| 2001 NPB season | |
| League: | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Season: | Regular Season |
| Mvp: | CL |
| Mvp Link: | Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award |
| Playoffs: | League Postseason |
| Conf1: | CL |
| Conf1 Link: | Central League |
| Conf1 Champ: | Yakult Swallows |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Yomiuri Giants |
| Conf2: | PL |
| Conf2 Link: | Pacific League |
| Conf2 Champ: | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Fukuoka Daiei Hawks |
| Finals: | Japan Series |
| Finals Link: | 2001 Japan Series |
| Finals Champ: | Yakult Swallows |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes |
| Finals Mvp: | Atsuya Furuta (Yakult Swallows) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award |
| Seasonslist: | List of Nippon Professional Baseball seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | NPB |
| Prevseason Link: | 2000 Nippon Professional Baseball season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2000 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2002 Nippon Professional Baseball season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2002 |
The Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Yakult Swallows defeating the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the 2001 Japan Series 4 games to 1.
| Central League[1] | 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[2] | 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 |
See main article: 2001 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[3] | |
| 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 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting average | .333 | |||
| Home runs | 39 | |||
| Runs batted in | Roberto Petagine | Yakult Swallows | 127 | |
| Hits | 171 | |||
| Stolen bases | 39 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 14 | |||
| Earned run average | 2.46 | |||
| Strikeouts | Shigeki Noguchi | Chunichi Dragons | 187 | |
| Saves | Yakult Swallows | 37 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting average | .346 | |||
| Home runs | 55 | |||
| Runs batted in | Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes | 132 | ||
| Hits | 195 | |||
| Stolen bases | 44 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 15 | |||
| Earned run average | 3.26 | |||
| Strikeouts | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Seibu Lions | 214 | |
| Saves | 38 |