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2024 NPB Statistical Leaders

by Yuri Karasawa
Hiroto Takahashi led NPB with a 1.38 ERA (Photo: Sponichi)

With the new year right around the corner, let’s wrap up 2024 by taking a close look at who led Nippon Professional Baseball in some key statistical categories in 2024! Keep in mind that NPB’s current run environment can be described as a dead-ball era, and the league-average ERA this year was only 2.96, so adjust your expectations accordingly.

Batting

Tyler Austin led NPB with a .983 OPS (Photo: Sports Hochi)

DeNA BayStars first baseman Tyler Austin was the top slugger in Japan this season, leading NPB with a staggering .316 batting average and .983 OPS. He only played in 106 games during the regular season but still managed to crush 34 doubles and 25 home runs with 69 ribbies. He continued to mash with a .966 OPS in the postseason, helping bring Yokohama its first Japan Series title since 1998. Hotaka Yamakawa and Kensuke Kondoh were instrumental in getting the SoftBank Hawks to the Pacific League pennant, as the former led NPB in homers and RBI while the latter blew away the competition with a .439 OBP. Their teammate Ukyo Shuto proved to be the top base stealer again, with 41 swipes in 54 attempts.

Batting Average
1. Tyler Austin (.316) – DeNA BayStars
2. Domingo Santana (.315) – Yakult Swallows
3. Kensuke Kondoh (.314) – SoftBank Hawks

On Base Percentage
1. Kensuke Kondoh (.439) – SoftBank Hawks
2. Domingo Santana (.399) – Yakult Swallows
3. Tyler Austin (.382) – DeNA BayStars

Slugging Percentage
1. Tyler Austin (.601) – DeNA BayStars
2. Kensuke Kondoh (.521) – SoftBank Hawks
3. Domingo Santana (.506) – Yakult Swallows

On Base + Slugging
1. Tyler Austin (.983) – DeNA BayStars
2. Kensuke Kondoh (.960) – SoftBank Hawks
3. Domingo Santana (.905) – Yakult Swallows

OPS+ (100 = League Average)
1. Tyler Austin (197) – DeNA BayStars
2. Kensuke Kondoh (192) – SoftBank Hawks
3. Seiya Hosokawa (172) – Chunichi Dragons

Hits
1. Hideki Nagaoka (163) – Yakult Swallows
2. Koji Chikamoto (160) – Hanshin Tigers
T-3. Ryosuke Tatsumi, Shogo Akiyama (158)

Home Runs
1. Hotaka Yamakawa (34) – SoftBank Hawks
2. Munetaka Murakami (33) – Yakult Swallows
3. Kazuma Okamoto (27) – Yomiuri Giants

Runs Batted In
1. Hotaka Yamakawa (99) – SoftBank Hawks
2. Neftali Soto (88) – Lotte Marines
3. Ryoya Kurihara (87) – SoftBank Hawks

Total Bases
1. Kazuma Okamoto (268) – Yomiuri Giants
2. Hotaka Yamakawa (266) – SoftBank Hawks
3. Seiya Hosokawa (255) – Chunichi Dragons

Stolen Bases
1. Ukyo Shuto (41) – SoftBank Hawks
2. Yuya Ogoh (32) – Rakuten Eagles
3. Hiroto Kobukata (29) – Rakuten Eagles

*Players must have 443 PA to qualify for rate stat titles*

Pitching

Tatsuya Imai Won the NPB Strikeout Title (Photo: Full Count)

Chunichi Dragons phenom Hiroto Takahashi carried a sub-one ERA for much of the year and finished at 1.38, the 12th-best mark in NPB history since 1950. No other qualified pitcher approached his ERA+ of 200, and he also had an elite 61% groundball rate with 8.1 K/9. DeNA BayStars southpaw Katsuki Azuma stood out as the league’s top workhorse, eating 183 innings while being credited with a quality start in 22 of his 26 outings. Seibu Lions hard-thrower Tatsuya Imai led Japan with 187 punchouts in 173.1 frames, and Cuban closer Raidel Martinez — who switched teams from the Dragons to the Yomiuri Giants after the season — posted a 1.09 ERA and a career-best 43 saves.

Innings Pitched
1. Katsuki Azuma (183.0) – DeNA BayStars
2. Kohei Arihara (182.2) – SoftBank Hawks
3. Shosei Togo (180.0) – Yomiuri Giants

Earned Run Average
1. Hiroto Takahashi (1.38) – Chunichi Dragons
2. Tomoyuki Sugano (1.67) – Yomiuri Giants
3. Hiroto Saiki (1.83) – Hanshin Tigers

ERA+ (100 = League Average)
1. Hiroto Takahashi (200) – Chunichi Dragons
2. Tomoyuki Sugano (176) – Yomiuri Giants
T-3. Livan Moinelo, Daichi Ohsera (161)

Fielding Independent Pitching
1. Hiroto Takahashi (2.16) – Chunichi Dragons
2. Hiroto Saiki (2.44) – Hanshin Tigers
3. Atsuki Taneichi (2.48) – Lotte Marines

Strikeout Rate Minus Walk Rate
1. Takahisa Hayakawa (18.1%) – Rakuten Eagles
2. Atsuki Taneichi (18.0%) – Lotte Marines
3. Hiromi Itoh (17.2%) – Nippon-Ham Fighters

Wins
1. Tomoyuki Sugano (15) – Yomiuri Giants
T-2. Hiromi Itoh (14) – Nippon-Ham Fighters
T-2. Kohei Arihara (14) – SoftBank Hawks

Quality Starts
1. Katsuki Azuma (22) – DeNA BayStars
T-2. Shosei Togo, Hiroki Tokoda, Kohei Arihara, Livan Moinelo (21)

Strikeouts
1. Tatsuya Imai (187) – Seibu Lions
2. Hiromi Itoh (161) – Nippon-Ham Fighters
3. Takahisa Hayakawa (160) – Rakuten Eagles

Saves
1. Raidel Martinez (43) – Chunichi Dragons
2. Ryoji Kuribayashi (38) – Hiroshima Carp
3. Takahiro Norimoto (32) – Rakuten Eagles

Holds
1. Shinya Matsuyama (41) – Chunichi Dragons
2. Takuma Kirishiki (40) – Hanshin Tigers
3. Tatsuya Shimizu (36) – Chunichi Dragons

*Players must have 143 PA to qualify for rate stat titles*

Fielding

Naoki Yoshikawa posted 30 DRS at Second Base (Photo: Sports Hochi)

Yomiuri Giants star Naoki Yoshikawa flashed the leather at the keystone all year, rating exceptionally well in advanced fielding metrics like ultimate zone rating (+6.5) and defensive runs saved (30). He also contributed offensively with a solid .341 OBP, 123 OPS+, and 12 stolen bases. His teammate Yukinori Kishida was a standout defender behind the plate with 14 defensive runs saved and a league-best 49% caught stealing rate. Nippon-Ham Fighters superstar Chusei Mannami was named SIS Baseball’s NPB Defensive Player of the Year thanks to his excellent instincts in right field and magnificent highlight-reel throws to gun runners.

Innings Played: 1B/3B Kazuma Okamoto (1282.0), 2B Takumu Nakano (1279.2), RF Yuya Ogoh (1276.2)
Assists: 2B Naoki Yoshikawa (485), 2B Takumu Nakano (460), SS Hideki Nagaoka (415)
Double Plays Turned: 2B Hiroto Kobukata (55), 2B Naoki Yoshikawa (52), SS Kotaro Kurebayashi (46), SS Masaya Yano (46)
Caught Stealing Rate (Catchers): Yukinori Kishida (48.7%), Kenya Wakatsuki (48.2%), Yuhei Nakamura (47.7%)
Ultimate Zone Rating: 3B Ryoya Kurihara (+18.2), LF Kensuke Kondoh (+17.5), RF Chusei Mannami (+13.8)
Defensive Runs Saved: 2B Naoki Yoshikawa (30), RF Chusei Mannami (27), C Yuudai Yamamoto (25)

Note: Advanced batting and pitching stats from 2020-2024 can be found for free on YakyuCosmo.com. Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) are advanced fielding metrics provided by paid services Deltagraphs and SIS Baseball.

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