The 1956 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the seventh season of operation of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Regular season
Standings + Central League regular season standings Team G W L T Pct. GBYomiuri Giants 130 82 44 4 .646 —Osaka Tigers 130 79 50 1 .612 4.5Chunichi Dragons 130 74 56 0 .569 10.0Kokutetsu Swallows 130 61 65 4 .485 21.0Hiroshima Carp 130 45 82 3 .358 27.5Taiyo Whales 130 43 87 0 .331 41.0
+ Pacific League regular season standings Team G W L T Pct. GBNishitetsu Lions 154 96 51 7 .646 —Nankai Hawks 154 96 52 6 .643 0.5Hankyu Braves 154 88 64 2 .578 10.5Mainichi Orions 154 84 66 4 .558 13.5Kintetsu Pearls 154 68 82 4 .455 29.5Toei Flyers 154 58 92 4 .390 39.5Daiei Stars 154 57 94 3 .380 41.0Takahashi Unions 154 52 98 4 .351 45.5
Postseason
Japan Series
League leaders
Central League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants .338 Home runs Noboru Aota Taiyo Whales 25 Runs batted in Andy Miyamoto Yomiuri Giants 69 Runs Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants 86 Hits Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants 160 Stolen bases Yoshio Yoshida Osaka Tigers 50
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Takehiko Bessho Yomiuri Giants 27 Losses Noboru Akiyama Taiyo Whales 25 Earned run average Shozo Watanabe Osaka Tigers 1.45 Strikeouts Masaichi Kaneda Kokutetsu Swallows 316 Innings pitched Noboru Akiyama Taiyo Whales 379
Pacific League
+ Batting leaders Stat Player Team Total Batting average Yasumitsu Toyoda Nishitetsu Lions .325 Home runs Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions 29 Runs batted in Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions 95 Runs Chico Barbon Hankyu Braves 94 Hits Shinya Sasaki Takahashi Unions 180 Stolen bases Akiteru Kono Hankyu Braves 85
+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Team Total Wins Masayoshi Miura Daiei Stars 29 Losses Yasuo Yonekawa Toei Flyers 21 Earned run average Kazuhisa Inao Nishitetsu Lions 1.06 Strikeouts Takao Kajimoto Hankyu Braves 327 Innings pitched Yukio Shimabara Nishitetsu Lions 373
Awards Most Valuable Player Takehiko Bessho, Yomiuri Giants (CL) Futoshi Nakanishi, Nishitetsu Lions (PL) Rookie of the Year Noboru Akiyama, Taiyo Whales (CL) Kazuhisa Inao, Nishitetsu Lions (PL) Eiji Sawamura Award Masaichi Kaneda, Kokutetsu Swallows (CL)
+ Central League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Takehiko Bessho Yomiuri Giants Catcher Shigeru Fujio Yomiuri Giants First baseman Tetsuharu Kawakami Yomiuri Giants Second baseman Noboru Inoue Chunichi Dragons Third baseman Toshikazu Kodama Chunichi Dragons Shortstop Yoshio Yoshida Osaka TigersOutfielder Wally Yonamine Yomiuri Giants Kenjiro Tamiya Osaka Tigers Noboru Aota Taiyo Whales
+ Pacific League Best Nine Award winners Position Player Team Pitcher Takao Kajimoto Hankyu Braves Catcher Katsuya Nomura Nankai Hawks First baseman Kihachi Enomoto Mainichi Orions Second baseman Shinya Sasaki Takahashi Unions Third baseman Futoshi Nakanishi Nishitetsu Lions Shortstop Yasumitsu Toyoda Nishitetsu LionsOutfielder Kazuhiro Yamauchi Mainichi Orions Katsuki Tokura Hankyu Braves Kohei Sugiyama Nankai Hawks
See also 1956 Major League Baseball season
References