Latest news with #MrGiants
Reuters
2 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
June 3 - Shigeo Nagashima, a Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer who spent more than three decades as a player and manager for the Yomiuri Giants, died Tuesday. He was 89. The Giants said Nagashima died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital. Nagashima won an impressive 11 Japan Series championships in his 17-year playing career, including nine straight from 1965-73. Nicknamed Mr. Giants and Mr. Professional Baseball, Nagashima played in 2,186 games for the club and was a career .305 batter who hit 444 home runs, 418 doubles and 74 triples while driving in 1,522 runs. He stole 190 bases and scored 1,270 runs. Shortly after his retirement, he was named the Giants' manager. He held the role from 1975-80 and was fired but returned as the manager from 1993-2001, leading the Giants to two championships in 1994 and 2000. Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, the country's biggest present-day sports icon, posted photos of himself with Nagashima on Instagram with the caption, "May your soul rest in peace." --Field Level Media
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Shigeo Nagashima: Japanese baseball legend dies aged 89
Former baseball player Shigeo Nagashima, who was once one of Japan's most famous sports stars, has died aged died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo, according to a statement released by his former team the Yomiuri Mr Giants, Nagashima won nine straight titles with the team in the 1960s and 70s, playing in 2,186 games and hitting 444 home on his death, a government spokesman said Nagashima had given society "bright dreams and hopes". His ability - and charm - made him popular, at a time of increasing economic prosperity and growing confidence in Japan."He taught me lots of things. I'm grateful to have been able to play with him," his former teammate, Sadaharu Oh, was quoted as saying. Oh, 85, still holds the world record for hitting the most home runs, and together, known as "O-N", they were a lethal team on the Ohtani, who is currently one of Japan's most famous baseballers, and plays for the LA Dodgers, posted photos of himself with Nagashima on his Instagram page."May your soul rest in peace," the 30-year-old wrote. Nagashima, who also had the nickname Mr Pro Baseball, famously hit a winning home run at the first ever professional baseball game attended by the Japanese emperor, in retired in 1974 after a 17-year playing career - winning the Central League batting title six also helped the Giants win two Japan Series titles over 15 seasons as their country's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said Nagashima was "a sunny person"."He left so many brilliant records in the world of professional baseball for many years and gave bright dreams and hopes to society as a national star," he said.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Shigeo Nagashima, ‘Mr. Baseball' of Postwar Japan, Dies at 89
Shigeo Nagashima, Japan's most celebrated baseball player and a linchpin of the storied Tokyo Yomiuri Giants dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s, died in a Tokyo hospital on Tuesday. He was 89. He died of pneumonia, according to a joint statement released by the Giants, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and Nagashima's management company. A star from his first season in 1958, Nagashima instantly made a splash with his powerful bat, speed on the basepaths and catlike reflexes as a third baseman. He notched numerous batting titles and Most Valuable Player Awards, and he was a key member of the Giants' heralded 'V-9' teams, which won nine consecutive Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973. More than any player of his generation, Nagashima symbolized a country that was feverishly rebuilding after World War II and gaining clout as an economic power. Visiting dignitaries sought his company. His good looks and charisma helped make him an attraction; he was considered Japan's most eligible bachelor until his wedding in 1965, which was broadcast nationally. The news media tracked Nagashima's every move. The fact that he played for the Giants, who were owned by the Yomiuri media empire, amplified his exploits. He wore his success and celebrity so comfortably that he became known as 'Mr. Giants,' 'Mr. Baseball' or, sometimes, simply 'Mister.' 'No matter what he did or where he went there was a photo of him — attending a reception for the emperor, or coaching a Little League seminar, or appearing at the premiere of the latest Tom Cruise movie,' Robert Whiting, a longtime chronicler of Japanese baseball, wrote about Nagashima in The Japan Times in 2013. 'People joked that he was the real head of state.' None of that celebrity would have been possible had he not excelled as a ballplayer. Along with his teammate Sadaharu Oh, Japan's home run king, Nagashima was the centerpiece of the country's most enduring sports dynasty. He hit 444 home runs, had a lifetime batting average of .305, won six batting titles and five times led the league in runs batted in. He was a five-time most valuable player and was chosen as the league's top third baseman in each of his 17 seasons. He was inducted into Japan's Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. A full version of this obituary will be published later. Hisako Ueno contributed reporting.
NHK
3 days ago
- General
- NHK
Japanese pro baseball legend Nagashima Shigeo dies
Japanese pro baseball legend Nagashima Shigeo has died at the age of 89. He was known as "Mr. Giants."
