More than 8,000 people have offered their condolences to the late Japanese baseball legend Nagashima Shigeo at Tokyo Dome, the home field of the Yomiuri Giants. He died on Tuesday at the age of 89.
Nicknamed “Mr Pro Baseball,” Nagashima was a star Giants player who later also served as a permanent honorary team manager.
Condolence books were placed at the entrance of the stadium on Saturday for fans to sign, and many of them stood in line to pay their respects.
One fan said he and Nagashima have the same given name, Shigeo. He said he had believed Nagashima was immortal.
Another fan said he had always wanted to be like Nagashima. He has a jersey and a car license plate with the Number-3, the same as Nagashima’s uniform. He added that he wanted to thank Nagashima for all the excitement.
Yomiuri Giants officials say condolence books are available for signing until June 22, when official Giants games are held.