball.{{cite news|title=More pitchers involved in gambling scandal in Japan baseball|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=13944961|access-date=23 October 2015|agency=Associated Press|work=ESPN.com|date=22 October 2015}}{{cite news|title=Two more Giants pitchers involved in baseball gambling, panel finds|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/10/21/national/crime-legal/two-giants-pitchers-involved-baseball-gambling-panel-finds/#.VinHGqKpdKo|access-date=23 October 2015|work=Japan Times|agency=Kyodo News|date=21 October 2015}} While there was no suspicion of match fixing, Sports Gambling is illegal in Japan. The players involved were received suspensions, and members of team management resigned to take responsibility for the scandal.{{Cite web |date=2016-03-11 |title=Japan's oldest baseball team in crisis mode over gambling |url=https://apnews.com/article/25f8f329dc284b64a64f8a21d289318e |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=AP News |language=en-US}}
Regular season standings
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:70%; text-align:center;"
|+ Central League regular season standings{{cite web|author=一般社団法人日本野球機構 |url=http://npb.jp/bis/eng/2016/stats/std_c.html |title=2016 Central League Standings | NPB.jp 日本野球機構 |publisher=Npb.jp |date= |accessdate=2022-07-13}} ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| Pos ! scope="col" style="width:25%;"| Team ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| G ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| W ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| L ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| T ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Pct. ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| GB ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Home ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Road |
| 1
|style="text-align:left;"|Hiroshima Toyo Carp |143||89||52||2||.631||—||51–20–1||38–32–1 |
|---|
| 2
|style="text-align:left;"|Yomiuri Giants |143||71||69||3||.507||17.5||40–31–1||31–38–2 |
| 3
|style="text-align:left;"|Yokohama DeNA BayStars |143||69||71||3||.493||19.5||38–33–1||31–38–2 |
| colspan="10" | |
| 4
|style="text-align:left;"|Hanshin Tigers |143||64||76||3||.457||24.5||31–39–1||33–37–2 |
| 5
|style="text-align:left;"|Tokyo Yakult Swallows |143||64||78||1||.451||25.5||40–30–1||24–48–0 |
| 6
|style="text-align:left;"|Chunichi Dragons |143||58||82||3||.414||30.5||32–36–3||26–46–0 |
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:70%; text-align:center;"
|+ Pacific League regular season standings{{cite web|author=一般社団法人日本野球機構 |url=http://npb.jp/bis/eng/2016/stats/std_p.html |title=2016 Pacific League Standings | NPB.jp 日本野球機構 |publisher=Npb.jp |date= |accessdate=2022-07-13}} ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| Pos ! scope="col" style="width:25%;"| Team ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| G ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| W ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| L ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| T ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Pct. ! scope="col" style="width:5%;"| GB ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Home ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Road |
| 1
|style="text-align:left;"|Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |143||87||53||3||.621||—||45–24–2||42–29–1 |
|---|
| 2
|style="text-align:left;"|Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |143||83||54||6||.606||2.5||40–28–3||43–26–3 |
| 3
|style="text-align:left;"|Chiba Lotte Marines |143||72||68||3||.514||15.0||38–33–1||34–35–2 |
| colspan="10" | |
| 4
|style="text-align:left;"|Saitama Seibu Lions |143||64||76||3||.457||23.0||34–36–1||30–40–2 |
| 5
|style="text-align:left;"|Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |143||62||78||3||.443||25.0||36–35–1||26–43–2 |
| 6
|style="text-align:left;"|Orix Buffaloes |143||57||83||3||.407||30.0||30–40–2||27–43–1 |
Climax Series
{{main|2016 Central League Climax Series|2016 Pacific League Climax Series}}
Note: In each league's stepladder playoff system (Climax Series), all games in that series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advanced if the round ended in a tie.
{{6TeamBracket-info
|team-width=200
|RD1=First Stage
|RD2=Final Stage
|RD3=Japan Series
|RD1-text1={{center|Central League}}
|RD1-text2={{center|Pacific League}}
| RD1-seed1=2
| RD1-team1=Yomiuri Giants
| RD1-score1=1
| RD1-seed2=3
| RD1-team2=Yokohama DeNA BayStars
| RD1-score2=2
| RD1-seed3=2
| RD1-team3=Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
| RD1-score3=2
| RD1-seed4=3
| RD1-team4=Chiba Lotte Marines
| RD1-score4=0
| RD2-seed1=1
| RD2-team1=Hiroshima Toyo Carp
| RD2-score1=4
| RD2-seed2=3
| RD2-team2=Yokohama DeNA BayStars
| RD2-score2=1
| RD2-seed3=1
| RD2-team3=Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
| RD2-score3=4
| RD2-seed4=2
| RD2-team4=Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
| RD2-score4=2
| RD3-seed1=CL1
| RD3-team1=Hiroshima Toyo Carp
| RD3-score1=2
| RD3-seed2=PL1
| RD3-team2=Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
| RD3-score2=4
}}
=First stage=
==Central League==
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary = Yomiuri Giants (1) vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2)
| winner =
| leader =
| score =
| date1 = October 8
| score1 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 5, Yomiuri Giants – 3
| loc1 = Tokyo Dome
| time1 = 3:19
| att1 = 45,633
| ref1 =
| date2 = October 9
| score2 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 1, Yomiuri Giants – 2
| loc2 = Tokyo Dome
| time2 = 2:47
| att2 = 45,683
| ref2 =
| date3 = October 10*
| score3 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 4, Yomiuri Giants – 3
| loc3 = Tokyo Dome
| time3 = 4:21
| att3 = 45,477
| ref3 =
}}
==Pacific League==
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2) vs. Chiba Lotte Marines (0)
| winner =
| leader =
| score =
| date1 = October 8
| score1 = Chiba Lotte Marines – 3, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4
| loc1 = Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome
| time1 = 3:10
| att1 = 36,077
| ref1 =
| date2 = October 9
| score2 = Chiba Lotte Marines – 1, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4
| loc2 = Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome
| time2 = 3:16
| att2 = 38,500
| ref2 =
}}
=Final stage=
==Central League==
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary = Hiroshima Toyo Carp (4) vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars (1)
| winner =
| leader =
| score =
| date1 = October 12
| score1 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 0, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 5
| loc1 = Mazda Stadium
| time1 = 2:48
| att1 = 31,276
| ref1 =
| date2 = October 13
| score2 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 0, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 3
| loc2 = Mazda Stadium
| time2 = 2:58
| att2 = 31,264
| ref2 =
| date3 = October 14
| score3 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 3, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 0
| loc3 = Mazda Stadium
| time3 = 3:19
| att3 = 31,291
| ref3 =
| date4 = October 15
| score4 = Yokohama DeNA BayStars – 7, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 8
| loc4 = Mazda Stadium
| time4 = 3:26
| att4 = 31,313
| ref4 =
}}
==Pacific League==
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary = Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (4) vs. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2)
| winner =
| leader =
| score =
| date1 = October 12
| score1 = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 0, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 6
| loc1 = Sapporo Dome
| time1 = 2:55
| att1 = 36,633
| ref1 =
| date2 = October 13
| score2 = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 6, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 4
| loc2 = Sapporo Dome
| time2 = 3:40
| att2 = 26,548
| ref2 =
| date3 = October 14
| score3 = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 4
| loc3 = Sapporo Dome
| time3 = 3:17
| att3 = 39,456
| ref3 =
| date4 = October 15
| score4 = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 2
| loc4 = Sapporo Dome
| time4 = 3:07
| att4 = 41,138
| ref4 =
| date5 = October 16
| score5 = Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 7
| loc5 = Sapporo Dome
| time5 = 3:15
| att5 = 41,138
| ref5 =
}}
Japan Series
{{Main|2016 Japan Series}}
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary = Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (4)
| winner =
| leader =
| score =
| date1 = October 22
| score1 = Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 5
| loc1 = Mazda Stadium
| time1 = 3:39
| att1 = 30,619
| ref1 =
| date2 = October 23
| score2 = Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 1, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 5
| loc2 = Mazda Stadium
| time2 = 3:18
| att2 = 30,638
| ref2 =
| date3 = October 25
| score3 = Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 3, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 4 (10)
| loc3 = Sapporo Dome
| time3 = 3:51
| att3 = 40,503
| ref3 =
| date4 = October 26
| score4 = Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 1, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 3
| loc4 = Sapporo Dome
| time4 = 3:30
| att4 = 40,599
| ref4 =
| date5 = October 27
| score5 = Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 1, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 5
| loc5 = Sapporo Dome
| time5 = 3:32
| att5 = 40,633
| ref5 =
| date6 = October 29
| score6 = Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 10, Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 4
| loc6 = Mazda Stadium
| time6 = 4:01
| att6 = 30,693
| ref6 =
}}
League leaders
=Central League=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Batting leaders ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Stat ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Player ! scope="col" style="width:20%;"| Team ! scope="col" style="width:3%;"| Total |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Batting average
|Hayato Sakamoto ||Yomiuri Giants ||.344 |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Home runs |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Runs batted in
|Yoshitomo Tsutsugo ||Yokohama DeNA BayStars ||110 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Runs
|Tetsuto Yamada |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Hits
|Ryosuke Kikuchi ||Hiroshima Toyo Carp ||181 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Stolen bases
|Tetsuto Yamada ||Tokyo Yakult Swallows ||30 |
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Pitching leaders ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Stat ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Player ! scope="col" style="width:25%;"| Team ! scope="col" style="width:3%;"| Total |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Wins
|Yusuke Nomura ||Hiroshima Toyo Carp ||16 |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Losses
|Atsushi Nomi |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Earned run average
|Tomoyuki Sugano ||Yomiuri Giants ||2.01 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Strikeouts
|Tomoyuki Sugano ||Yomiuri Giants ||189 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Innings pitched
|Randy Messenger ||Hanshin Tigers ||185.1 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Saves
|Hirokazu Sawamura ||Yomiuri Giants ||37 |
{{col-end}}
=Pacific League=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Batting leaders ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Stat ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Player ! scope="col" style="width:20%;"| Team ! scope="col" style="width:3%;"| Total |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Batting average
|Katsuya Kakunaka ||Chiba Lotte Marines ||.339 |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Home runs |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Runs batted in
|Sho Nakata ||Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ||110 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Runs
|Shogo Akiyama ||Saitama Seibu Lions ||98 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Hits
|Katsuya Kakunaka ||Chiba Lotte Marines ||176 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Stolen bases
|Yoshio Itoi |
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Pitching leaders ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Stat ! scope="col" style="width:10%;"| Player ! scope="col" style="width:25%;"| Team ! scope="col" style="width:3%;"| Total |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Wins
|Tsuyoshi Wada ||Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ||15 |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Losses
|Yuki Nishi ||Orix Buffaloes ||12 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Earned run average
|Ayumu Ishikawa ||Chiba Lotte Marines ||2.16 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Strikeouts |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Innings pitched
|Takahiro Norimoto ||Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles ||195 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;"| Saves
|Yoshihisa Hirano ||Orix Buffaloes ||31 |
{{col-end}}
Attendances
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Team
!Total attendance !Home average | ||
|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri Giants | 3,004,108 | 41,724 |
| Hanshin Tigers | 2,910,562 | 40,994 |
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 2,492,983 | 35,112 |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 2,157,331 | 29,963 |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 2,078,981 | 29,281 |
| Chunichi Dragons | 2,058,381 | 28,991 |
| Yokohama DeNA Baystars | 1,939,146 | 26,933 |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 1,779,460 | 25,063 |
| ORIX Buffaloes | 1,794,475 | 24,923 |
| Saitama Seibu Lions | 1,618,194 | 22,791 |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 1,620,961 | 22,513 |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 1,526,932 | 21,207 |
This was a very small increase on attendance from the 2015 season.{{cite web|url=http://nbakki.hatenablog.com/entry/2016_Season_Attendance_Figures_of_NPB|title=2016 Season Attendance Figures of NPB (Japan Professional Baseball)|date=7 October 2016 }}{{Cite web |last=nbakki |date=2016-02-04 |title=2015 Season Attendance Figures of NPB (Japan Professional Baseball) |url=https://nbakki.hatenablog.com/entry/2015_Season_Attendance_Figures_of_NPB |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=How much is it in Tokyo? |language=en}}