was a Japanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. In 1957, he won 20 consecutive games. In 1958

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 ...

, he pitched six games and won 4 consecutive games after his team lost 3 games. He even hit a home run in fifth game of Japan Series. He was the

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 consi ...

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

in 1957 and 1958. He had 42 wins in 1961. Fans called his great success "

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, Inao". In 1964, he injured his shoulder, and in 1965 came back to full-time pitching, mainly in relief. He retired as a player in 1969, and went on to manage the Nishitetsu Lions from 1970 to 1974. He was inducted into 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 ...

in 1993. His number 24 was retired by the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary ...

on April 30, 2012.

Career statistics

*Bolded figures are league-leading

Titles and Award

*Rookie of the Year : (1956) *Wins Champion : 4 times (1957,1958,1961,1963) *Winning Percentage Champion: 2 times (1957,1961) *ERA Champion : 5 times (1956–1958,1961,1966) *Strikeout Champion : 3 times (1958,1961,1963) *MVP : 2 times (1957–1958) *Best Nine : 5 times (1957–1958,1961–1963)

Record

*42 Wins (1961) (National Record, tied) *20 consecutive wins (1957) (National Record) *78 Games Played (1961) (Pacific League Record) *1.06 ERA (1956) (Pacific League Record, National Rookie-Year Record) *404 inning Pitched (1961) (Pacific League Record) *11 wins in single month (Aug, 1956) (National Record) *4 complete game in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied) *4 wins in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied) *11 career wins in

(tied with Tsuneo Horiuchi)

References

External links

1937 births 2007 deaths Baseball people from Ōita Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Nishitetsu Lions players Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Managers of baseball teams in Japan Seibu Lions managers Chiba Lotte Marines managers Deaths from cancer in Japan {{Japan-baseball-pitcher-stub Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees