Shigeo Nagashima

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Shigeo Nagashima (長嶋 茂雄)
(Mr. Giants, Mr. Japanese Baseball, Moeru Otoko, Mister Pro Yakyu)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball, Shigeo Nagashima was the star third baseman for the Yomiuri Giants from 1958 to 1974. He is unquestionably the most popular player in the history of Japanese baseball. Nagashima's legacy is closely intertwined with that of long-time teammate Sadaharu Oh as the "O-N gun" attack led Yomiuri to a record nine straight Japan Series victories. While considered a great natural athlete, Nagashima was renowned for his practices - he got a house by the river so he could run every day there and he built a room in his home to practice his swings in constantly. He combined talent with an excellent work ethic. He is also the father of Kazushige Nagashima. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.

Nagashima began playing baseball in the fourth grade (his mother made his glove) and was a star at college, winning two batting titles in the Tokyo Big Six University League and setting a home run record. He helped the Japanese national team win the 1955 Asian Championship, their first Asian Championship. He considered signing with the Nankai Hawks but instead signed with the Giants. He was 0 for 4 with 4 K's in his debut against Masaichi Kaneda and began his career 0 for 9. It didn't take long for Nagashima to establish himself - he hit .305/.353/.578 as a rookie, becoming the first freshman to lead the league in RBI (92) - he also led in runs (89), doubles (34), slugging, homers (28) and total bases. His 28 homers were a new rookie record (broken by Takeshi Kuwata the next year) and he lost a chance at another when he forgot to touch first base. His 34 doubles were a CL rookie record until Shugo Maki broke it seven decades later, and his 153 hits were the CL rookie record until Koji Chikamoto broke it in 2019. He was the only rookie to have a 3-homer game until Teruaki Sato joined him 63 years later. He made the Best Nine team at third base - he would not be dislodged from the Best Nine during his entire career. Nagashima also attended the 1958 NPB All-Star Games as a rookie, and he was 2-for-7 with 2 walks. He didn't miss a All-Star Game in his entire career. He easily won the NPB Rookie of the Year Award, and he was the first rookie to play all games in the Central League (only Sadayuki Tokutake also has done it as of 2025).

In 1959, Nagashima got even better, hitting .334/.426/.612 - he won the first of six batting titles (the Central League record, one behind Ichiro Suzuki for most batting championships). He also led the league in hits (150) and OBP, and he was 2nd in doubles (32, 2 behind Akira Owada), 4th in RBI (82, between Shinichi Eto and Katsumi Fujimoto) and 3rd in homers (27, 4 behind leaders Kuwata and Toru Mori). He attended the 1959 NPB All-Star Games, and he was 4-for-5 with a homer against Tadashi Sugiura in Game 2. That year Nagashima got a new teammate, a struggling rookie named Sadaharu Oh - the Oh-Nagashima combo would become the most famous in Japanese baseball history and they got known as the "ON" power attack. 29 times they hit homers back-to-back and 106 times they both homered in the same game; both are NPB records. In 1959, Nagashima also hit a sayonara homer against Minoru Murayama in the first game ever attended by the Emperor of Japan.

In 1960, Nagashima stretched his slugging title stretch to 3 in a row and his batting title run to two straight. His batting line was .334/.422/.542, and he set a record by hitting triples in 4 straight games. Nagashima also led the league in hits (151) and triples (12), and he was 8th in doubles (22, tied with Toru Mori), 7th in homers (16, tied with Jun Hakota and Kuwata), 5th in RBI (64, tied with Tatsuo Okitsu and Noboru Inoue) and 2nd in steals (31, 19 behind Toshio Naka). Nagashima's batting line was .353/.456/.612 in 1961, and he won his first MVP award unanimously. He led the league in homers (28), hits (158), doubles (32), batting and OBP, and he was 2nd in triples (9, 2 behind Naka), 2nd in RBI (86, 8 behind Kuwata) and 8th in steals (14, tied with Masataka Tsuchiya, Minoru Kamata and Satoshi Hirayama. That was his last home run crown as his teammate Oh would take the next 13. He set the NPB record with 35 intentionally walks in a season, and Oh would broke it 5 years later. He attended the 1961 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-5. Nagashima was 4-for-26 in the 1961 Nippon Series, with a homer against Joe Stanka in Game 5, and he won his first title as the Giants beat the Hawks in 6 games. Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley offered to buy Nagashima's contract after that season, but Giants owner Matsutaro Shoriki turned him down.

Shigeo slipped to .288/.354/.522 in 1962, and he still led the league in hits and doubles in a down year for the Giants superstar. He was 5th in batting (between Eto and Masuho Maeda), 3rd in triples (5), 2nd in homers (13 behind Oh), 2nd in RBI (5 behind Oh) and 3rd in steals (between Yoshio Yoshida and Akira Kunimatsu). Nagashima was voted into the 1962 NPB All-Star Game, and he went 3-for-5 with a double and two walks. Nagashima bounced back soon, and he hit .341/.437/.657 with 37 homers to win his 2nd MVP award; he gained 838 points in the MVP voting to beat Oh's 264 points. Nagashima led the league in batting, hits, triples and RBI, and he was 2nd in homers (2 behind Oh), and 2nd in doubles (2 behind Oh). He went 9-for-25 in the 1963 Nippon Series, and he hit 3 homers with 7 RBI (one against Kazuhisa Inao in Game 3 and 2 against Yoshio Inoue in Game 5). He drew 3 walks in Game 7, and the Giants beat the Nishitetsu Lions in 7 games.

Nagashima extended his elite offense in 1964, and he blasted 31 homers with a .314/.433/.584 batting line. He was 4th in batting (between Yoshida and Taisuke Kobuchi), 6th in hits (between Shozo Shigematsu and Tokutake), 2nd in triples (tied with Morimichi Takagi and Isao Shibata), 3rd in homers (between Mike Krsnich and Kazuhiro Yamauchi), 2nd in OBP (.023 behind Oh) and 4th in RBI (between Krsnich and Yamauchi). He was also voted into the 1964 NPB All-Star Game, but he didn't appear in any games due to injuries. Nagashima only hit 17 homers with a .300/.363/.467 batting line in 1965, and he was 5th in batting (between Takagi and Yukio Osada), 2nd in hits (1 behind Kazuhiko Kondo), 8th in homers (tied with Kobuchi), 4th in doubles (tied with Yamauchi), 3rd in triples (tied with Goro Toi) and 2nd in RBI (24 behind Oh). Nagashima returned to the 1965 NPB All-Star Game, and he went 4-for-13 with 2 doubles. In the 1965 Nippon Series, Nagashima was 1-for-4 in Gamer 1, and he crushed a game-winning 2-run shot against Kiyohiro Miura in the 10th inning of Game 2. He added another 2-run shot against Miura in Game 3, and he went 1-for-8 in the rest of two games. The Giants beat the Hawks in 5 games, and Nagashima won his third title. He would win the next eight in a row. His marriage was nationally televised and was the most-watched TV program in Japan that year.

The captain of Yomiuri won his third MVP award with a .344/.413/.586 in 1966, and he claimed his 5th batting title. Nagashima also led the league in hits, and he was 2nd in homers (22 behind Oh), 2nd in doubles (1 behind Makoto Matsubara), 2nd in RBI (11 behind Oh), 2nd in OBP (.082 behind Oh) and 7th in steals (tied with Kondo and Doi). He was 4-for-11 in the 1966 NPB All-Star Game. Nagashima got a hit in all 4 at-bats of the 1966 Nippon Series Game 1, and he also crushed a homer against Masanori Murakami and drove in 4 runs. He went 3-for-10 in the next three games, and he blasted a homer against Tadashi Sugiura in the 8th inning of Gamer 5. Nagashima was 2-for-4 in Game 6, and the Giants eliminated the Hawks. The 1967 season was a down year for Nagashima, and he only blasted 19 homers with a .283/.334/.468 batting line. He was 8th in homers (tied with Takagi and Isao Hirono), 6th in RBI (between Eto and Takagi) and 6th in hits (between Shibata and Eto). He also attended the 1967 NPB All-Star Game, and he blasted a 3-run homer against Takao Kajimoto in Game 1. He was 2-for-3 in Game 2, and he went 2-for-4 with another homer against Masaaki Koyama in Game 3. In the 1967 Nippon Series, Nagashima was 8-for-24 with a homer against Seigo Sasaki and the Giants beat the Braves in 6 games.

Nagashima came back and blasted 39 homers with a .318/.398/.613 batting line. He again led the league in RBI and hits, and he was 2nd in batting (.008 behind Oh) and 3rd in homers (between Dave Roberts and Willie Kirkland). He attended the 1968 NPB All-Star Game, but he only got one hit in 13 at-bats. Nagashima crushed a homer against Shigeo Ishii in the 1968 Nippon Series Game 1, and he added a dinger against Takashi Mizutani in Game 4. He went 10-for-24 in the entire series, and the Giants beat the Braves in 6 games again. Nagashima won 811 points in the CL MVP Voting, and he edged Oh to win his 4th MVP award. Bill Veeck tried to acquire Nagashima after that season but again was stymied by Shoriki.

In 1969, Nagashima had a .311/.359/.526 batting line and he crushed 32 homers. He led the league in hits and RBI, and he was 3rd in batting (behind Oh and Roberts), 5th in doubles (tied with Shigeru Takada and Matsubara) and 4th in homers (between Tatsuhiko Kimata and Kirkland). He was again voted into the 1969 NPB All-Star Game, and he went 3-for-6. The invincible Giants beat the Braves in 6 games for the third year in a row, and Nagashima won his 5th straight title with a 9-for-22 record. He blasted 2 homers in Game 4 against Mitsuhiro Adachi and Kajimoto, and he added two long balls in Game 1 (against Kiyoshi Oishi) and 6 (against Adachi). Nagashima was named the Series MVP.

Nagashima's batting line fell to .269/.320/.462 in 1970, and he still led the league in RBI for the 5th time in his career. He was 10th in batting (between Akira Ejiri and Shozo Shigematsu), 4th in hits (tied with Matsubara), 6th in doubles (tied with Fred Valentine and Roberts) and 5th in homers (tied with Koji Yamamoto). He was 3-for-12 in the 1970 NPB All-Star Game. In the 1970 Nippon Series, Nagashima went 1-for-7 in the first two games, then he blasted 2 homers in Game 3 - a solo shot against Masaaki Kitaru and a game-winning 2-run shot against Masaaki Koyama in the 11th inning. He then hit a homer in each of his first two at-bats against Fumio Narita in Game 4, and he was 2-for-5 in Game 5 to help the Giants beat the Lotte Orions. Nagashima won his 4th Nippon Series MVP, and he was the only player in NPB history to win 4 finals MVPs.

Mr. Giants was still reliable in 1971, and he blasted 34 homers with a .320/.395/.581 batting line. He won his 6th, and the last batting title, and he became the oldest player in NPB history to win a batting title at that point. (broken by Félix Millán in 1979). Nagashima also led the league in hits and total bases, and he was 4th in doubles (21), 2nd in homers (5 behind Oh) and 2nd in RBI (15 behind Oh). On May 25, he collected his 2,000th career hit against Keishi Asano. Nagashima also attended the 1971 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 3-for-10 with a homer against Yamada in Game 3. He had a 6-for-18 record in the 1971 Nippon Series with a homer against Tetsuya Yoneda in Game 2, and the Giants beat the Braves in 5 games. He won his 5th CL MVP, and he was the first and only right-handed batter to win 5 MVPs.

Nagashima's numbers was not as impressive as last year, and he still blasted 27 homers with a .266/.352/.484 batting line in 1972. He was 4th in homers (tied with John Miller) and 3rd in homers (between Sachio Kinugasa and Koichi Tabuchi). He attended the 1972 NPB All-Star Game, and he only collected one single in 8 at-bats. He was hitless in his first eleven at-bats in the 1972 Nippon Series, then he blasted a 2-run shot against Adachi in Game 3. Nagashima went 1-for-3 in Game 4, and he crushed a 3-run dinger against Yoshinori Toda in Game 5. The Giants beat the Braves in 5 games, and Nagashima got his 8th straight title.

The veteran recorded a .269/.318/.422 batting line in 1973, and he ranked 9th in hits (between Takagi and Ejiri), 6th in homers and 4th in RBI (between Matsubara and John Sipin). He was selected into the 1973 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-11 with a RBI single against K.Suzuki. Nagashima fractured his finger while trying to catch Kazuaki Goto's grounder, so he missed the 1973 Nippon Series. He then hit .244/.288/.387 with 15 homers in 1974, and he hit a 3-run homer against Toshio Kanbe in the 1974 NPB All-Star Game. Nagashima crushed a homer in the opening day, and he was the only player in NPB history to hit a homer in the opening game 10 times. The Giants ended their gorgeous V-9 as the Chunichi Dragons got the pennant, and Nagashima announced his retirement. He was the only player in NPB history to win the Best Nine in his every season.

These are very impressive stats and lots of people thought he would have been a star in the US, but what basis is there for a claim that he was better than Oh, who had much better stats? It is hard to deny to the role of race - Oh had a Taiwanese father while Nagashima was "100%" Japanese. Given Japanese attitudes to foreigners in their heyday, it is understandable how Nagashima got more credit for lesser performance. Additionally, from a baseball perspective, Nagashima played at a position more important on the defensive spectrum - a third baseman to Oh's first base spot. Perhaps also you can look at the fact that Nagashima was an instantaneous success, while Oh took several years to develop into a powerhouse (though he had a better peak and a longer career than Nagashima). The Oh-Nagashima Giants were unstoppable in their prime; they won a record 9 straight Japan Series from 1965 to 1973. The fact that the team stopped winning Japan Series annually when Nagashima retired also may have helped play a role into the claim that he was better than Oh. He ranks first all-time in the Japan Series in hits (91), doubles (14), extra-bases hits (41), total bases (184) and RBI (66).

After retiring as players, both Oh and Nagashima became managers of the Giants. Nagashima was at the helm from 1975 to 1980 while Oh was still playing - he took them to two Japan Series but they lost both and several finishes around .500 cost him the job. In 1975, his first year at the helm, the Giants finished in last place for the first time ever. A foreign manager would likely have been fired on the spot; the popular Nagashima was allowed to stay to rebuild. Oh managed the team from '84 to '88, taking them to one Japan Series - while they never finished in the second division under him, they let him go as well. Nagashima was rehired as Giants manager in 1993. He finally won a Japan Series as manager in 1994 and repeated in 2000, when he squared off against Oh, then managing the Daiei Hawks. The matchup of the two longtime teammates was the major focus of the Japanese sports media that year. In 2001, Nagashima managed his final season. Shane Mack praised Nagashima's treatment of his gaijin players. Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe (the George Steinbrenner of Japan) once saw Nagashima talking to an agent at a dinner party and promptly publicly scolded him for daring to associate with agents. Nagashima managed the Japanese squad to a Gold Medal in the 2003 Asian Championship.

Nagashima, formerly wooed by American teams, was a critic of the Japanese players who went to the US to play, from Hideo Nomo on. He wrote an op-ed criticizing Hideki Matsui for abandoning the Giants, the first star to jump Japan's top team historically (and Nagashima's lifelong team). In March 2004 Nagashima suffered a stroke which partially paralyzed the right side of his body. He was supposed to manage Japan's team in the 2004 Olympics but was replaced by Kiyoshi Nakahata after the stroke. He did not return to the Tokyo Dome until halfway through the 2005 season - his return was a much-anticipated day by the baseball establishment in Japan, who expected his presence watching a game to boost slumping ratings (I think this says something about the esteem Nagashima is held in in Japan). Eric Hillman describes Nagashima's popularity as a "cross between Sean Connery and Mickey Mantle. He's one of the best-looking guys in Japan and he has notoriety that is just beyond belief."

Overall, Nagashima hit .305/.379/.540 with 2,471 hits and 444 homers in 17 seasons in NPB. He was 1,034-889-59 with 2 titles as a manager. As of 2025, Nagashima ranked 15th all-time in NPB in homers (between Tuffy Rhodes and Koji Akiyama), 8th with 74 triples, 9th with 418 doubles (between Isao Harimoto and Kazuo Matsui), 9th with 2,471 hits (between Kazuyoshi Tatsunami and Masahiro Doi), 14th in average (between Futoshi Nakanishi and Kazunori Shinozuka), 7th with 1,522 RBI (between Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Tomoaki Kanemoto), 12th with 1,270 runs (between Kiyohara and Akiyama), 91th in steals with 190 (tied with Kenjiro Tamiya), 7th with 4,369 total bases (between Kinugasa and Yamamoto) and 21st with 969 walks (between Yasunori Oshima and Doi). He was the only player in NPB history to had a .300 career batting average in the regular season, All-Star Game and Nippon Series.

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