Must point out that Tomoaki Kanemoto is right now hitting .528 with 44 total bases in 41 plate appearances for a 1.222 slugging pct.! Go Tigers!

1948(pt.2)!-Triples-Doubles-

Kazuo Kasahara was robbed- not until the two league system formed in 1950 was an award given to the rookie of the year. Maybe it's fitting that Kasahara had his phenomenal 1948 season before the award existed- stats like those deserved a rookie of the decade award.
In right field for the Hawks in 1948, sharing the outfield with Toshio Kawanishi and Kazuo Horii, the rookie Kasahara became the first player in the history of professional baseball in Japan to hit 40 doubles. At the same time, he became the first player to score 100 runs in a season, no doubt aided by Hall of Famer Tokuji Iida's 92 rbi (though his 72 rbi placed him second on the Hawks, four ahead of manager/infielder/HOF star and 1948 MVP Tsuruoka). This combination of talent brought the Nankai team the first of several championships they would win over the next decade.

With Takahiso Bessho and Susumi Yumi on the mound, and fellow rookie Chisuke Kizuka already tearing up the basepaths, Kasahara and the Hawks won the second to last championship of the one-league system, edging out Aota, Kawasaki and the powerful Giants by 5 games. This was the beginning of a dynasty that would capture four of the first six Pacific League Championships.
A key factor in that dynasty would join the Hawks two years later, and win the 1951 Rookie of the Year while sharing first names with Kasahara (too bad they could not share the ROY award).

Sharing the infield duties up the middle with Chusuke Kizuka, as well as at the hot corner, Kazuo Kageyama (right) blazed into the Hawks line-up in the first year of the Pacific league and set the record for triples in a season (only to be broken the following season by Masayasu Kaneda- see below). While Kizuka was setting the mark for stolen bases in a season, Kageyama's triples helped the powerless Hawks (they were perennially at the bottom of the home run list) establish themselves as one of, if not the top team in the Pacific League. This combination of speed and golden gloves (the Hawks were at the bottom of the errors list each season as well) helped Kageyama, Kizuka, the veterans Tsuruoka, Kasahara and Iida, win and win- beating out the Lions, their nearest competitor in 1951, by 18 and a half games.
The Million Dollar Infield of Kageyama, Kizuka, Tsuruoka, Iida and Okamoto won the Best Nine (that is, a Hawk won the Best Nine for each infield position) in both 1951 and 1952, a feat that would not be accomplished again until the 1968 Giants, who also added catcher Masahiko Mori to the Best Nine trophy case - the Hawks would have accomplished it twice more, in 1953 and 1955, if not for the stellar play of Futushi Nakanishi at third base for the Lions.
In that 1951 season, Kageyama led the league in triples for the second season in a row (including becoming the first player after the war to hit three triples in a game, still a record tied with six others), while also leading in runs scored and coming in second in batting (behind Oshita, by an amazing .068!- .383 to .315). His 42 stolen bases ranked third (Kizuka was, once again, first), and his .403 on base percentage was second on the Hawks to fellow Kazuo, Kasahara's .418. That season, Kasahara (the other Kazuo, rookie of the 40's) also led the Hawks with a .507 slugging percentage, and provided the veteran leadership the Hawks needed- two years later, however, he was shipped off to the Unions.
Kazuo Kageyama, however, stayed with the Hawks until 1959 (when, after winning five of the first ten Pacific League pennants, the Hawks finally won their first Japan Series), but his productivity took a nose dive after the 1954 season. He led the league in triples almost every season until then, was the Pacific League's leader in triples for the 50's, and he is in the top 15 all time.

"The real trouble with war (modern war) is that it gives no one a chance to kill the right people." Ezra Pound said that in an epilogue to his tribute to Gaudier-Brzeska, the young sculptor who, days before being killed in an attack on Neuville St. Vaast, carved the Virgin Mary from the discarded butt of a rifle- an enthusiastic participant in the defense of France during the first World War- and at the same time a man of sensitive yet blinding artistic vision.
The image of Japanese ballplayers off to war is much like that of Gaudier-Brzeska, instead carving bats from the discarded rifles before charging out of the trench to their destiny. Even star players were thrust into glorious, yet terrifying roles that resulted in kamikaze missions and POW camps. The 1946 season, statistically at least, shows the weariness of that war- and the toll it took on all of the players who returned. Masayasu Kaneda, however, seems to have escaped that weariness. He came back with energy- in 1946 he not only led the league in batting, but set a new record for hits. A career Hanshin Tiger, and the popular captain of the team in the 50's, Kaneda played three lackluster seasons before the war, but returned to hit .347 while collecting 200 total bases for the first of 5 seasons. His true talent was in his combination of speed and power- a talent that led him to be the premier triples hitter in the 1950's.
The following season, in 1947, this talent, along with the blinding speed of Shosei Go and the power of the human locomotive, Fumio Fujimura, led the Tigers to their last championship for decades. Kaneda's 11 triples tied for the league lead, and his .311 average led the Tigers (who, as a team, led all teams in batting average by 25 points) and landed him second in batting in the league. He was also third in the league in runs scored, and carried a .419 slugging percentage.
1948- though he had a decent year (.280 average with 20 stolen bases and 75 runs scored), he was edged out of the limelight by the stars mentioned above- but he returned in 1949 to have his best season. That season he became one of only five players, along with Tokumitsu Harada in 1950, Yoshinori Hirose in 1965, Kenjiro Tamiya in 1956, and Kazuo Matsui in 2000, to hit at least 10 triples and 10 home runs while also stealing at least 20 bases and hitting 30 doubles (a 10, 10, 20, 30). (Yutaka Fukumoto came close in 1973 with 29 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs and 95 stolen bases, as did Toshio Naka several times in the 1960s, Shoichi Busujima in 1962, Shigeo Nagashima in 1960, Yasumitsu Toyoda in 1956, and Karao Betto in 1952.) This all around speed and power helped Kaneda score 108 runs and carry a .464 slugging percentage in that last year of the one league system.
After an off year in 1950, Kaneda had a career year in 1951- setting the all time mark for triples in a season (18), while hitting .322 and slugging .511. His 58 rbi and 81 runs scored kept up his eight year average of at least 50 rbi and 70 runs (1946-1953, though in two seasons he dipped one or two runs/rbis below average). Though the Tigers finished third, 20 games behind the powerful Giants, they were in close competition with the second place Dragons thanks to Kaneda's year. Along with Noboru Aota and Yoshiyuki Iwamoto, he was elected to the Best Nine- Outfield for the second of three times in his career.
By the end of his record setting season, he had accumulated 74 career triples (a total that would reach 103 by the time he retired in 1957), putting him one ahead of Shosei Go on the all time list, a position he would hold until 1970 when Shoichi Busujima (who had ended the 1969 season tied with Kaneda at 103, and who will be covered in a later post) surpassed him for the number one spot. Only Kaneda, Busujima and Hall of Famer Yutaka Fukumoto have over 100 lifetime triples- of those three Kaneda accomplished the feat in the fewest amount of at bats (5354ab to 7148 and 8745 ab, respectively). In addition, he hit more than 10 triples in a season six times, a feat no one has matched. And every season that he led the league in triples, he also led the league in doubles. His ability to consistently put himself into scoring position helped him to score 881 times, placing him at number three on the all time list when he retired in 1957- behind only Kawakami and Makoto Kozuru- as one of the premier run producers of the 1950's.

1948! (pt. 1)

The year 1948 was the first power year in Japanese professional baseball. It was the first season in which any players reached the 100run, 100rbi, 25 home run, 40 double plateaus, and it was also the season in which records would be set in almost every major hitting category only to be immediately broken the following two seasons. It was the first season that Noboru Aota was back on the team to which his spirit was tethered - the Giants- and he declared his jubilation with power.

The first real season after the war- the season opening less than three years after the final bombs dropped on Tokyo, after THE bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most of the players in the league were former soldiers, and some of their former teammates were still in POW camps in Siberia and Northern China. Even the superstars, like Hiroshi Oshita, had been in line as Kamakazi pilots, prepared to give their lives for the Emperer. All of Japan was hungry and food was scarce- see the Kurosawa film “One Wonderful Sunday” to see the kids playing baseball in the middle of a dusty street, in a Tokyo that looks more like an old village than a bustling metropolis.

Between the two of them, Aota and Tetsuharu Kawakami (the "God of Hitting") hit 50 hr, more than any other team (besides the Tigers, who matched the pair with exactly 50) hit during the course of the first long (140game) season in the league's history. Records were set- Aota set the single season record for hits with 174, hr with 25, and missed by one to become one of the first three to break the 100 rbi plateau (the other two were Fujimura and teamate Kawakami). Kazuo Kasahara would become the first player to post 100 runs and 40 doubles in a season (more on him in pt. 2 of this post), and it was the first season since 1938 (aside from the war shortened '44 season) that at least one pitcher did not win 30 or more games).
It was not until he returned to the Giants that he was voted to the best 9 for outfielders, along with Kaoru Betto and Michinori Tsubouchi, with 19 stolen bases on top of 25 home runs and 99 rbi. and a .306 avg- the first of five times in his career. He led the Giants in AB, Hits, Runs, Total Bases and caught stealing.
He was second in the league in slugging with a .499 avg, trailing Kawakami by .023, and was second on the Giants in SB. Aota's 52 strike outs led the Giants, but trailed league leader Satoshi Sugiyama’s 86 by more than a few. This was just a warm up for his spectacular 1950 season in which his 134 rbi (still in the top 10 for rbi's in a season all-time) were matched by 29 stolen bases and a .332 avg.
But first- in 1948 Aota, his first season back with the Giants, came close to winning the triple crown, with a legue leading .306 average and 25 home runs, something not done since his teammate, Harayasu Nakajima (the Roger Connor of Japan, if you can swallow that type of analogy) had won it in 1938. No one would win a triple crown until 1965, though many came close: here is a list of players who led in two of the three TC categories (hr)(rbi)(avg) in a season between 1939-1964:

(C)=Central League, (P)=Pacific League

1939 Tetsuharu Kawakami (_)(75)(.338)
1941 Tetsuharu Kawakami (_)(57)(.310)
1947 Hiroshi Oshita (17)(_)(.315)
1948 Noboru Aota (25)(_)(.306)
1950(C) Makoto Kozuru (51)(161)(_)
1950(P) Karao Betto (43)(105)(_)
1951(C) Noboru Aota (32)(105)(_)

1951(P) Hiroshi Oshita (26)(_)(.383)

1952(C) Michiro Nishizawa (_)(98)(.353)

1953(C) Fumio Fujimura (27)(98)(_)

1953(P) Futoshi Nakanishi (36)(86)(_)

1955(C) Tetsuharu Kawakami (_)(79)(.338)

1955(P) Futoshi Nakanishi (35)(_)(.332)

1956(P) Futoshi Nakanishi (29)(95)(_)

1958(C) Shigeo Nagashima (29)(92)(_)

1958(P) Futoshi Nakanishi (23)(_)(.314)

1959(C) Toru Mori (31)(87)(_)

1960(C) Katsumi Fujimoto (22)(76)(_)

1960(P) Kazuhiro Yamauchi (32)(103)(_)

1961(C) Shigeo Nagashima (28)(_)(.358)

1962(C) Sadaharu Oh (38)(85)(_)

1962(P) Katsuya Nomura (44)(104)(_)

1963(C) Shigeo Nagashima (_)(112)(.341)

1963(P) Katsuya Nomura (52)(135)(_)

1964(C) Sadaharu Oh (55)(119)(_)

1964(P) Katsuya Nomura (41)(115)(_)

Though the list makes the feat seem easy, it is important to note that only four succeeded in leading the league in both Home Runs and Batting in the same season: Aota, Oshita (twice), Nakanishi and Nagashima.

Several players during this time led in two of the three catagories more than once, but only five of those players led in each category at least once:
Aota, Nakanishi and Nagashima, Kawakami and Fujimura- Oshita was never able to lead in rbi in a season. Only Kawakami accomplished it all in the one league system, and Aota was the only to cross over, leading the league in batting and home runs in the one league system, but leading in rbi in the two league system.

Gabriel Schechter recently wrote a great article for the HOF web site about career Triple Crown winners in MLB, highlighting the 9 players who led the league in each of the triple crown categories at least once in their career. So here is a list of all NPB players who led the league in each of the triple crown categories at least once (leaving out the triple crown winners: Nakajima, Oh, Nomura, Bass, Ochiai, and Wells):

Noboru Aota
Tetsuharu Kawakami
Futushi Nakanishi
Fujio Fujimura
Shigeo Nagashima
Koji Yamamoto
Kazuhiro Yamauchi
Nobohiko Matsunaka
Michihiro Ogasawara

In 1948, the Giants had a winning percentage over .600 but still lost out to the Hawks by 4 games. Though the Giants hit twice as many home runs as the Hawks that season, the Hawks stole almost 90 more bases than Yomiuri, and outpaced them in runs, hits, doubles and triples. Though future Giants star Takehiko Bessho won 26 games for the Hawks, their pitching did not compare to the Giants. Yomiuri had two 27 game winners- hall of famer Hiroshi Nakao, who posted a 1.84 era and 187 strike outs (leading the league), and Tokuji Kawasaki:

In 1948 Kawasaki posted a 2.32 era and 82 K's along with a 27-15 record. But it was his 12 shutouts in 25 complete games (still in the top 5 all time for a season), leading the Giants and the league, that belied his true talent. It was said that his shuuto was excellent (see Remembering Japanese Baseball for more), and he possessed a wide range of pitches that focused on style instead of overpowering hitters. Despite his ability to shut down opponents in complete game shutouts, when he did give up runs, he gave them up frequently, allowing over 20 home runs in both the 1949 and 1950 seasons.
He began his career before the war with the Hawks, showing potential but losing more games than he won (perhaps due to poor run support?). After the war he joined the Giants and excelled, winning 24, 27 and 19 games in three seasons. His 24 wins in 1947 came in 32 complete games, with a 2.14 era. Despite this stellar record, he was dealt to the Lions (formed the previous November to help populate the new Pacific League) in 1950.
Though he was an All Star in three seasons, he would not regain his 1948 form until the 1953 season. That season, Kawasaki would have faced several future hall of famers, all in the twilight of their careers- the best hitters in the league were all on his team. 1953 was his most prolific season, on a team that would rival the 49 Giants for greatness- though they were only at the early stages. Though the Lions finished in fourth, and under .500, the 1953 team was the germ that would become a contender: Futoshi Nakanishi, in his second year, led the league in home runs, just ahead of his teamate, rookie of the year Yasumitsu Toyoda, and trailed by Seiji Sekiguchi, a left fielder at the start of a great career (more on him in a later post). All three were following the lead of vetern star Hiroshi Oshita, who had been traded to the Lions two seasons before (immediatly after a season in which he set the single season record for batting, which would stand for almost 40 years). These stars would form the nucleus of a lineup that would drive one of the greatest teams in Japanese baseball history.
The addition of aces Sadaaki Nishimura, Kazuhisa Inao, and others would propel the Lions to greatness. Unfortunately, 1953 was Kawasaki's last season as the ace- soon he would be replaced by Inao and the aces of the future. However, his effectiveness as a reliever would help Nishitetsu to the Japan Series in '54, '56 and '57.
He pitched in two Japan Series with the Lions, proving far more effective in the 1954 series, picking up one win and posting a miniscule 0.60 era in 14 innings over 4 games, though the Lions eventually lost. Remarkably, he gave up 8 hits and 5 runs in only 2 innings work, posting a terrible 11.57 era in the Lions first Series victory in 1956. However, the miraculous pitching of rookie of the year Inao covered any poor performance by Kawasaki. His role in the 1957 series seems to have been strictly an advisory on, as he did not appear in any games.

For his career: when he retired in 1957 he was among the top 10 in wins, losses, k’s, shutouts and era. He is still in the top 25 in many of those categories.


Coming soon- 1948! pt. 2...

May have spoken too soon about the curse- read Deanna's blurb about what needs to be done....

A new post is coming soon-1948!-, but I thought I would share the news: The Curse of the Colonel has been lifted!

Kizuka & Kanayama- Theft Champs of the 1950's

Chusuke Kizuka and Jiro Kanayama are number 4 and 6 on the all time stolen base list, respectively, and are the only players from the immediate post-war era to steal more than 400 bases.

From the beginning of professional baseball in Japan, the inside game has always reigned- speed had always been more popular than power. Read Rob Fitts' book on Wally Yonamine- though the style of base running has changed, the stolen base has been consistently popular throughout- NPB teams averaged 109 sb per season in 1946, 104 for PL in 52, 99 for the CL in 1963, 99 in PL in 1980, 52 by CL in 1993, 67 in PL in 2008. A slight decline, but still enough

From 1956, three years before his retirement, to 1970, Chusuke Kizuka (above right) was the all time stolen base record holder- like Aota, his achievement has been lost to time and the overwhelming achievments of his successors, including Yutaka Fukumoto and his record shattering 1065.

Here is a list of the all-time stolen base leader at the end of each season (2nd place in parentheses)

1936 (S&F)- 27 Karita, Hisanori (17 Matsuki, Kenjiro; Hiramasu, Toshio)
1937 (S&F)- 56 Karita, Hisanori (49 Yamaguchi, Masanobu)
1938 (S&F)- 71 Karita, Hisanori (66 Yamaguchi, Masanobu)
1939- 98 Karita, Hisanori (78 Matsuki, Kenjiro; Shima, Hidenosuke)
1940- 116 Karita, Hisanori (85 Ishida, Masayoshi)
1941- 123 Karita, Hisanori (100 Tsubouchi, Michinori)
1942- 144 Tsubouchi, Michinori (126 Karita, Hisanori)
1943- 180 Tsubouchi, Michinori (154 Go, Shosei)
1944- 196 Tsubouchi, Michinori (173 Go, Shosei)
1946- 222 Tsubouchi, Michinori (200 Yamada, Den)
1947- 243 Tsubouchi, Michinori (238 Go, Shosei)
1948- 273 Go, Shosei (279 Tsubouchi, Michinori)
1949- 287 Go, Shosei (279 Tsubouchi, Michinori)
1950- 316 Go, Shosei (307 Tsubouchi, Michinori)
1951- 344 Tsubouchi, Michinori (316 Go, Shosei)
1952- 344 Tsubouchi, Michinori (316 Go, Shosei)
1953- 344 Tsubouchi, Michinori (341 Kanayama, Jiro)
1954- 374 Kanayama, Jiro (362 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1955- 415 Kanayama, Jiro (400 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1956- 434 Kizuka, Chusuke (433 Kanayama, Jiro)
1957- 464 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1958- 478 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1959- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1960- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1961- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1962- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1963- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1964- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1965- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1966- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1967- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1968- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (456 Kanayama, Jiro)
1969- 479 Kizuka, Chusuke (467 Hirose, Yoshinori)
1970- 495 Hirose, Yoshinori (479 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1971- 531 Hirose, Yoshinori (479 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1972- 573 Hirose, Yoshinori (479 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1973- 577 Hirose, Yoshinori (479 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1974- 583 Hirose, Yoshinori (479 Kizuka, Chusuke)
1975- 593 Hirose, Yoshinori (504 Fukumoto, Yutaka)
1976- 595 Hirose, Yoshinori (566 Fukumoto, Yutaka)
1977- 627 Fukumoto, Yutaka (596 Hirose, Yoshinori)
……….
1988- 1065 Fukumoto, Yutaka (596 Hirose, Yoshinori)

He was voted to the best nine (similar to being an all star, but selected at the end of the season- one for each position including pitcher) as shortstop for the last two years of the one-league system (48 and 49) and as shortstop in the first 3 years of the Pacific League. After one year off he was again voted to the Best 9 as a shortstop in 1955. His best seasons corresponded to the best years of the Hawks, beginning in 1948 when his best-9 performance (assisted by Kazuo Kasahara, who will be discussed in another post soon) at shortstop helped his team capture the championship from the newly invigorated Giants, the only time in Kizuka's career that his Hawks would best the powerful Yomiuri team.

Kizuka began his career as a more balanced player, averageing 50 rbi and 45 sb a season in his first two seasons (48 and 49), but by 1950 had transitioned to a run scorer, stealing a then record 78 bases and scoring 94 runs while hitting .301. In his first 10 seasons, he stole 30 or more bases, and for his career posted an 81% success rate, second only to Yoshinori Hirose for players with more than 400 stolen bases. He played his entire career for the Nankai Hawks, under Kazuto Tsuruoka (aka Yamamoto), the Hall of Fame player/manager, and alongside Tokuji Iida, Kazuo Kageyama and Kazuo Horii, helping them to three consecutive pennants between 1951 and 1953, then again in 55, though they lost to the Giants (and Aota in 51 and 52) in each series. In 4 Japan Series he was terrible at the plate, batting .123 in 81 at bats, but he did steal 3 bases and hit a home run in the 53 series off of Takehiso Bessho (one of two homers in the same inning). The 1951 series was his best, with 4 hits and a stolen base, though his manager and fellow middle infielder Tsuruoka hit .421- and yet, the Hawks still lost in 5 games to Kawakami, Aota, and the rest of the powerhouse Giants. In the '55 series, Kizuka hit only .074 with two hits, one stolen base and one sacrifice, but was awarded Outstanding Technique in the Hawks 7 game loss.

In 1949, Kizuka came close to breaking the single season record for stolen bases, set the year before at 66 by Toshio Kawanishi, and then broke it the following season. That 1950 season was the first following the expansion of the NPB into two leagues, Cental and Pacific. Almost all previous records were broken during that 1950 season, due perhaps to the addition of 7 teams that spread the talent thin. Stolen bases were not immune: Kizuka and Jiro Kanayama set the standard (while shattering Kizuka's previous record) with 78 and 74, respectively. This mark stood until 1956, when it was broken by Akiteru Kono, and then set for good in 1972 by all time stolen base champ and Hall of Famer Yutaka Fukumoto at 106.

Jiro Kanayama (above) began his career in 1943 with the Chunichi Dragons, then known under their war-time moniker of Nagoya, but was used primarily in pinch hit situations as a sacrifice. In '44, however, he led the league in home runs, albeit with 3 in only 35 games. Like Kizuka, he was a middle infielder, and, for most of his career, he was paired with Hall of Famer Makoto Kozoru. They made a good pair in the field as well as at the plate, a fact that is most evident in the 1950 season. While Kozuru led the league in home runs and rbi for the Central League champion Robins, Kanayama led the league in at bats and stolen bases (setting the pace along with Kizuka in the Pacific League) while scoring 104 runs and hitting .311 (and supported by Shoji Arakawa, who led the league in triples and scored 88 runs as well).

Kanayama and Kozuru first played together on Dragons in the inagural season after the war, and helped the last place team in '46 move to 2nd place in '47. The 1947 Dragons were aided by slugger Seizo Furukawa (who will be covered in a later post), whose 11 home runs tied Noboru Aota of the Braves for 3rd on league leaders list. Kozuru and Kanayama moved together to the Flyers in '48, and then together to the Stars in '49, but did not do too much in helping Hiroshi Oshita ('48 HR leader and Flyers star) or Victor Starffin ('49 wins leader and Stars ace) out of the cellar. It was not until they moved (again, together) to the Robins in 1950 that they both hit their stride.

For the next 6 seasons, Kanayama averaged 52 thefts per season, and 68 runs per season, aided by Kozuru's slugging. He led the Cental League, or came in 2nd, in stolen bases every year between 1950 and 1952, but the Robins slid quickly, from champs in '50 to last place in '52. So, in '53, both he and Kozuru moved again, this time to the Hiroshima Carp. There they both wound down their career in Hiroshima [alongside Ryohei Hasegawa, the only hall of fame pitcher with a losing record thanks to the hapless Carp and Fibber Hirayama, who, upon his arrival from California received a huge welcoming parade in Hiroshima], helping the lowly Carp avoid the bottom of the Central league, but never helping them to achieve a .500 mark.

.......

A news magazine recently quoted director Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir) citing his mother as saying "there were no superheroes except for Federico Fellini". Fellini has said that we all have a bit of circus dust in the salty tang of our blood (though Fellini may have been more interested in the clowns than the superheros)- the nature of hero as entertainer as well as warrior- in Japan as well as Rome as well as Israel. Few things in baseball are as entertaining as a stolen base, the air of anticipation, the speed and grace and dramatic meeting of the ball and baserunner. Jackie Robinson steeling home is one of the most culturally significant contributions baseball has made to American culture: think of Jesse Jacksons famous eulogy in which he said that Jackie stole home, and he's safe. Aota, though a warrrior, was entertainer as well, strong as an ox and blasting home runs, fast on the basepaths and the only postwar player to have 250 hr and 150 sb; in addition he is one of only a handful (including Fujimura and most likely a few others) to have over 200hr and 150sb- though the 200/150 club does not have much of a ring to it. A five tool player, as described in the excellent new book by Rob Fitts, was rarely appreciated before Wally Yonemine, and so the 200/150 club members are remembered only for the 200- the heroics of power once again overshadowing the heroics of grace.

Back to the timeline:
Noboru Aota began his career with the Giants in 1942 and 43, but when he returned from the war, he spent two seasons with the Hankyu Braves:

It was with the Braves that he honed the skills that would bring him back to the team most connected with his spirit, the Giants. 1947 saw him tie for 3rd in home runs with Furukawa, and steal 20 or more bases for the second season in a row. The Braves of 46-47 were no powerhouse team, though they had some stars including Den Yamada, the Noguchi brothers (Akira and his Hall of Fame brother Jiro), Rentaro Imanishi, who won 20 games in 47, and Fujio Ueda, who left the Braves the following season to become an umpire. The following season his power and speed would catapult him to the top of the league, and his return to the Giants would help usher in a second golden age for the team.

Next Post: 1948!

Dick Howser is remembered for his abilities as a coach and manager, and not as much for his days in the lineup as a short stop in the American League. However, his 1961 rookie card describes an imposing force: “Dick was a terror last year as his bat reaped destruction through two leagues.” Though it may be hard to picture Howser's bat reaping any type of destruction, the imagery of power and fear instilled by a ballplayer feeds to our perception of them as idols or spirits- gods that produce runs, runs being the blood of the game. Noboru Aota could produce runs at a destructive rate- he is one of the three players who played their careers before 1959 to finish with more than 1000 rbi. The other two are Tetsuharu Kawakami (the God of Batting) and Fumio Fujimura (with a bat named "clothesline"). His durability was matched by his seasonal terror: of the top 7 all time single season rbi record holders, four accomplished their feat in the powerhouse season of 1950, and Aota hit 134 that season, landing him at number 7 on the list (a mark that would be equaled 35 years later by Randy Bass as he helped the Hanshin Tigers win their first ever Japan Series). And between 1948 and 1951, he averaged 110 rbi per season- from the start, Aota was a reaper of runs, tied for the league lead in only his second season, that great 1943 season that was the last remnant of the original professional league. That '43 season was also the season that Den Yamada set the pre-war record for stolen bases in a season.

Yamada set the single season stolen base mark in 1943 with 56 stolen bases, just ahead of Hall of Famer Shosei Go, who had 54. Not too long after beginning his career in 1937, he was the first player, along with Yoshio Gomi (who, according to Japan Baseball Daily, was a POW in Siberia as well as a business owner after the war, opening a taxi stand with Makoto Kozoru and Jiro Kanayama [another SB champ who will be covered in the next post]) to steal 30 bases in a season.
After returning from the war, he did not miss a step in the 1946 season, ending up 2nd in the league in stolen bases with 36 . He played for the Braves that season , leading them in stolen bases, walks and runs, though his teammate, Noboru Aota, fresh from the war, was runner up in sb and runs. Aota led that great Hankyu team in both total bases and rbi, most likely driving in Yamada frequently. However, their best pitcher that year, Jiro Noguchi, who had won between 25 and 40 games for 5 seasons in a row before the war, but, like most of the men returning from that terrible war, was too exhausted to produce much- hence the low statistical record and fourth place finish for the whole team despite the great group of players that season.

Yamada spent his entire career with the Hankyu Braves, and only came close to winning a championship in 1941, when his team came in second to the Tokyo Kyojin (Giants) (who, with the exception of the spring 1938 season, when the Tigers won it all, had been at the head of the league at the end of every season since pro baseball’s inception). The 1941 Hankyu team included Kotaro Mori, who went 30-8 with a 0.89 era- though the season is the definition of a dead-ball era season. Yamada was 10th in the league in batting with his .234 average, and the only player to hit over .267 was Tetsuharu Kawakami, who beat out the competition by 43 points with a .310 mark. Though 6 of the 10 batting leaders were teammates of Kawakami on the pennant winning Kyojin (Giants), Hankyu's team average (led by Yamada) was .207, along with Kyojin the only team to hit over .200. The season ended only a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and baseball in Japan did not return to form until Yamada was ready to retire- a fading baseball hero in a time when heros were overlooked so that everyone could forget....