Shoichi Busujima

Shoichi Busujima (毒島 章一)
(Mr. Flyers)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 158 lb.

• High School Kiryu High School

• Born January 14, 1936 in Kiryu, Gunma Japan
• Died May 14, 2023 in Musashino, Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shoichi Busujima played for the Toei Flyers for 18 years, making eight All-Star teams.

Busujima debuted in 1954, hitting .264/.329/.349. He improved to .298/.357/.418 with 12 triples in 1955. He ranked 8th in the Pacific League in average (slightly ahead of fellow .298 batters Kihachi Enomoto and Seiji Sekiguchi), 9th in hits (145, tied with Kohei Sugiyama) and 2nd in triples (1 behind Roberto Barbon). He made his first PL All-Star team in 1956, and he was 1-for-2 in the 1956 NPB All-Star Games, with a RBI double against Takehiko Bessho in Game 1. His batting line falling to .266/.332/.355, and he stole 16 bases in 20 tries.

On June 23, 1957, the 21-year-old hit for the cycle. He finished the season with 15 steals (caught 7 times), a league-best 13 triples and a .307/.370/.467 batting line. He placed third in the league in average (behind Kazuhiro Yamauchi and Futoshi Nakanishi) and 4th in hits (141, between Katsuya Nomura and Yasumitsu Toyoda). Busujima made his second All-Star team, but he was hitless in 2 at-bats in the 1957 NPB All-Star Game. He joined Hiroshi Oshita and Yamauchi as the Best Nine picks in the outfield. In 1958, Busujima hit .306/.368/.399 and he made his third All-Star team in a row; he was 0-for-2 again in the 1958 NPB All-Star Game. He won his second Best Nine, alongside Sekiguchi and Sugiyama. He was second in the PL in average (eight points behind leader Nakanishi), 3rd in triples (7, 3 behind leaders Kingo Motoyashiki and Barbon) and 4th in hits (135, tied with Sugiyama).

Busujima fell to .251/.320/.382 in 1959, and he still ranked 4th in triples (7, tied with Takao Katsuragi, Sugiyama and Jack Ladra). Busujima bounced back in in 1960, and he batted .273/.329/.369 and went 12-for-15 in steal attempts. He was selected into the 1960 NPB All-Star Game, and he had a 0-for-1 record. Shoichi cracked a career-high 38 doubles in 1961, added 11 triples and scored 82 runs while hitting .293/.356/.415. He made his fifth All-Star squad, and he was 0-for-1 in the 1961 NPB All-Star Game. Busujima led the league in at-bats (566), plate appearances (631) and triples, and he ranked 2nd in doubles (4 behind Akitoshi Kodama) and 3rd in hits (166, between Kenjiro Tamiya and Yoshinori Hirose).

In 1962, he reached double-digits in doubles (17), triples (11) and home runs (12) for the only time; for the year, he produced at a .288/.356/.446 rate. He stole a career-high 27 bases while being caught 8 times and drove in a career-best 77 runs. He led the PL with 10 sacrifice flies, and he led in triples for the third time. Toei won its only PL pennant. Bushujima was also voted into the 1962 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-1 in each of two games. He was 2nd in steals, 23 behind Hirose. In the 1962 Japan Series, Busujima was just 3 for 29 with 3 walks and a game 3 homer; Toei still won its lone Japan Series, topping the Hanshin Tigers in seven games.

During 1963, Busujima slumped to .257/.332/.415 and did not reach double digits in any of the extra-base hit departments. He batted .268/.313/.390 with a career-high 13 home runs in 1964; he also stole 14 bases in 19 tries. He again led the PL in at-bats (598) and total bases (647), and he was 4th in triples (6, tied with Hirose, Isao Harimoto, Katsutoyo Yoshida and Takayuki Nishida) and 5th in hits (160, between Kihachi Enomoto and Kodama). He remained steady at .265/.316/.411 in 1965 while making his first All-Star team in three years. He shined in the 1965 NPB All-Star Game, and he crushed a solo shot against Shigeyuki Takahashi in Game 1. He then went 3-for-3 with 2 runs scored in Game 2, and he was 0-for-2 in Game 3.

The Kiryu native made his 8th and last All-Star squad in 1966 (he hit .381 in All-Star competition for his career); for the year, he was at .298/.347/.423 with 9 triples and 10 steals (in 12 tries). He led the league in triples, his last time leading in any category, and joined Isao Harimoto and Teruyuki Takakura as the Best Nine selections in the outfield. He finished 4th in average (trailed only Enomoto, Harimoto and Nomura), and he was 4th in hits (136, between Harimoto and Masahiro Doi). The veteran fell to .251/.310/.326 in 1967 then rebounded somewhat to .274/.311/.406 in 1968 to just miss the top 10 in average (.002 behind #10 Yasuhiro Kunisada). In 1969, he hit .262/.327/.398, followed by .232/.308/.341 in 1970. He appeared in four games but did not bat in 1971 to wrap up his career. Busujima coached and scouted for the Taiheiyo Club Lions/Seibu Lions then became a baseball commentator on cable TV.

Overall, Busujima had batted .277/.336/.397 in 2,056 NPB games. He scored 865 runs, legged out 106 triples, delivered 122 home runs and stole 191 bases in 275 tries. Through 2025, he ranks second in NPB history in triples (9 behind Yutaka Fukumoto), having retired as the all-time leader.

Sources

• Wiki Japan
• Japan Baseball Daily