BIG IN JAPAN Shigeo Nagashima - Japan's
Mr. Baseball
In talking about Japanese baseball history, the name and heroics of
Tokyo Giants' Manager Shigeo Nagashima - Japan's "Mr. Baseball" - are topics
that come up almost instantly in any given discussion.
Nagashima took his place in baseball history in his rookie year with the Giants. With the
Hanshin Tigers visiting the Tokyo Giants at Korakuen on June 29, 1959, and the emperor
visiting the ballpark on Japan's first royal visit to the ballpark in history, the Giants'
rookie third baseman tattooed a pitch into the left field bleachers for a sayonara homer
in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game, not to mention the hearts and minds of
a nation.
This was the start of a great career for the seemingly hard-nosed yet charismatic
Nagashima, whose rookie statistics of 29 home runs and 92 RBIs earned him Rookie of the
Year honors. From there, Nagashima continued to improve during his playing days, ending up
with 444 home runs while hitting .305 over his 17-year career.
In the 1960s, it was the right-handed hitter Nagashima and left-handed slugger Sadaharu Oh
who carried the Giants through their famous V-9 (Victory-9) stretch - a string of nine
consecutive Central League and Japan Series victories from 1965 to 1973. In contrast to
the zen-studying, reclusive Oh, Nagashima was charm and charisma off the field, making
them the odd couple of Japanese baseball. The pair were known as the "O-N
Cannon" for their abilities to propel horsehide projectiles over the fences and into
the bleachers of Japan's ballparks. While Oh led the league every year in home runs
(ending up with a world record 868 home runs at the end of his career), three of
Nagashima's five Most Valuable Player awards came during the V-9 years. Throughout these
years, both Oh and Nagashima would be at the top of the list in batting statistics every
year, with the pair sharing the batting title intermittently.
Unfortunately, successful play on the field did not translate to success as a manager.
Nagashima's first tour of duty was the 1974 season. A disastrous 74-46 record (the Giants
first-ever last-place finish) led to a public apology for his mismanagement of the team.
The Giants bounced back and won the Central League the following year, only to lose the
Japan Series to the Hankyu Braves (now the Orix Blue Waves). With subsequent lackluster
seasons, culminating with the 1980 finish of 60-61, Nagashima was forced to resign.
Nagashima returned to the helm of the Giants in 1993, where he is still in command. After
two mediocre seasons, the Giants won the Central League pennant in a nail-biting,
down-to-the-wire fashion, winning the pennant on the last day of the season.
The cult of Nagashima's personality and the aura of his playing heroics (if baseball had
saints, then shrines to Nagashima would be in many Giants' fans homes) have buoyed his
managerial career. A poll last year named Nagashima the most popular sports personality in
Japan, despite the Giants' record at the time.
While Nagashima represents a time when hard play, hard work and team loyalty resulted in a
just reward of leadership, the preference for Nagashima's return to the helm for the 1999
season ran along generational lines. While many older fans identified with these traits
and therefore wanted Nagashima to remain the Giants' manager, many younger fans found
results more important than sentiment, and found Nagashima's managerial abilities wanting.
But the fact remains that if Nagashima walked away from the Giants' managing post
tomorrow, his place in Japanese baseball lore, if not Japanese culture, has already been
assured.
In talking about Japanese baseball history, the name and heroics of
Tokyo Giants' Manager Shigeo Nagashima - Japan's "Mr. Baseball" - are topics
that come up almost instantly in any given discussion.
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