# 2018 Nippon Professional Baseball season

The 2018 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 69th season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.

## Regular season standings

Central League regular season standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| 1 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 143 | 82 | 59 | 2 | .582 | — | 45-25–2 | 37-34–0 |
| 2 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 143 | 75 | 66 | 2 | .532 | 7.0 | 41-30–0 | 34-36–2 |
| 3 | Yomiuri Giants | 143 | 67 | 71 | 5 | .482 | 13.5 | 33–38–1 | 34–33–4 |
| 4 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 143 | 67 | 74 | 2 | .475 | 14.0 | 33–38–1 | 34–36–1 |
| 5 | Chunichi Dragons | 143 | 63 | 78 | 2 | .447 | 19.0 | 36–33-2 | 27–45–0 |
| 6 | Hanshin Tigers | 143 | 62 | 79 | 2 | .440 | 20.0 | 27–42–2 | 35–37–0 |
Pacific League regular season standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| 1 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 143 | 88 | 53 | 2 | .624 | — | 45–24–2 | 43–29–0 |
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 143 | 82 | 60 | 1 | .577 | 6.5 | 40–30–1 | 42–30–0 |
| 3 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 143 | 74 | 66 | 3 | .529 | 13.5 | 40–29–2 | 34–37–1 |
| 4 | Orix Buffaloes | 143 | 65 | 73 | 5 | .471 | 21.5 | 33–37–2 | 32–36–3 |
| 5 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 143 | 59 | 81 | 3 | .421 | 28.5 | 28–43–1 | 31–38–2 |
| 6 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 143 | 58 | 82 | 3 | .414 | 29.5 | 22–50–0 | 36–32–3 |

## Interleague results

Current as of 25 September 2018
Interleague results are placed in order of current regular season standings. The 'I' column indicates the teams' interleague position.
The interleague results are indicative only of the teams playing ability against those teams in the opposing league, and have no bearing on the placings or Climax Series'. The sponsor, Nippon Life, does hand out awards to players and teams based on their finishing in the Interleague standings, however.
Central League regular season standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | I | Home | Road |
| 1 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 4 | 5–4–0 | 2–7–0 |
| 2 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 1 | 6–3–0 | 6–3–0 |
| 3 | Yomiuri Giants | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 2 | 4–5–0 | 4–5–0 |
| 4 | Chunichi Dragons | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 4 | 4–5–0 | 3–6–0 |
| 5 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 2 | 6–3–0 | 2–7–0 |
| 6 | Hanshin Tigers | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | .353 | 6 | 2–6–1 | 4–5–0 |
Pacific League regular season standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | T | Pct. | I | Home | Road |
| 1 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 4 | 5–4–0 | 5–4–0 |
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 2 | 6–3–0 | 5–4–0 |
| 3 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 4 | 6–3–0 | 4–5–0 |
| 4 | Orix Buffaloes | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | .647 | 1 | 7–2–0 | 4–4–1 |
| 5 | Chiba Lotte Marines | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 2 | 6–3–0 | 5–4–0 |
| 6 | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 6 | 3–6–0 | 3–6–0 |

## Climax Series

| First Stage | First Stage | First Stage | Final Stage | Final Stage | Final Stage | Japan Series | Japan Series | Japan Series |
| Central League | Central League | Central League | 1 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 4 | | | |
| 2 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 0 | 3 | Yomiuri Giants | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Yomiuri Giants | 2 | | | | CL | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 1 |
| | | | | | | PL | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 4 |
| Pacific League | Pacific League | Pacific League | 1 | Saitama Seibu Lions | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 2 | 2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 1 | | | | | | |

### First stage
#### Central League

Tokyo Yakult Swallows (0) vs. Yomiuri Giants (2)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 13 | Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 1 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 3:06 | 30,735 |
| 2 | October 14 | Yomiuri Giants – 4, Tokyo Yakult Swallows – 0 | Meiji Jingu Stadium | 2:40 | 30,798 |

#### Pacific League

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2) vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (1)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 13 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 3, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 8 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:35 | 35,301 |
| 2 | October 14 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 4, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:32 | 38,125 |
| 3 | October 15 | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters – 2, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:46 | 34,794 |

### Final stage
#### Central League

Hiroshima Carp (4) vs. Yomiuri Giants (0)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 17 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Carp – 6 | Mazda Stadium | 3:07 | 31,311 |
| 2 | October 18 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Carp – 4 | Mazda Stadium | 2:36 | 31,356 |
| 3 | October 19 | Yomiuri Giants – 1, Hiroshima Carp – 5 | Mazda Stadium | 3:02 | 31,371 |

#### Pacific League

Saitama Seibu Lions (2) vs. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (4)
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 17 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 10, Saitama Seibu Lions – 4 | MetLife Dome | 3:25 | 31,961 |
| 2 | October 18 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5, Saitama Seibu Lions – 13 | MetLife Dome | 3:30 | 31,106 |
| 3 | October 19 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 15, Saitama Seibu Lions – 4 | MetLife Dome | 3:30 | 31,238 |
| 4 | October 20 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 8, Saitama Seibu Lions – 2 | MetLife Dome | 3:31 | 32,170 |
| 5 | October 21 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 6, Saitama Seibu Lions – 5 | MetLife Dome | 3:26 | 31,532 |

## Japan Series

SoftBank Hawks won the series, 4–1–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
| 1 | October 27 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2 @ Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 2 (12) | Mazda Stadium | 4:38 | 30,727 |
| 2 | October 28 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 1 @ Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 5 | Mazda Stadium | 2:55 | 30,724 |
| 3 | October 30 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 8 @ Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 9 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:57 | 35,746 |
| 4 | October 31 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 1 @ Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 4 | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 3:21 | 35,796 |
| 5 | November 1 | Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 4 @ Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 5 (10) | Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome | 4:25 | 35,917 |
| 6 | November 3 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – 2 @ Hiroshima Toyo Carp – 0 | Mazda Stadium | 3:14 | 30,723 |

## League leaders
### Central League

Batting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Batting average | Dayan Viciedo | Chunichi Dragons | .348 |
| Home runs | Neftali Soto | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 41 |
| Runs batted in | Wladimir Balentien | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 131 |
| Runs | Tetsuto Yamada | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 130 |
| Hits | Dayan Viciedo | Chunichi Dragons | 178 |
| Stolen bases | Tetsuto Yamada | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 33 |
| On Base Percentage | Yoshihiro Maru | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | .468 |
| Slugging Percentage | Neftali Soto | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | .644 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Wins | Daichi Osera Tomoyuki Sugano | Hiroshima Toyo Carp Yomiuri Giants | 15 |
| Earned run average | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | 2.14 |
| Strikeouts | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | 200 |
| Innings pitched | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | 202 |
| Saves | Yasuaki Yamasaki | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 37 |
| Holds | Kazuki Kondo | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 35 |
| Winning percentage | Katsuki Azuma Kris Johnson | Yokohama DeNA BayStars Hiroshima Toyo Carp | .688 |

### Pacific League

Batting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Batting average | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | .352 |
| Home runs | Hotaka Yamakawa | Saitama Seibu Lions | 47 |
| Runs batted in | Hideto Asamura | Saitama Seibu Lions | 127 |
| Runs | Hotaka Yamakawa | Saitama Seibu Lions | 115 |
| Hits | Shogo Akiyama | Saitama Seibu Lions | 195 |
| Stolen bases | Haruki Nishikawa | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 44 |
| On Base Percentage | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | .431 |
| Slugging Percentage | Yuki Yanagita | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | .661 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| Wins | Shinsaburo Tawata | Saitama Seibu Lions | 16 |
| Earned run average | Takayuki Kishi | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 2.72 |
| Strikeouts | Takahiro Norimoto | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 187 |
| Innings pitched | Takahiro Norimoto | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 180.1 |
| Saves | Yuito Mori | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 37 |
| Holds | Naoki Miyanishi | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 37 |
| Winning percentage | Yusei Kikuchi | Saitama Seibu Lions | .778 |