| 2012 NPB season | |
| League: | Nippon Professional Baseball |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Duration: | March 30 - November 3 |
| Season2: | Central League Pennant |
| League Champs2: | Yomiuri Giants |
| Second Place2: | Chunichi Dragons |
| Mvp2: | Shinnosuke Abe (Yomiuri) |
| Mvp Link2: | Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award |
| Season3: | Pacific League Pennant |
| League Champs3: | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Second Place3: | Saitama Seibu Lions |
| Mvp3: | Mitsuo Yoshikawa (Nippon Ham) |
| Mvp Link3: | Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award |
| Playoffs: | Climax Series |
| Conf1: | CL |
| Conf1 Link: | 2012 Central League Climax Series |
| Conf1 Champ: | Yomiuri Giants |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Chunichi Dragons |
| Conf2: | PL |
| Conf2 Link: | 2012 Pacific League Climax Series |
| Conf2 Champ: | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
| Finals: | Japan Series |
| Finals Link: | 2012 Japan Series |
| Finals Champ: | Yomiuri Giants |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Finals Mvp: | Tetsuya Utsumi (Yomiuri) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award |
| Seasonslist: | List of Nippon Professional Baseball seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | NPB |
| Prevseason Link: | 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2011 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2013 |
The 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball season is the 63rd season since the NPB was reorganized in 1950.
| G | W | L | T | GB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yomiuri Giants | 144 | 86 | 43 | 15 | .667 | — | |
| Chunichi Dragons | 144 | 75 | 53 | 16 | .586 | 10.5 | |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 144 | 68 | 65 | 11 | .511 | 20.0 | |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 144 | 61 | 71 | 12 | .462 | 26.5 | |
| Hanshin Tigers | 144 | 55 | 75 | 14 | .423 | 31.5 | |
| Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 144 | 46 | 85 | 13 | .351 | 41.0 |
| G | W | L | T | GB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 144 | 74 | 59 | 11 | .556 | — | |
| Saitama Seibu Lions | 144 | 72 | 63 | 9 | .533 | 3.0 | |
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 144 | 67 | 65 | 12 | .508 | 6.5 | |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 144 | 67 | 67 | 10 | .500 | 7.5 | |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | 144 | 62 | 67 | 15 | .481 | 10.0 | |
| Orix Buffaloes | 144 | 57 | 77 | 10 | .425 | 17.5 |
See main article: 2012 Central League Climax Series and 2012 Pacific League 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.
The regular season league champions, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (PL) and the Yomiuri Giants (CL), received byes to the championship round.
The regular season league champions, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (PL) and the Yomiuri Giants (CL), received a one-game advantage.
See main article: 2012 Japan Series.
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting average | .340 | |||
| Home runs | 31 | |||
| Runs batted in | Shinnosuke Abe | Yomiuri Giants | 104 | |
| Runs | Yomiuri Giants | 87 | ||
| Hits | Yomiuri Giants Yomiuri Giants | 173 | ||
| Stolen bases | 32 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 15 | |||
| Losses | 14 | |||
| Earned run average | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 1.53 | ||
| Strikeouts | Yomiuri Giants Hanshin Tigers | 172 | ||
| Innings pitched | Kenta Maeda | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 206 | |
| Saves | 33 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting average | .312 | |||
| Home runs | 27 | |||
| Runs batted in | 91 | |||
| Runs | 79 | |||
| Hits | 157 | |||
| Stolen bases | 54 |
| Player | Team | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 17 | |||
| Losses | 12 | |||
| Earned run average | 1.71 | |||
| Strikeouts | 169 | |||
| Innings pitched | 200 | |||
| Saves | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 32 |