Shigeo Nagashima, Known in Japan as ‘Mr. Pro Baseball,' Dies at 89
AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama
A person reads an extra edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reporting that Shigeo Nagashima passed away Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo.
TOKYO (AP) — Shigeo Nagashima, who was known in Japan as 'Mr. Pro Baseball' and was one of the most famous people in the country during his playing days, has died. He was 89.
His death was confirmed Tuesday by the Yomiuri Giants, the team he helped make famous and eventually managed.
His passing was also announced in special extra editions of newspapers that are handed out on street corners — a throwback to breaking news in an earlier time.
He was famous in a period before Japanese players like Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani began to star in North American MLB.
Ohtani posted three photos of himself with Nagashima on social media before the Los Angeles Dodgers' game on Monday night — including two that were clearly taken during the Dodgers' visit to Tokyo last March for the first two games of the regular season.
'May your soul rest in peace,' Ohtani wrote.
Ohtani didn't speak to reporters after he hit his major league-leading 23rd homer and later drove in the tying run during the Dodgers' 4-3 loss to the New York Mets.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Nagashima 'gave bright dreams and hopes to the society.'
AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama
A person unfurls an extra edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reporting that Shigeo Nagashima passed away Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo.
Nagashima helped lead the Giants as they won nine straight Japan Series titles — the counterpart to the World Series — from 1965 through 1973.
His equally famous teammate was Sadaharu Oh, who hit 868 home runs in his career.
Nagashima played third base, finished with a .305 batting average, had 2,471 hits, 1,522 RBIs and 444 home runs.
He played for 17 seasons and retired in 1974, then returned to manage the Giants in 1975 through 1980. He was fired after the 1980 season when the Giants failed to win the Japan Series during his stint.
He returned to the dugout in 1993 and led the Giants to the Japan Series title in 1994 with Hideki Matsui, who eventually joined the New York Yankees. He also won the championship in 2000.
He was to set to manage Japan in the 2004 Athens Olympics, but had a stroke a few months before that left him partially paralyzed and unable to participate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Padres' Yu Darvish continues progressing toward return from inflammation in his pitching elbow
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Padres right-hander Yu Darvish threw off a mound for a third straight day Wednesday as he continues to progress toward a return from inflammation in his pitching elbow that landed him on the injured list to start the season. Manager Mike Shildt said Darvish would return to San Diego for another bullpen session Friday or Saturday and then the club would determine the next steps in his recovery. "Came out of it feeling good, spoke with him yesterday after the game, he's very encouraged," Shildt said. "Came in earlier today and played catch. ... He got off the mound again yesterday so it's three days in a row off the mound with some throwing, with a bullpen sandwiched in between. So, recovering, still throwing well. He has a plan for another bullpen and then we'll go from there. All favorable and trending in a good place." The 38-year-old Darvish went on the injured list March 24 and would be pitching in the majors for his 13th season when he's back. Darvish made a pair of spring training starts but was shut down after his second outing, during which he went four innings and threw 54 pitches against Kansas City on March 13. Darvish is 110-88 with a 3.58 ERA over his big league career after pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League from 2005-11. He had Tommy John surgery on March 17, 2015, and returned to a major league mound on May 28, 2016. He had back, neck and elbow problems last season and was on the restricted list for personal reasons from early July to late August. Darvish won three of four starts in September and was 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series. Darvish came to the major leagues in 2012 after agreeing to a $56 million, six-year contract with the Texas Rangers. He was traded to the Dodgers in July 2017, became a free agent after the World Series and signed a $126 million, six-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Darvish was dealt to San Diego after the 2020 season and in February 2023 agreed to a contract with the Padres that added $90 million guaranteed for a total of $108 million over six years. His 2023 season ended in late August because of a bone spur in his right elbow.
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gifts pink toy luxury car to Shohei Ohtani's baby daughter
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and his wife have gifted Shohei Ohtani's baby daughter with a pink toy Porsche. Ohtani posted a video of him, Roberts and the toy car on his Instagram account. "We had a little running practical-joke situation going on," Roberts said Wednesday, "but this was a gift for the baby." Last May, Roberts joked that Ohtani should give him a Porsche when the slugger broke the Dodgers record for most home runs by a Japanese player. Ohtani obliged, gifting a purple toy model Porsche for Roberts' office. In breaking the record, Ohtani surpassed the mark set by Roberts, who was born in Japan, during his playing days. Ohtani went slightly bigger in March, when he left another toy Porsche in Roberts' parking space at Camelback Ranch in Arizona. Ohtani gifted Ashley Kelly, wife of Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly, a Porsche for her husband giving up his No. 17 when Ohtani signed with the Dodgers in December 2023. Ohtani's first child was born on April 19. He and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, have not revealed the baby's name or any other information in keeping with Ohtani's penchant for privacy. Ohtani's reaction to the gift from Roberts and his wife Tricia? "He was very grateful," Roberts said.
SoraNews24
6 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Burger King Japan adds a Pickleball Burger to the menu… but what's so pickleball about it?
A novel way to draw attention to a growing sport. On May 30, 2025, Burger King released a bold new menu item in Japan called the Pickleball Burger. There are a lot of surprising things about this new release, so we immediately headed out to try it when it debuted on 30 May. The first thing we noticed was the simplicity of the ingredients, with three flame-grilled beef patties sandwiched between patties of rice in place of buns. A number of fast food chains have become known for their rice-patty burgers, but sometimes they can have a hard and rough texture that detracts from the moist deliciousness of the grains. With that in mind, we set the bar low for this burger, but held out hope as it's been made in collaboration with Hachidaime Gihey, a long-established rice shop in Kyoto. At 1,790 yen (US$12.46), this is on the pricey end of the fast food spectrum, but it's a hefty burger, measuring close to 12 centimetres (4.7 inches) in diameter. The cross-section shows just how simple this burger is, with nothing but rice, beef and pickles (11 of them, to be exact) as a nod to pickleball, the racquet sport that inspired it. ▼ Burger King recently signed a sponsorship agreement with the Japan Pickleball Federation (PJF), hence the new burger. Taking a bite, we were amazed at how much flavour these simple ingredients delivered. Even the rice patty was fantastic, with the special blend of white rice and 'Kin no Ibuki', a brand of brown rice from Miyagi Prefecture, creating delicious mouthfuls of flavour. ▼ The rice patty keeps a nice, slightly grainy texture that's moist but not sticky or mushy. The seasoning consists simply of salt and pepper, which is a great way to enhance the taste of the rice and beef. With no sauce to get in the way, these two ingredients took centre stage on the palate, with bursts of crunchy, tangy pickles adding a fantastic contrast that had us going back for more after every mouthful. This is a burger that serves up a lot of flavour, and although it doesn't quite look like a pickleball, unless you see the grains as resembling the ball's many holes, it's a clever way to draw attention to the sport. It's only available for a limited time, though, so you'll want to get in soon to try it before it disappears from the menu, like the Kyoto Whopper that came before it. Photos©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
