Former Yomiuri Giants legend Shigeo Nagashima passed away on Tuesday morning due to pneumonia. He was 89. One of the most popular Japanese players in the history of the sport, he was referred to as “Mr. Professional Baseball” and “Mr. Giants” in this country.
During his 17-year career, Nagashima played 2,186 games and finished with a .305 batting average. He won the Central League batting title six times and was the home run king twice. He was also the RBI leader on five occasions and was named the Central League’s MVP five times. Along with his teammate, Sadaharu Oh, he was a superstar who transcended the sport.
Shigeo Nagashima: A Giants Legend
After starring for the Rikkyo University baseball team, Nagashima joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1958, despite supporting the team’s main rival, the Hanshin Tigers, as a child. It was the only pro team he played for. During his time as a player there, the Tokyo-based team won 11 Japan Series, including nine in a row between 1965 and 1973.
His retirement was one of the top 10 news stories of 1974. He finished with the line, “My Giants are forever immortal,” which became part of Japan’s popular lexicon. After retiring, he was immediately named Giants manager. He was fired in 1980 but returned in 1993 and remained at the helm until 2001. Under his management, the team won five Central League titles and two Japan Series.
Leading His Country
In 2003, Nagashima led the Japan national team — consisting entirely of players from the Japanese professional leagues — to victory at the Asian Baseball Championship. However, after suffering a stroke in March 2004, he was unable to travel with the team to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Seventeen years later, Nagashima was one of the torchbearers, alongside his former teammate Oh and another Giants legend, Hideki Matsui, to carry the flame into Tokyo’s National Stadium to begin the 2020 Summer Olympics. Later that year, he received the Order of Culture from the emperor at the Imperial Palace.
