was a Japanese baseball infielder and pitcher who played 22 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1936 to 1958. He began his career as a stellar right-handed pitcher for the

Osaka Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

, but achieved his greatest fame as a hitter. A superstitious player, Fujimura never hurt insects or shaved before games, although hot-tempered, as he was once suspended for physically abusing an umpire.Albright, Jim
"Japan's Top Players,"
BabseballGuru.com. Accessed March 31, 2015. In 1950, Fujimura set the single-season record with 191

base hits In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's c ...

. This record remained unbroken for 44 years, until

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his ...

surpassed it in 1994. Fujimura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. His number "10" has been retired by the Hanshin Tigers.

Biography

High school

In the 1933 National High School Baseball Championship, Fujimura's team Taishō reached the quarterfinals, but Masao Yoshida of Chukyo Shogyo pitched a shutout in the game. In the finale of the 1934 National High School Baseball Championship, Fujimura faced

Tetsuharu Kawakami was a Japanese baseball player and manager, known for his red bat, and his nickname . He was a professional player for 18 years, winning the batting title five times, two home run crowns, three RBI titles, and had six titles for the most hits in ...

and struck him out three times in three at-bats. Fujimura's team won the championship.

Osaka/Hanshin Tigers

Fujimura debuted with the

in 1936, the inaugural season of the Japanese Baseball League. He split his time between pitcher and second base. After initially being a starting pitcher, he generally pitched in a relief role thereafter. Fujimura missed five seasons in the JBL because of military service during World War II. Fujimura acted as the Tigers' player-manager in 1946, leading them to a 59-46 record. That was also the last year he spent significant time pitching, going 13-2 with a 2.44 ERA. With a stat line of 46 home runs, 142 RBI, and a .332 average, Fujimura was the Most Valuable Player in 1949, the last season before the JBL reorganized into Nippon Professional Baseball. In 1950 Fujimura led the Central League with a .362 batting average (and setting the single-season hits record), and was a Best Nine Award-winner at third base. In 1953 Fujimura led the Central League in home runs and RBI, with 27 and 98 respectively. As a pitcher, Fujimura compiled an astounding winning percentage of .756. He hit for the cycle twice, once during the single-league era (in 1948) and once in the current dual-league era, the only player to do that. As a hitter, Fujimura finished his career with 1,694 hits, 224 home runs, and 1,126 RBI, with a lifetime .300 batting average. He was selected a Best Nine Award-winner three times at third base. After his playing career, Fujimura returned to manage the Tigers in 1955–1957. Fujimura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Jim Albright, an expert on Japanese professional baseball, ranks Fujimura as among the top players in NPB history and possibly worthy of induction to

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

Outside baseball

Fujimura appeared as an actor in the '' jidaigeki'' drama Shin Hissatsu Shiokinin in 1977 and Eiichi Kudo’s film

Aftermath of Battles Without Honor and Humanity is a 1979 Japanese film directed by Eiichi Kudo. Although originally planned as the first entry of a new series in the ''Battles Without Honor and Humanity'' franchise, ''Aftermath'' turned out to be a lone entry and Toei refers to the film as a ...

in 1979.

References

External links