The 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season was the 64th season since the NPB was reorganized in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

Juiced ball scandal

At the beginning of the 2013 NPB season, a new livelier ball was introduced in secret. This juiced up baseball allowed more home runs to be scored, leading to

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

outfielder

Wladimir Balentien Wladimir Ramon "Coco" Balentien (; born July 2, 1984) is a Curaçaoan- Dutch former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB ...

to break the 55 single season home run record set by

Sadaharu Oh Sadaharu Oh ( Japanese: , ''Ō Sadaharu''; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (), is a Japanese-born Chinese former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of N ...

and later tied by

Tuffy Rhodes Karl Derrick "Tuffy" Rhodes (born August 21, 1968) is a retired American professional baseball player. He played six years in Major League Baseball in the US, and thirteen years in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. Rhodes is the all-t ...

and

Alex Cabrera Alexander Alberto Cabrera (born December 24, 1971) is a Venezuelan former first baseman and right-handed batter who played in 2000 for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball (MLB) and for 12 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NP ...

. This caused three-term NPB commissioner Ryozo Kato to resign, although he claimed to be unaware of the juiced baseballs.

Regular season standings

Climax Series

''Note: All of the games that are played in the first two rounds of the Climax Series are held at the higher seed's home stadium. The team with the higher regular-season standing also advances if the round ends in a tie.''

First stage

''The regular season league champions, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (PL) and the Yomiuri Giants (CL), received byes to the championship round.''

Central League

Pacific League

Final stage

''The regular season league champions, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (PL) and the Yomiuri Giants (CL), received a one-game advantage.''

Juiced ball scandal

Regular season standings

Climax Series

First stage

Central League

Pacific League

Final stage

Central League

Pacific League

Japan Series

League leaders

Central League

Pacific League

2013 average attendance

See also

References