title: 2001 Nippon Professional Baseball season
text: # 2001 Nippon Professional Baseball season
  
  The 2001 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Yakult Swallows defeating the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the 2001 Japan Series 4 games to 1.
  
  ## Standings
  
  ### Central League
  
  | Central League | G | W | L | T | Pct. |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Yakult Swallows | 140 | 76 | 58 | 6 | .567 |
  | Yomiuri Giants | 140 | 75 | 63 | 2 | .543 |
  | Yokohama BayStars | 140 | 69 | 67 | 4 | .507 |
  | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 140 | 68 | 65 | 7 | .511 |
  | Chunichi Dragons | 140 | 62 | 74 | 4 | .456 |
  | Hanshin Tigers | 140 | 57 | 80 | 3 | .416 |
  
  ### Pacific League
  
  | Pacific League | G | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 140 | 78 | 60 | 2 | .565 | - |
  | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | 140 | 76 | 63 | 1 | .547 | 2.5 |
  | Seibu Lions | 140 | 73 | 67 | 0 | .521 | 6.0 |
  | Orix BlueWave | 140 | 70 | 66 | 4 | .515 | 7.0 |
  | Chiba Lotte Marines | 140 | 64 | 74 | 2 | .464 | 14.0 |
  | Nippon-Ham Fighters | 140 | 57 | 80 | 3 | .416 | 20.5 |
  
  ## Japan Series
  
  Yakult Swallows (4) vs. Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (1)
  
  | Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Buffaloes – 0, Swallows – 7 | October 20 | Osaka Dome | 33,837 |
  | 2 | Buffaloes – 9, Swallows – 6 | October 21 | Osaka Dome | 33,277 |
  | 3 | Swallows – 9, Buffaloes – 2 | October 23 | Jingu Stadium | 30,443 |
  | 4 | Swallows – 2, Buffaloes – 1 | October 24 | Jingu Stadium | 32,145 |
  | 5 | Swallows – 4, Buffaloes – 2 | October 25 | Jingu Stadium | 32,568 |
  
  ## League leaders
  
  ### Central League
  
  Batting leaders :
  
  | Stat | Player | Team | Total |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Batting average | Hideki Matsui | Yomiuri Giants | .333 |
  | Home runs | Roberto Petagine | Yakult Swallows | 39 |
  | Runs batted in | Roberto Petagine | Yakult Swallows | 127 |
  | Hits | Takuro Ishii | Yokohama BayStars | 171 |
  | Stolen bases | Norihiro Akahoshi | Hanshin Tigers | 39 |
  
  Pitching leaders :
  
  | Stat | Player | Team | Total |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Wins | Shugo Fujii | Yakult Swallows | 14 |
  | Earned run average | Shigeki Noguchi | Chunichi Dragons | 2.46 |
  | Strikeouts | Shigeki Noguchi | Chunichi Dragons | 187 |
  | Saves | Shingo Takatsu | Yakult Swallows | 37 |
  
  ### Pacific League
  
  Batting leaders :
  
  | Stat | Player | Team | Total |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Batting average | Kazuya Fukuura | Chiba Lotte Marines | .346 |
  | Home runs | Tuffy Rhodes | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 55 |
  | Runs batted in | Norihiro Nakamura | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 132 |
  | Hits | Michihiro Ogasawara | Nippon-Ham Fighters | 195 |
  | Stolen bases | Tadahito Iguchi | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | 44 |
  
  Pitching leaders :
  
  | Stat | Player | Team | Total |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Wins | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Seibu Lions | 15 |
  | Earned run average | Nate Minchey | Chiba Lotte Marines | 3.26 |
  | Strikeouts | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Seibu Lions | 214 |
  | Saves | Rodney Pedraza | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks | 38 |
  