One of the most beloved Japanese pro baseball legends, known as “Mr. Giants,” has died at the age of 89.
His former team the Yomiuri Giants announced early Tuesday morning that Nagashima Shigeo died from pneumonia. He was diagnosed with brain bleeding in 2022 and was hospitalized and went into rehabilitation.
Nagashima, from Chiba Prefecture, became a star player as a member of the team of Rikkyo University. He joined Japanese professional baseball team the Giants in 1958.
As both a clutch hitter and brilliant fielder, he entertained many fans with his skillful techniques. He won multiple batting awards including two homerun titles and was also nicknamed “Mister pro baseball.”
Nagashima retired as a player in 1974, and then twice assumed the post of the Giants’ team manager.
He received the People’s Honor Award in 2013. Nagashima was also awarded the Order of Culture, becoming the first baseball player in history to receive the honor.
Japanese Major Leaguer Ohtani Shohei of the Los Angeles Dodgers has expressed his condolences following Nagashima’s passing.
On social media, Ohtani posted photos of himself with the baseball legend, taken at Tokyo Dome in March, and offered his sincere prayers.
Nagashima symbolized a revitalized Japan
Nagashima joined the Giants in 1958, the decade when Japan’s economy began to grow after recovering from World War Two. That year saw the completion of Tokyo Tower, which become a symbol of a revitalized Japan.
Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958.
In Japan, college baseball was becoming popular, and Nagashima was already a star in that field. When he joined the Giants, the popularity of pro baseball surged.
The next year, the first pro baseball game watched in person by the Emperor was held. Nagashima hit a game-ending home run to win the game. He later recalled the match and said, “As a result of the game, I was evaluated positively as a baseball player. In addition, Japan’s baseball was a minor sport for the people, but it has received recognition since then.”
With the spread of TV, he played the game aware that his every move was being captured on camera. During the game, he placed importance on using his whole body to express his feelings. His playing style was flowing and dynamic.
In the ten years between 1965 and 1974, Japan’s population exceeded 100 million, and it was a lively era. Nagashima and his teammate, Oh Sadaharu, created a golden age for the Giants.
Japanese people worked hard and went home to watch the games. Baseball provided the energy that kept them going.
Nagashima (on the right) and Oh together created the golden age of the Giants.
After 17 years at the Giants, Nagashima’s life as a player came to an end in 1974. That was the year the team failed to win its 10th consecutive championship.
A unique style of play
As a clean-up hitter for the Yomiuri Giants, Nagashima excited fans as a clutch hitter and with dynamic plays in defense and base running.
In his 17 years as a pro, he won a number of awards, including taking home the Central League batting title 6 times, being nominated the home run king twice, and clinching 5 RBI titles, and 5 most valuable players.
His lifetime batting average was .305, but it was often higher than this average in major competitions. He reached .343 in the Japan Series, and .313 in the All-Star Game.
More than just these statistics, it was his elegant and dynamic play style that attracted fans.
Nagashima in his playing days
In his defense of the third baseman, he showed outstanding performances such as displaying light footwork to catch balls beyond his defense range. He also added a touch of drama by making his baseball cap fly off as he threw the ball.
Even when he swung the bat and missed, he swung so hard that it could force the helmet off his head. He said that he calculated exactly how the helmet would fall to the ground.
He eventually became a leading player and helped professional baseball become the most popular sport in Japan.
Nagashima once wrote, “I was fully aware that professional baseball is for the fans.” He added, “I thought of various ways to make them happy, such as defense and base-running if my batting was not so good.”
Remembered for mentoring ‘Godzilla’ Matsui Hideki
Nagashima Shigeo served as the manager of the Giants for 15 seasons, and he nurtured many top players. But he forged an especially strong bond with Matsui Hideki, who went on to play with the New York Yankees.
When Matsui joined the Yomiuri Giants fresh out of high school in 1992, Nagashima devised a “1,000-day plan” to help him evolve into the team’s star cleanup hitter.
In addition to daily one-on-one training sessions, Nagashima invited Matsui to his home after games for additional practice. Just as Nagashima had planned, Matsui was given the cleanup hitter position during his third year as a pro.
During the nine years that the two spent together as manager and player, the Giants won the Central League pennant three times and the Japan Series championship twice.
Matsui later left Japan to play Major League baseball for the New York Yankees. There, he lived up to Nagashima’s expectations and proved to be a hard-hitting slugger.
Matsui became the first Japanese star to be named the Most Valuable Player in a World Series. He hit 507 career home runs before he hung up his cleats.
The bond between Nagashima and Matsui inspired many people. In 2013, the Japanese government bestowed the pair with the People’s Honor Award for their contributions to the development of professional baseball in Japan.
Recovery from brain infarction
On March 4, 2004, Nagashima, then 68, was taken to hospital after feeling sick at home. He was diagnosed with a brain infarction and was hospitalized for more than a month. He had difficulty moving around and was unable to think clearly.
At the time, he was working as a coach for the Japan national team ahead of the Athens Olympics, but he was no longer in the role when the Games took place in August of that year.
After being discharged from hospital, the right side of his body was left paralyzed as a secondary result of the infarction. However, Nagashima took rehabilitation seriously, walking for an hour every morning and undergoing a muscle-strengthening program two hours a day, four times a week.
In July 2005, one year and four months after suffering the cerebral infarction, he was back at the Tokyo Dome, to watch a Giants game. The public could see him in good spirits.
In 2007, he recovered well enough to visit the Giant’s camp in Miyazaki Prefecture, and encouraged the players saying, “Win, win, win.”
After receiving the National Honor Award on May 5, 2013, at Tokyo Dome, fans witnessed the legend making a symbolic return to the batter’s box.
Nagashima at the batter’s box on May 5, 2013
He swung the bat with his left hand against pitcher Hideki Matsui for the first pitch ceremony.
Nagashima said he wanted to encourage people who suffered from the same illness. He told NHK the reason why he was continuing with his training, saying, “I have a strong desire to restore my physical condition. And I know rehabilitation does not lie.”
Notice: An earlier version of this story stated that Nagashima was paralyzed on the left side of his body in 2004, but it was actually the right side of his body. We apologize for the mistake.