was a
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 ...
player and manager.
In 2003, he led the
Hanshin 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 ...
to their first
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 ...
pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. In 2007, he managed the
Japanese national team for the 2008
Beijing Olympics.
In October 2010 Hoshino was hired as manager of the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...
. He led the Eagles to a
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...
pennant and
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...
championship in 2013.
Childhood
Hoshino was born the third of three children in
Kurashiki
is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...
, Japan. His father died three months after he was born, and his mother raised him and his two sisters alone. He played baseball throughout his high school years, but was unable to advance to the
Koshien baseball tournament. He entered
Meiji University
, abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...
, and became a starter from his first year. He marked 23 total wins in the
Tokyo Big6 Baseball League
is an intercollegiate baseball league that features six prominent universities in the Tokyo area. Before the 1936 establishment of the Japanese Baseball League and subsequent growth (after 1950) of Nippon Professional Baseball, the Big6 Leagu ...
, including one no-hitter, but his team never won the league championship. Hoshino's reputation as a hot-headed leader
Whiting, Robert
Robert Whiting (born October 24, 1942) is a best-selling author and journalist who has written several books on contemporary Japanese culture - which include topics such as baseball and American gangsters operating in Japan. He was born in New Jer ...
. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 218–219. began in his years at
Meiji University
, abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...
, when he and other members of the baseball team banded together to break down a barricade set up around the school by a student protest group.
Playing career
Hoshino was drafted in the first round by the
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...
in 1968, led by manager
Shigeru Mizuhara
is a former professional baseball infielder and manager in Japan's Japanese Baseball League (JBL) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). As a player his team won nine JBL championships; as a manager his teams won five Japan Series championship ...
. 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 ...
had promised Hoshino that he would be their first round draft pick, but the Giants broke their promise, drafting another player instead. This betrayal made Hoshino develop a profound hatred towards the Giants, and he has battled the Giants ever since, both as a pitcher and as a manager. Hoshino signed with the Dragons in 1969, and pitched both as a starter and reliever, quickly becoming the ace of the Dragons pitching staff. He led the league in saves in 1974, and won the
Eiji Sawamura Award
The , commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year.
The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawa ...
. More importantly, however, his team won the league championship, stopping the Yomiuri Giants record of consecutive league championships at 9. He was known as the "Kyojin Killer" (Giants Killer) because he seemed to pitch unusually well against the Giants. His team won another league championship in 1982, and Hoshino retired after that year. His career record was 146–121, with 34 saves.
Hoshino was an extremely popular figure during his career, not because of his skill as a pitcher, but because of his persona. Baseball fans were sick of seeing the Yomiuri Giants win the championship year after year, and Hoshino's outspoken hatred of the Giants finally gave fans a player to root for beside
Shigeo Nagashima
is a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager.
Biography
Nagashima played baseball at his local high school, and on the Rikkyo University baseball team from 1954–1957. He joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1958. His jersey number ( ...
and
Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: , ''Ō Sadaharu''; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (), is a Japanese-born former baseball player and manager Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Ō Sadaharu"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 758. who ...
. Hoshino stayed with the Dragons for his entire career, and was very well respected by his teammates.
Managerial career
Hoshino worked as a commentator for
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
after retiring, and his popularity with both fans and players called him back to the
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...
as a manager in 1987. Hoshino made a number of big trades, and led the Dragons to a league championship in 1988. He stepped down in 1991, and returned to his job as a commentator and sports writer.
The Dragons did poorly after Hoshino's departure, and he was once again called back to lead the team in 1996. Hoshino won his second league championship in 1999, but stepped down again after his team placed fifth in 2001.
In 2002, Hoshino was called to take over as manager of the
Hanshin 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 ...
, who had been in last place for the last four years under
Katsuya Nomura
was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) catcher and manager. During his over 26-season playing career mostly spent with the Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), he became one of NPB's greatest offensive catchers. He was award ...
. He raised the team to fourth place in his first year, and made huge cuts during the off-season while recruiting
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
s like
Tomoaki Kanemoto
is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and manager. In his career as a player he spent 11 years with the Hiroshima Carp before moving to the Hanshin Tigers in 2003, where he spent another 10 years. He holds the world record for c ...
and
Hideki Irabu
was a Japanese professional baseball player of American and Japanese mixed ancestry. He played professionally in both Japan and the United States. Irabu played for the Lotte Orions / Chiba Lotte Marines and Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professiona ...
. The Tigers won the Central League championship in 2003; Hoshino's third pennant as manager. However, he frequently fell ill during games in 2003, often leaving the head coach to manage the team while he sat quietly on the bench. He stepped down after the 2003 Japanese championship series due to health reasons, allegedly due to high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia, but was the assistant senior director of the Hanshin Tigers until 2010. In 2007, he became the manager of the
Japan national baseball team
The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Sof ...
, which won the Asian Baseball Championship (the qualifier for the Beijing Olympics) defeating the Philippines, Korea, and Taiwan. However, the "Hoshino Japan" finished with a 4–5 record in the 2008
Beijing Olympics with no medals.
After the
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...
decided to let
Marty Brown go after the first year of a two-year contract, Hoshino was brought on to manage the team and signed to a one-year, ¥150 million contract for the 2011 season. After a fifth-place PL finish and the positive development of the team's younger players, team owner
Hiroshi Mikitani
(born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese billionaire businessman and writer. He is the founder and CEO of Rakuten, Inc. He is also the president of Crimson Group, chairman of the football club Vissel Kobe, chairman of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ...
requested that Hoshino stay on as manager for the next few seasons. In the 2013 season, the Eagles' ninth, he went on to lead the team to its first PL pennant, first successful
Climax Series
The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...
run, and first
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...
title. The following season, however, the Eagles finished in last place and Hoshino announced that he would step down as manager. His managerial tenure remains the team's longest.
Death
Hoshino died of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
in
Tsu, Mie
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 274,879 in 127,273 households and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Although the second largest city in the p ...
on January 4, 2018 at the age of 70.
References
External links
*Career statistics and player information fro
Baseball-Referenceo
(in Japanese)
Sen'ichi Hoshino's official website(in Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoshino, Senichi
1947 births
2018 deaths
People from Kurashiki
Baseball people from Okayama Prefecture
Meiji University alumni
Japanese baseball players
Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers
Chunichi Dragons players
Managers of baseball teams in Japan
Chunichi Dragons managers
Hanshin Tigers managers
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles managers
Olympic baseball managers
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Deaths from cancer in Japan