Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame announced the class of 2013 today, and, unlike the Hall in Cooperstown, three new members were elected: Yoshiro Sotokoba, Yutaka Ohno, and Kazuo Fukushima.  It is interesting to note that, similar to last year's election, the only two former pro players to be elected were members of the Hiroshima Carp teams of the 1970's and 80's.

Also of note is the fact that both Koji Akiyama and Randy Bass were not elected.  Both have ties to Sadaharu Oh (above right).  Akiyama was a superstar who compiled 400+ home runs and 2000+ hits, and took over the helm of the Hawks after Oh retired as their manager.  Bass, while known for his role in the 1985 Hanshin Tiger Championship and the Curse of the Colonel, is better known in the US for his attempt at the NPB single season home run record that was supposedly thwarted by the Oh managed Giants in 1985.  Both Bass and Akiyama were strong personalities, a feature that may have, and may still, hinder their hall of fame chances, highlighting a similarity to the 'character clause' that has caused much consternation in this year's US Hall of Fame election.

Sadaharu Oh had a lot less trouble making the Hall - not only due to his hitting prowess, but to his ubiquitous presence in Japanese popular culture in the 1960's, 70's and 80's.  The images above and to the left are from a Meiji Milk advertisement from the mid 60's, showing Oh in his 'flamingo stance' surrounded by Meiji products, as well as a cartoon Oh showing a young child the full farm-to-market dairy process.

According to their corporate site, Kyokuto Condensed Milk Co. the predecessor of Meiji Dairies, was established by Meiji Sugar and started manufacturing condensed milk and other products. 1924 Meiji Sugar Co.,Ltd. established Meiji Shoji and launched "Milk Chocolate." In 1928 “Meiji Milk” was introduced, and in 1940 Kyokuto Condensed Milk Co., Ltd. changed its name to Meiji Dairies Corporation and, along with Meiji Seika, launched caramel, chocolate, cream, and almond snacks, that became extremely popular.  It was during the 1960's that many of the Meiji brands began advertising with baseball stars, creating baseball cards and premiums like the example above.

Another star passed over in this year's election was Atsuya Furuta.  If he is eventually elected, Furuta would be only the 6th catcher in the Hall - five of those played in the pre-war college leagues, and the only modern catcher is none other than Katsuya Nomora.  A ways back, I wrote a few pieces about post-war catchers, in particular the dearth of them in the Hall of Fame. I mentioned Toshiyasu Ogawa (right) as a potential Hall of Fame catcher, had he not been killed in action during the second World War.  Thanks to Mr. Ryuichi Suzuki at the Hall of Fame in Japan, I was able to piece together a sketch of Ogawa's baseball life.... In 1930, he graduated from Kyoryo Middle School and entered Keio University.  A star already, he joined the baseball team and became their catcher, making his first appearance in the Tokyo Big 6 University Baseball League on April 14, 1930.  However, he missed his first Waseda vs. Keio game, a tradition similar to the Army/Navy game, due to an illness. He caught for the Keio Nine until 1934, playing with future Hall of Famers Saburo Miyatake and Shigeru Mizuhara. 

In his 3rd year at Keio, Ogawa was behind the plate for the infamous "Apple Incident", a brawl that occurred during the October 22, 1933 Keio vs. Waseda game.  In the bottom of the eighth inning, Oka, of Keio University, tried to steal second base. At first, the umpire judged that he was safe, but then overturned his decision after a protest from the shortstop Takasu of Waseda. Shigeru Mizuhara, the Keio third base coach, edged up to the base umpire and made a fierce but fruitless argument.  With Waseda now ahead by one run at the middle of the eighth, the score 8-7, the Keio fans were riled by an umpire’s wavering judgement as much as the Waseda fans were riled by Mizuhara's actions.  By the ninth inning, both the Waseda and Keio cheering sections were so excited that the slightest thing could set them off.  

As Mizuhara made his way to the third base coaching box in the bottom of the ninth, an apple core was thrown at him from the more and more excited Waseda cheering section. When Mizuhara picked it up and threw it back, the section almost burst. Soon afterwards, Ogawa got on base as part of a rally that eventually led to a come-from-behind victory, with Keio beating Waseda 9-8.  This was all the Waseda cheering party needed, and they burst onto the field as well as the Keio bench and cheering section. A number of scuffles broke out between the both cheering parties that turned brutal enough to warrant police intervention to subdue the trouble.  A settlement was reached that led to the resignation of the director of Waseda University Baseball Club a month later, and a ban on their participating in the Big 6 Baseball League the following season.

In 1936, Ogawa joined the Hanshin Tigers as a regular catcher during the first season of professional baseball in Japan. He shared catching duties during the Spring, 1936, season with Masato Monzen, though he was far superior at the plate. He caught almost all of the games in the Fall season, but, unfortunately, was subsequently drafted into the army to meet a fate that many of his contemporaries met as well.  Though his career never had the chance to take off, he is depicted as an able catcher and a distinguished leader of the early Hanshin teams in "The History of Hanshin Tigers in the Showa Era" (1991), and, unusual for the first year of pro baseball, had large following of female fans.

On a final note in US Hall of Fame news, it is interesting to see that Hideo Nomo will be on the 2014 ballot, making him the first Japanese born player to appear on a Hall of Fame ballot.

New Blogs

It has been some time since I have devoted the proper attention to this site - I hope, in the next year, to really get going and add some new content.  In the meantime, some recommendations:

Rob Fitts, author of Banzai Babe Ruth, and Wally Yonemine, has started a new blog:

http://blog.robfitts.com/

His tremendous writing talent, combined with an amazing collection of cards, memorabilia, historical artifacts, etc., lead me to believe that this will be an amazing site to check in with regularly.

In addition, the folks at Japanese Baseball Cards recently introduced me to another new site:

http://thiscardiscool.blogspot.com/

Both sites are beautifully done, and I highly recommend them. 

Our friend at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Japan, Ryuichi Suzuki, informed me of the fact that the new Hall of Fame ballot has been released.  An English version can be viewed courtesy of YakyuBaka:

http://yakyubaka.com/2012/11/28/japan-baseball-hall-of-fame-2013-candidates/

In addition to Koji Akiyama and long-time NoboruAotaFan favorite Masayuki Dobashi, please note that the amazing, bespectacled, Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta is up for consideration for the first time - we need more four-eyed catchers in the Hall of Fame! (note: the author of this blog was a four-eyed catcher himself)  Also worthy of note - Randy Bass and Greg "Boomer" Wells (along with infielder/pitcher Hiroshi Gondo) all first appearing on the "Expert Division" ballot.

Till next time...

Half a Century with My Husband - Mrs. Mitsuko Aota Remembers

Roughly four times a year our friend Ryuichi Suzuki of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Japan puts together a newsletter filled with great essays, news and other bits of Japanese Baseball history.  The most recent issue, vol. 22, no. 1, contains a short piece by Noboru Aota's widow, Mitsuko, about Aota, his role as a father and husband, as well as a bit about his youth and their early years together.  Check it out, and take a look at all of the newsletters, as they are chock full of information on baseball in Japan!

1950 Kokutetsu Swallows

According to Japan Baseball Daily, today marks the 62nd anniversary of the birth of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, then known as the Kokutetsu Swallows. They were originally established by what is today the Japan Railways, and, under manager Norio Nishigaki, they shared space with the Giants in Korakuen stadium before moving to their current home in Meiji Jingu Stadium in 1964. During that time they were one of the losing-est teams in NPB history, posting only one winning record in 25 years.

A game and a half from the absolute cellar, the 1950 expansion Kokutetsu Swallows were the worst hitting (they left the fewest men on base in the league, only because their OBP was also the lowest in the league), and almost (next only to the Carp) the worst pitching team in the Central League. They led the league in walks, balks and wild pitches, and had the fewest hit batsmen- in other words, a pitching staff that was wild yet un-intimidating. They weren't the worst fielding team in the league, but their defense (who committed the second most errors in the Central League) didn't help their otherwise lackluster performance.

The only bright spot was a young rookie named Masaichi Kaneda (right). There was no All Star game in 1950, but the following year only one member of the team would make it, and that was Kaneda. The free-wheeling Kaneda (see photo at top of page) would go on to set all-time Japan records for wins, losses, and strikeouts, become one of the first major stars to jump teams and embrace 'free agency', and found the Meikyukai, or Golden Players Club, a sort-of alternate to the Hall of Fame, that honors players not on votes, but automatic enshrinement upon the achievement of 2000 hits, 200 wins, or 250 saves. The 17 year old Kaneda out-pitched the rest of his staff during the '50 season, winning only 8 and losing 12 but posting the lowest ERA and striking out the second most batters.


Despite the fact that their best player was also their youngest, there were a few standout performances of that lackluster season:

First baseman Ryohei Moriya (below) led the team with a .288 batting average and 21 home runs.

While not the best fielding first baseman in the league (that honor would have to go to Kiyoshi Ozawa), his 910 putouts against 11 errors demonstrate his competence at the position, and, combined with his prowess at the plate, establish him as the Swallows most valuable player in 1950, and he was fittingly their captain. Moriya would go on to play a few more seasons with the Swallows, retiring at the end of the '53 season with a .266 average in exactly 1500 plate attempts.


While Kaneda was second on the team with 143 K's, Akira Takahashi (left) edged him out with 147. And, while he wasn't the teams ace, he won their first game ever, on March 11 of that year. He would pitch 6 more years with the Swallows, never posting a winning record and walking more batters than he struck out.




Outfielder Shigeru Enomoto (below) was more representative of the team, appearing mostly in a pinch-hitter role while playing only 5 games in the outfield and committing one error. The two hits he collected during that season would turn out to be the only two hits of his career- after 1950 he vanished, most likely into the industrial leagues or maybe as a coach for some local clubs.
Enomoto found himself lumped in with a class of athlete to whom success was a double edged sword, a gift and a curse; a group with many members on both sides of the Pacific Ocean and beyond: As with new teams and most expansion seasons, the Swallows were packed with those players, like Enomoto, who would never have had a chance to play at the top level, but now find themselves with a few scattered innings of memory, a footnote or two in the statistical record that can prove to be a personal achievement or a bitter taste of what could have been.

In 1964 the Swallows moved to the storied Meiji Jingu Stadium, home to the college baseball and once the host of U.S. superstars. They would go through many owners and even a name change (they were the Atoms for a short period in the late sixties), and continue their losing ways until finally winning a championship in 1978.

Japan Baseball Daily

Japan Baseball Daily, an invaluable source of Japanese baseball data, will be closing in the next year or two. Please visit the site and check out all of the amazing statistics, biographical data, videos, opinions, etc.

Also, check out the stats from the 2011 season at the NPB English site.

And stay tuned for more posts soon on the Cardinals tour of 1958 and the birth of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows...

Darvish, Kitabeppu and the Babe...

Banzai Babe Ruth is now available on ebay- check it out and pick up a copy today!

And congratulations to the new members of the Hall of Fame: Manubu Kitabeppu, Tsunemi Tsuda, Kiro Osafune, and Osamu Ohmoto!

Also, as news of the Yu Darvish signing makes the rounds, the buzz over new card sets from BBM does as well- take a look at Japanese Baseball Cards for more info.

Hall of Fame, Banzai Babe Ruth, and Mayday Malone

In January, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will be announcing the class of 2012. Once again on the list for the expert group (those players retired for 21 years or more as well as managers, coaches and umpires) is Masayaki Dobashi (right), who we profiled a few years back. Also on the ballot is Isao Shibata, Koji Akiyama, and Shinjo- you can find the announcement and the complete ballot in Japanese here.

Also, Banzai Babe Ruth, the new book by Rob Fitts, author of the wonderful Wally Yonemine biography as well as several other books on the history of Japanese baseball, will be out early next year. You can pre-order the book here- go get one right now!

And finally, our friends at the Infinite Baseball Card Set, who have designed a number of beautiful baseball cards featuring Japanese and Gaijin players, released in October a great card that, though somewhat out of the scope of this blog, is too brilliant not to share. Sam 'Mayday' Malone, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and later owner of famous bar in Boston, never had his own card. The Infinite Baseball Card provides one, as well as an extensive biography- check it out!