2025 in Japanese Baseball

The 2025 Japanese season was another good year for old teams. The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks dazzled again as they won their 7th pennant in the past 15 years, and the Hanshin Tigers won their 2nd championship in the past 3 years. Former MLB star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka collected his 200th career win, and slugger Hideto Asamura reached 2,000 career hits.

Standings

Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner; * indicates playoff team

Central League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ERA	Manager(s)
Hanshin Tigers*	143	85	54	4	.612	--	496	352	.245	.313	.354	2.21	Kyuji Fujikawa
Yokohama DeNA BayStars*	143	71	66	6	.518	13	510	456	.247	.303	.368	2.94	Daisuke Miura
Yomiuri Giants*	143	70	69	4	.504	15	463	461	.250	.312	.360	2.95	Shinnosuke Abe
Chunichi Dragons	143	63	78	2	.447	23	403	463	.232	.287	.335	2.97	Kazuki Inoue
Hiroshima Toyo Carp	143	59	79	5	.428	25.5	441	497	.246	.298	.343	3.20	Takahiro Arai
Yakult Swallows	143	57	79	9	.419	26.5	443	564	.234	.297	.340	3.59	Shingo Takatsu

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	OBP	SLG	ERA	Manager(s)
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks*	143	87	52	4	.636	--	551	389	.257	.323	.371	2.39	Hiroki Kokubo
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters*	143	83	57	3	.593	4.5	548	409	.248	.310	.381	2.53	Tsuyoshi Shinjo
Orix Buffaloes*	143	74	66	3	.529	13.5	502	519	.255	.314	.364	3.37	Mamoru Kishida
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	143	67	74	2	.475	21	446	526	.244	.341	.329	3.37	Hajime Miki
Saitama Seibu Lions	143	63	77	3	.450	24.5	410	465	.232	.289	.328	3.00	Fumiya Nishiguchi
Chiba Lotte Marines	143	56	84	3	.400	31.5	441	553	.241	.298	.336	3.60	Masato Yoshii

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Kaito Kozono	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	.309		Taisei Makihara	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	.304
Runs		Teruaki Sato	Hanshin Tigers	83		Manaya Nishikawa	Saitama Seibu Lions	64
Hits		Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons	168		Itsuki Murabayashi	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles	144
Doubles		Teruaki Sato	Hanshin Tigers	34		Misho Nishikawa	Chiba Lotte Marines	27
Triples		Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons	8		Ryota Isobata	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	10
Home Runs		Teruaki Sato	Hanshin Tigers	40		Franmil Reyes	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	32
Runs Batted In		Teruaki Sato	Hanshin Tigers	102		Franmil Reyes	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	90
Stolen Bases		Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers	32		Ukyo Shuto	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	65
Walks		Yusuke Ohyama	Hanshin Tigers	74		Tatsuru Yanagimachi	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	62

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Hiroto Saiki	Hanshin Tigers	1.55		Liván Moinelo	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	1.46
Wins		Shoki Murakami Katsuki Azuma	Hanshin Tigers Yokohama BayStars	14		Hiromi Itoh Kohei Arihara	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	14
Winning Percentage		Shoki Murakami	Hanshin Tigers	.778		Tomohisa Ohzeki	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	.722
Losses		Masato Morishita	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	14		Chihiro Sumida Kazuya Ojima	Saitama Seibu Lions Chiba Lotte Marines	10
Saves		Raidel Martínez Shinya Matsuyama	Yomiuri Giants Chunichi Dragons	43		Kaima Taira Kazuki Sugiyama	Saitama Seibu Lions Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	31
Innings Pitched		Shoki Murakami	Hanshin Tigers	175 1/3		Hiromi Itoh	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	196 2/3
Appearances		Masaki Oyokawa	Hanshin Tigers	66		Kazuki Sugiyama	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	65
Hits Allowed		Hiroki Tokoda	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	158		Hiromi Itoh	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	179
Home Runs Allowed		Haruto Inoue Trevor Bauer Katsuki Azuma	Yomiuri Giants Yokohama BayStars Yokohama BayStars	16		Kazuya Ojima	Chiba Lotte Marines	20
Strikeouts		Shoki Murakami	Hanshin Tigers	144		Hiromi Itoh	Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	195
Base-on-Balls		Andre Jackson	Yakult Swallows	55		Kazuya Ojima	Chiba Lotte Marines	54

Award Winners

The winner of the 2025 Sawamura Award was Hiromi Itoh of the Nippon Ham Fighters. He had a 14-8 win-loss record, 195 strikeouts, and a 2.52 ERA in 164 innings, leading the PL in wins and strikeouts.

Award	League	Player	Team	Position	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	W - L	SV	IP	HA	HRA	BB	SO	ERA
Most Valuable Player	CL	Teruaki Sato	Yomiuri Giants	IF	458	83	149	40	102	10	.277	.345	.579	Did not pitch
	PL	Liván Moinelo	Softbank Hawks	P	Did not bat									12-3	0	167	112	10	42	172	1.46
Rookie of the Year	CL	Kota Shoji	Yakult Swallows	P	Did not bat									2-1	0	42 1/3	19	1	17	53	1.05
	PL	Misho Nishikawa	Chiba Lotte Marines	OF	417	42	117	3	37	1	.281	.318	.381	Did not pitch

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2025 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Shoki Murakami	Hanshin Tigers		P		Livan Moinelo	Softbank Hawks
Seishiro Sakamoto	Hanshin Tigers		C		Kenya Wakatsuki	Orix Buffaloes
Yusuke Ohyama	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Tyler Nevin	Seibu Lions
Takumu Nakano	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Taisei Makihara	Softbank Hawks
Teruaki Sato	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Itsuki Murabayashi	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Yuta Izuguchi	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Rui Muneyama	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Tatsuru Yanagimachi	Softbank Hawks
Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers				Ukyo Shuto	Softbank Hawks
Shota Morishita	Hanshin Tigers				Keita Nakagawa	Orix Buffaloes
			DH		Franmil Reyes	Nippon Ham Fighters

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2025.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Shoki Murakami	Hanshin Tigers		P		Hiromi Itoh	Nippon Ham Fighters
Seishiro Sakamoto	Hanshin Tigers		C		Kenya Wakatsuki	Orix Buffaloes
Yusuke Ohyama	Hanshin Tigers		1B		Tyler Nevin	Seibu Lions
Takumu Nakano	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Taisei Makihara	Softbank Hawks
Teruaki Sato	Hanshin Tigers		3B		Itsuki Murabayashi	Rakuten Golden Eagles
Yuta Izuguchi	Yomiuri Giants		SS		Kotaro Kurebayashi	Orix Buffaloes
Yuki Okabayashi	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Manaya Nishikawa	Nippon Ham Fighters
Koji Chikamoto	Hanshin Tigers				Ukyo Shuto	Softbank Hawks
Shota Morishita	Hanshin Tigers				Ryosuke Tatsumi	Rakuten Golden Eagles

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and the Pacific League pulled off a sweep. The first game was played at Kyocera Dome and was won by the PL, 5 - 1. The second game was played at Yokohama Stadium and was won by the PL, 10 - 7.

High School Baseball

The 107th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 3,396 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game, Okinawa Shogaku High School (Okinawa) defeated The Third High School of Nihon University (Tokyo West) by a score of 2 - 1.

The 97th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game, Yokohama High School (Kanagawa) defeated Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama) by a score of 11 - 4.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2025 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 27 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game, Tohoku Fukushi University defeated Fukui University of Technology by a score of 8 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the 2025 Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Aoyama Gakuin University defeated Ritsumeikan University by a score of 4 - 0.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Waseda	Meiji	Rikkio	Hosei	Keio	Tokyo
Fall	Meiji	Waseda	Hosei	Rikkio	Keio	Tokyo

Tohto University Base Ball League

Season	League	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	1	Aoyama Gakuin	Asia	Toyo	Chuo	Kokugakuin	Nihon
	2	Komazawa	Senshu	Takushoku	Rissho	Tokyo Agriculture	Kokushikan
	3	Juntendo	Gakushuin	Teikyo Heisei	Taisho	Sophia	Seikei
	4	Hitotsubashi	Shibaura	Tokyo Tech	Tokyo City
Fall	1	Aoyama Gakuin	Kokugakuin	Toyo	Chuo	Asia	Komazawa
	2	Rissho	Senshu	Nihon	Tokyo Agriculture	Takushoku	Kokushikan
	3	Teikyo Heisei	Taisho	Seikei	Gakushuin	Sophia	Juntendo
	4	Hitotsubashi	Tokyo Tech	Shibaura	Tokyo City

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Kindai	Ritsumeikan	Kwansei Gakuin	Doshisha	Kansai	Kyoto
Fall	Ritsumeikan	Kindai	Doshisha	Kwansei Gakuin	Kansai	Kyoto

International Baseball

Japan won Gold in the 2025 Asian Championship and 2025 Women's Baseball Asian Cup and Silver in the 2025 U-18 Baseball World Cup.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Tomohiro Anraku: Diablos Rojos del Mexico, Mexican League
• Koyo Aoyagi: Reading Fightin Phils, Eastern (PHI-AA), Lehigh Valley IronPigs, IL (PHI-AAA)
• Yu Aramaki: Adelaide Giants, Australian Baseball League
• Bryan Balzer: Lake Elsinore Storm, California (SDP-A)
• Yu Darvish: San Diego Padres
• Shintaro Fujinami: Tacoma Rainiers, PCL (SEA-AAA)
• Masahiro Fukuda: DSL Rangers Blue, DSL (TEX-FRk), DSL Rangers Red, DSL (TEX-FRk)
• Shota Imanaga: Chicago Cubs
• Sho Itoh: Piratas de Campeche, Mexican League
• Yusei Kikuchi: Los Angeles Angels
• Kenta Maeda: Detroit Tigers, Iowa Cubs, PCL (CHC-AAA), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, PCL (NYY-AAA)
• Yuki Matsui: San Diego Padres
• Shotaro Morii: ACL Athletics, ACL (ATH-Rk)
• Toru Murata: Hluboká Baseball & Softball Club, Extraliga
• Raisei Nakamura: DSL Marlins, DSL (MIA-FRk)
• Rikuu Nishida: Birmingham Barons, Southern (CHW-AA)
• Lars Nootbaar: St. Louis Cardinals
• Shinnosuke Ogasawara: Washington Nationals, Wilmington Blue Rocks, South Atlantic (WSH-A+), Rochester Red Wings, IL (WSH-AAA)
• Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Dodgers
• Kento Onodera: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Tomo Otosaka: Tacoma Rainiers, PCL (SEA-AAA), York Revolution, Atlantic League
• Joichiro Oyama: Ottawa Titans, Frontier League, ACL Mariners, ACL (SEA-Rk), Arkansas Travelers, Texas (SEA-AA)
• Yuhi Sako: High Point Rockers, Atlantic League, FCL Mets, FCL (NYM-Rk), St. Lucie Mets, Florida (NYM-A)
• Masatoshi Sakurai: Capitales de Québec, Frontier League
• Shuto Sakurai: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Roki Sasaki: Los Angeles Dodgers, Oklahoma City Comets, PCL (LAD-AAA)
• Kodai Senga: New York Mets
• Yamato Shiroki: Adelaide Giants, Australian Baseball League
• Seiya Suzuki: Chicago Cubs
• Shunsuke Suzuki: Fubon Guardians, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Masaki Takashio: Uni-President Lions, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Shohei Tomioka: Midland RockHounds, Texas (ATH-AA), Las Vegas Aviators, PCL (ATH-AAA)
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Los Angeles Dodgers
• Kazumasa Yoshida: TSG Hawks, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Masataka Yoshida: Boston Red Sox, Portland Sea Dogs, Eastern (BOS-AA), Worcester Red Sox, IL (BOS-AAA)

Hall of Fame

The following people were elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame:

• Ichiro Suzuki, by the Players Division
• Hitoki Iwase, by the Players Division
• Masayuki Kakefu, by the Expert Division
• Hiroya Tomizawa, by the Special Committee