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4d ago

Shigeo Nagashima, Japan’s ‘Mr. Pro Baseball,’ Dies at 89

Tributes flooded in from Shohei Ohtani to government officials in recognition of his pioneering impact on Japanese baseball.

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This picture taken on November 5, 1965 shows Shigeo Nagashima of the Yomiuri Giants
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Overview

  • During a 17-season career with the Yomiuri Giants from 1958 to 1974, he won nine consecutive Japan Series titles and compiled a .305 average with 444 home runs and 1,522 RBIs.
  • Nicknamed “Mr. Pro Baseball,” he formed a formidable duo with Sadaharu Oh that helped cement the sport’s place at the heart of Japan’s postwar cultural revival.
  • He managed the Giants from 1975 to 1980 and returned in 1993 to guide them to a Japan Series championship in 1994 alongside Hideki Matsui.
  • Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani led tributes on Instagram and Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary praised him for giving “bright dreams and hopes to society.”
  • He famously hit a walk-off home run in the first professional game attended by Emperor Hirohito in 1959.