was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional baseball player. An outfielder, he played with the Tokyo Kyojin/Yomiuri Giants,

Hankyu Braves The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

, and Taiyo-Shochiku Robins from 1942–1959, playing in both the

Japanese Baseball League was a professional baseball league in Japan which operated from 1936 to 1949, before reorganizing in 1950 as Nippon Professional Baseball. The league's dominant team was Tokyo Kyojin (renamed the Yomiuri Giants in 1947), which won nine league c ...

and

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). A five-time league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

champion, he was one of the first true sluggers of Japanese professional baseball — despite being only 5'7" and 171 lbs. Aota was selected as a

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first presen ...

-winner five times and a NPB All-Star six separate times. In 2009, he was inducted to the

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame The is a museum which includes a library, reference rooms and . It first opened in 1959 next door to Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. In 1988, the museum moved to a new site within the Tokyo Dome. The Hall of Fame and Museum was created as a ...

Biography

Playing career

Aota made his professional debut at age 17 in 1942 with the

Tokyo Kyojin The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

of the

(JBL). After the 1942 season (also with Tokyo), Aota left professional baseball to serve in the Japanese military through 1945. He returned to the JBL in 1946 with the

, for whom he played through the 1947 season. Upon joining the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

(the renamed Tokyo Kyojin) in 1948, Aota became one of the league's top home run hitters. He was a

winner in 1948, winning the batting crown and the home run championship. He was again a Best Nine Award-winner in 1950, and in 1951 he led the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

in home runs (32), RBI (105), and runs (101). He hit a home run in the 1951 Japan Series, when the Giants defeated the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

, 4 games to 2 for their first NPB championship. Aota joined the Taiyo-Shochiku Robins in 1953, and led the Central League in home runs in 1954 and 1956, and tied for the league lead in 1957. Aota retired in 1959 at age 34 as the Japanese professional baseball career leader with 265 career homers (he was surpassed in 1963 by

Kazuhiro Yamauchi was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He played for the Mainichi Orions, the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp over the span of an 18 season-long career (1952–1970). Yamauchi was the first Japanese professional baseball playe ...

, the first Japanese professional baseball player to hit 300 home runs)."Yamauchi, NPB's 1st 300-HR man, dies at 76,"
''

Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...

'' (Feb. 6, 2009). Aoto is one of the few Japanese players to surpass 1,000 RBI in his career. He also had 155 career stolen bases.

Coaching career

Aota returned to NPB in 1972 as a manager, taking over the

Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

mid-season and only going 1-14-2. He stayed on with Taiyo in 1973, when the team went 60-64-6. Aota then became a coach, but was forced into retirement from the

in 1980 after being quoted saying something controversial in a Japanese tabloid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aota, Noboru Japanese baseball players 1924 births 1997 deaths Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Yomiuri Giants players Hankyu Braves players Taiyō Whales players Managers of baseball teams in Japan Yokohama DeNA BayStars managers Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Biography

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References