In the
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
season ended with the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...
of the
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...
defeating the
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...
of the
Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...
in the
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven 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
Regular season
Pacific League
Regular season
Playoff 1st Stage
Seibu Lions (1) vs. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2)
Playoff 2nd Stage
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (3) vs. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (0) ''The Fighters have a one-game advantage.''
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 , commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year.
The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawa ...
, the award given to the top pitcher in Japan, was given to pitcher
Kazumi Saito of the
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League.
The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...
. He had a win–loss record of 18-5, 205
strikeouts, and an
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
of 1.75 in 201.0 innings, winning the Pacific League's
pitching triple crown
In baseball, a player earns a Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, ...
.
Best Nine Awards
Central League
Pacific League
Gold Gloves
Central League
Pacific League
See also
*
2006 Major League Baseball season
The 2006 Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular-season victory total (83) in a fully-played season in major league history. The Atlanta Braves failed to ...
References
2006 NPB Final standings(Japanese)
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