Shigeo Nagashima
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox baseball biography
.jpg)
Template:Nihongo was a Japanese professional baseball player and manager. Nagashima first began to playing a baseball in elementary school, before playing at his high school in Chiba Prefecture, part of Kanto Region, just before he played as a third baseman for Rikkyo University. After winning the batting title for two straight years in Tokyo Big6 Baseball League, Nagashima made his professional debut in 1958 with Yomiuri Giants after signing with them months prior. In his rookie season, he led a baseball league in home runs and runs batted in, with 29 and 92 respectively, and ultimately received a rookie of the year honors. Later, Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh would both become a dual force in being the best hitters in a game, in which Nagashima won the season MVP award five times. After retiring in 1974, he became as a manager of Yomiuri Giants from 1975 to 1980, and again from 1993 to 2001; during this time, he won Japan Series twice.
His nicknames includes "Mr. Pro Baseball", "Mr. Giants", and "Hot Man" of Japan,
Nagashima is regarded as a beloved national figure of postwar Japan, on par with Hibari Misora and Yujiro Ishihara. His bright personality endeared him to the Japanese people, extending beyond the Giants and professional baseball.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Early life and amateur career
Nagashima was born on February 20, 1936, in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, Empire of Japan (Now Japan),<ref name=":0" /> to his parents, Chiyo and Toshi Nagashima. He was the youngest of four siblings, with one older brother and two older sisters. His whole family was a farming family, but the land was rented out.<ref name=":0" /> His father, Toshi, who worked as a town tax collector and deputy mayor of Usui Town, but unfortunately died of heart attack in 1954 when he was 18. While his mother, Chiyo died of natural causes on July 9, 1994.<ref name=":0" />
He began playing in fourth grade of elementary school, and idolized Fumio Fujimura, who was an infielder and pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Nagashima also played baseball at his local high school in Chiba Prefecture, and on Rikkyo University baseball team in 1955–1957 as a third baseman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> During this period, he also won the batting title for two consecutive years in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League, in 1956 and 1957 respectively, and was given the Best Nine Award five seasons in a row at third base.<ref name=":2" />
By his senior year, scouts from every professional team wanted to sign Nagashima, and the Nankai Hawks and Hiroshima Carp were particularly active in recruiting Nagashima.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, he instead signed with the Giants in 1958 for 18,000,000 yen, the highest salary for a baseball player at the time.<ref name=":0" />
Professional career
Nagashima made his professional debut in April 1958, and struck out in all four of his at-bats against Masaichi Kaneda (coincidentally, Sadaharu Oh also struck out in all of his at-bats in his debut game against Kaneda).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref> Regardless, Nagashima became the team's clean-up hitter by mid-season, and the Giants won the league championship.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nagashima led the league in home runs (29) and runs batted in (92), and was subsequently awarded the rookie of the year award.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> He would have hit .300 with over 30 home runs and 30 steals in his rookie year, but he had one home run scratched off his record because he forgot to step on first base while rounding the bases after hitting a home run.<ref>Hiragana Times, "'Mr. Baseball' – The Legendary Uniform #3", Volume #294, April 2011, pp. 26–29.</ref><ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> Regardless, he had a batting average of .305 and also stole 37 bases.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> The Giants would ultimately make it to the 1958 Japan Series where they won the first three games; however, the opposing Nishitetsu Lions won the next four games in the seven-game series to overcome the 3–0 deficit.<ref name="NPB">Template:Cite web</ref> Nagashima scored two home runs in the series.<ref name="NPB"/>
Nagashima played perhaps his most well-known game on June 25, 1959, when the Japanese emperor Hirohito attended a baseball game for the first time.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> Nagashima hit the game-winning home run off Minoru Murayama, and rookie Sadaharu Oh also had a home run in the game.<ref name=":5" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Yomiuri Giants cleanup consisting of Oh batting third, and Nagashima batting fourth, were nicknamed the "ON Hou" (translated to: "Oh-Nagashima Cannon") as Nagashima continued his hitting prowess, and Oh emerged as the best hitter in the league.<ref name=":6" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Giants won the league championship nine years in a row from 1965 to 1973, and Oh and Nagashima dominated the batting titles during this period.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> Nagashima won the season MVP award five times, and the Best Nine Award every single year of his career (a total 17 times).<ref name=":7" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a result of his dominant performances with the Giants, he was nicknamed "Mr. Pro Baseball" of Japan and "Mr. Giants".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":10" />
After winning his sixth batting title in 1971, Nagashima suddenly fell into a hitting slump and no longer posted the batting statistics he had previous achieved in his younger years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The team wanted Nagashima to take over as manager after Tetsuharu Kawakami, who had led the team for 14 years, and Nagashima doubled as a player and a coach in his final seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1974, the Chunichi Dragons won the league championship, breaking the nine-year streak held by the Giants, and Nagashima played his final game on October 14 against the Dragons, grounding out to short for a double-play in his last at-bat. The game was followed by an elaborate retirement ceremony.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Managerial career
Nagashima's appointment as manager of the Yomiuri Giants was announced on November 21, 1974, one month after his retirement, and was given control of the team in the same month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He recruited third baseman Davey Johnson from the majors, who became the first ever non-Japanese player to play for the Giants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the Giants ended the season in last place for the first time in the team's history.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref> Despite this, Nagashima made further changes and the Giants quickly re-assumed their dominant position in the Central League, winning league championships in 1976 and 1977.<ref name=":9" />
The Giants lost the pennant to the Yakult Swallows in 1978,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in the off-season of the same year, Nagashima and the Giants were involved in a huge controversy concerning the drafting of pitcher Suguru Egawa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Giants ended in fifth place in 1979 with a 58–62 record.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Criticism towards Nagashima increased, the team's owners decided to fire Nagashima during the 1980 season.<ref name=":8" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nagashima's immense popularity caused controversy among the fans after his firing, and the Yomiuri Shimbun experienced a significant decrease in publications after Nagashima's firing, with some people angered at its "misreporting" of the situation.<ref name=":8" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Nagashima returned to Yomiuri Giants for 1993 season, when Tsuneo Watanabe became a new owner of team in 1996 (Watanabe had a long-lasting affiliation with Nagashima).<ref name=":10">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 1992 draft, he won the lottery to sign Hideki Matsui, who would become the new star of the Giants during Nagashima's second run as manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Giants won the Central League Pennant in 1994, 1996, and 2000, winning the Japan Series in 1994 and 2000, and he managed the team until 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For the 2000 Japan Series, Nagashima was managing against his former teammate, Sadaharu Oh, who was the manager for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2002, it was announced that he would lead Japanese Olympic baseball team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The team (consisting entirely of players from the Japanese professional leagues) beat China, Taiwan, and Korea to win the Asia tournament in November 2003, but Nagashima suffered a stroke in March 2004, and was unable to travel to the Athens Olympics.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> The team ended up with a bronze medal in the Olympics after losing to Australia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
In October 1964, Nagashima covered 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games as a special reporter for Hochi Shimbun newspaper alongside Sadaharu Oh, and while speaking with female companions, he met his then-girlfriend, Akiko Nishimura. They announced that the couple were engagement on November 26 of the same year. Two months later, they officially married on January 26, 1965. They couple have two sons and two daughters: His eldest son, Kazushige Nagashima, was a former Japanese professional baseball player, and later, he currently works as a sportscaster. He also played for Yomiuri Giants when his father was a manager, and later became as an actor and TV personality.<ref name=":0" /> His eldest daughter, Yuki, was a businesswoman and a former executive at Office N.<ref name=":0" /> His younger daughter, Mina, was a businesswoman and sportscaster.<ref name=":0" /> His youngest son, Masaoki, was a Japanese professional race-car driver and environmental activist.<ref name=":0" /> Kazushige had twin daughters with his unnamed wife in 2004, making Nagashima's grandfather.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His wife, Akiko Nagashima died of heart failure on September 18, 2007, at the age of 64.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Recognition
His jersey number (3) is now a retired number for Yomiuri Giants.<ref>Hiragana Times, "'Mr. Baseball' – The Legendary Uniform #3", Volume #294, April 2011, pp. 26–29.</ref>
On May 5, 2013, Nagashima was awarded the People's Honour Award, alongside Hideki Matsui whom he had picked in 1992 draft.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, he received the Order of Culture for the first time as a former professional baseball player.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2021 during COVID-19 pandemic, Nagashima was one of torchbearers at 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Health problems and death
On September 7, 2022, Nagashima was hospitalized after suffering a brain hemorrhage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He died from pneumonia in Tokyo, on June 3, 2025, at the age of 89.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He received a private funeral held in Tokyo on June 7.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Career statistics
Player
Managerial record
See also
References
External links
Template:Commons category {{#if:||* }}Career statistics from {{#invoke:String|join|Template:Space·Template:Space|{{#if: | MLB | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata MLB Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | ESPN | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata ESPN Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Baseball Reference | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata.shtml Baseball Reference Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Fangraphs | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Fangraphs Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: nagash000shi | Baseball Reference (Minors) | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Baseball Reference (Minors) Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Retrosheet | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata.htm Retrosheet Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}|{{#if: | Baseball Almanac | {{#if: Template:Wikidata | Template:Wikidata Baseball Almanac Template:EditAtWikidata}} }}}}{{#if: nagash000shi
Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata Template:Wikidata | | Template:Main other Error: Template:Baseballstats must contain at least one valid parameter name. }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Baseballstats with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank = y | br | brm | espn | fangraphs | id | mlb | retro | nobullet | almanac }}
Template:Central League ROYs Template:Central League MVPs Template:Japan Series MVP Template:Matsutaro Shoriki Award Template:Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize Template:Yomiuri Giants Template:Yomiuri Giants managers Template:Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Template:Authority control
- 1936 births
- 2025 deaths
- Baseball people from Chiba Prefecture
- Deaths from pneumonia in Japan
- Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Japanese baseball players
- Managers of baseball teams in Japan
- Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners
- Nippon Professional Baseball players with retired numbers
- Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners
- Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen
- Olympic baseball managers
- People from Sakura, Chiba
- People's Honour Award winners
- Recipients of the Order of Culture
- Rikkyo University alumni
- Yomiuri Giants managers
- Yomiuri Giants players