# 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 71st season of professional baseball in Japan since Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was reorganized in 1950. There were 12 NPB teams, split evenly between the Central League and Pacific League.

## Season schedule

The 2020 season was originally scheduled to begin on 20 March, with a break from 21 July to 13 August, for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On 26 February 2020, the league announced that its remaining spring training games would be held without fans in attendance, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. With health related precautions in place, the media was allowed into some ballparks. Following another league meeting on 9 March, commissioner Atsushi Saito stated that the 2020 season would be postponed until April. Saito also said that the league aimed to retain a full regular season schedule of 143 games. This announcement marked the first time since 2011 that a Nippon Professional Baseball season was delayed.
On 18 April, the league announced that it would remain delayed indefinitely through the entirety of May, with the 18-game interleague schedule removed to accommodate a 125-game schedule. The delay of the 2020 Olympics meant that the three-week Olympic break would no longer be needed. Therefore, it was removed from the schedule. Before the league began play, the 2020 season was shortened to 120 games, and scheduled to end on 7 November. As a result of the condensed schedule, it was also announced that the First Stage of the Pacific League Climax Series would not be played, with the top two teams from the regular season competing in a best-of-5 Final Stage which the regular season winner enters with a one-game advantage. The Central League would do away with its Climax Series entirely, with its regular season winner advancing directly to the 2020 Japan Series.
With the lifting of states of emergency over major Japanese cities, NPB announced that it would begin its regular season on 19 June behind closed doors. "Warm-up" games began 26 May. All twelve NPB teams played on as scheduled on 19 June. On 10 July NPB began allowing a limited number of fans to attend games, with plans to further ease restrictions in the near future. On 19 September, attendance was expanded to a maximum of 20,000 fans per game, or 50% of stadium capacity.

## Regular season standings

Central League regular season standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | Yomiuri Giants | 120 | 67 | 45 | 8 | .598 | - |
| 2 | Hanshin Tigers | 120 | 60 | 53 | 7 | .531 | 7.5 |
| 3 | Chunichi Dragons | 120 | 60 | 55 | 5 | .522 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 120 | 56 | 58 | 6 | .491 | 12 |
| 5 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 120 | 52 | 56 | 12 | .481 | 13 |
| 6 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 120 | 41 | 69 | 10 | .373 | 25 |
Pacific League regular season standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 120 | 73 | 42 | 5 | .635 | - |
| 2 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 120 | 60 | 57 | 3 | .513 | 14 |
| 3 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 120 | 58 | 58 | 4 | .500 | 15.5 |
| 4 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 120 | 55 | 57 | 8 | .491 | 16.5 |
| 5 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 120 | 53 | 62 | 5 | .461 | 20 |
| 6 | Orix Buffaloes | 120 | 45 | 68 | 7 | .398 | 27 |

## Climax Series

| Pacific League Climax Series | Pacific League Climax Series | Pacific League Climax Series | Japan Series | Japan Series | Japan Series |
| | | | CL1 | Yomiuri Giants | 0 |
| 1 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 3 | PL1 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 4 |
| 2 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 0 | | | |

### Pacific League

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the series, 3–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | November 14 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 3, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4 | PayPay Dome | 3:19 | 19,901 |
| 2 | November 15 | Chiba Lotte Marines – 4, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 6 | PayPay Dome | 3:27 | 19,995 |

## Japan Series

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the series, 4–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | November 21 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5, Yomiuri Giants – 1 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 3:34 | 16,489 |
| 2 | November 22 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 13, Yomiuri Giants – 2 | Kyocera Dome Osaka | 3:40 | 16,333 |
| 3 | November 24 | Yomiuri Giants – 0, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4 | PayPay Dome | 2:58 | 17,297 |
| 4 | November 25 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4 | PayPay Dome | 3:22 | 19,679 |

## League leaders
### Central League

Batting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Batting average | Keita Sano | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | .328 |
| Home runs | Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 31 |
| Runs batted in | Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 97 |
| Runs | Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 97 |
| Hits | Yohei Oshima | Chunichi Dragons | 146 |
| Stolen bases | Kōji Chikamoto | Hanshin Tigers | 31 |
| On-base percentage | Munetaka Murakami | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | .427 |
| Slugging percentage | Munetaka Murakami | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | .585 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Wins | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | 14 |
| Earned run average | Yudai Ono | Chunichi Dragons | 1.82 |
| Strikeouts | Yudai Ono | Chunichi Dragons | 148 |
| Innings pitched | Yudai Ono | Chunichi Dragons | 148.2 |
| Saves | Robert Suárez | Hanshin Tigers | 25 |
| Holds | Daisuke Sobue | Chunichi Dragons | 30 |
| Winning percentage | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | .875 |

### Pacific League

Batting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Batting average | Masataka Yoshida | Orix Buffaloes | .350 |
| Home runs | Hideto Asamura | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 32 |
| Runs batted in | Sho Nakata | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 108 |
| Runs | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 90 |
| Hits | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 146 |
| Stolen bases | Ukyo Shuto | Saitama Seibu Lions | 50 |
| On-base percentage | Kensuke Kondo | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters | .465 |
| Slugging percentage | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | .623 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Wins | Shuta Ishikawa Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 11 |
| Earned run average | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 2.16 |
| Strikeouts | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 149 |
| Innings pitched | Ayumu Ishikawa | Chiba Lotte Marines | 133.1 |
| Saves | Tatsushi Masuda | Saitama Seibu Lions | 33 |
| Holds | Livan Moinelo | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 40 |
| Winning percentage | Hideaki Wakui | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | .733 |

## Awards
### Regular season

NPB Awards :
| | Central League | Central League | Pacific League | Pacific League |
| Award | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Rookie of the Year | Masato Morishita | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Kaima Taira | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Most Valuable Player | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Eiji Sawamura Award | Yūdai Ōno | Chunichi Dragons | | |
| Best Relief Pitcher | Noboru Shimizu Daisuke Sobue Hiroto Fuku | Tokyo Yakult Swallows Chunichi Dragons Chunichi Dragons | Liván Moinelo | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Matsutaro Shoriki Award | | | Kimiyasu Kudo | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Best Nine Award |||||
| Position | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Pitcher | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Catcher | Takumi Ohshiro | Yomiuri Giants | Takuya Kai | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| 1st Base | Munetaka Murakami | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Sho Nakata | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| 2nd Base | Ryosuke Kikuchi | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Hideto Asamura | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| 3rd Base | Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri Giants | Daichi Suzuki | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| Shortstop | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | Sosuke Genda | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Outfield | Yoshihiro Maru | Yomiuri Giants | Masataka Yoshida | Orix Buffaloes |
| Outfield | Seiya Suzuki | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Kensuke Kondo | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Outfield | Keita Sano | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Designated hitter | Not applicable | Not applicable | Takumi Kuriyama | Saitama Seibu Lions |
Mitsui Golden Glove Award :
| | Central League | Central League | Pacific League | Pacific League |
| Position | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Pitcher | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Catcher | Ryutaro Umeno | Hanshin Tigers | Takuya Kai | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| 1st Base | Dayán Viciedo | Chunichi Dragons | Akira Nakamura Sho Nakata | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| 2nd Base | Ryosuke Kikuchi | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Shuta Tonosaki | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| 3rd Base | Shuhei Takahashi | Chunichi Dragons | Daichi Suzuki | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
| Shortstop | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | Sosuke Genda | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Outfield | Seiya Suzuki | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Outfield | Yōhei Ōshima | Chunichi Dragons | Taishi Ohta | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Outfield | Norichika Aoki | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | Haruki Nishikawa | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |