was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 professional baseball pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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 draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

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

Japan Series

, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....

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

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...

's Most Valuable Player

Most Valuable Player

In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

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

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, Inao".

In 1964, he injured his shoulder, and in 1965 came back to full time pitching, mainly in relief

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

. 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

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum which includes a library, reference rooms and Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame ....

 in 1993.

Career statistics

Year	Team	G	CG	SHO	W	L	PCT	IP	H	HR	BB	HBP	SO	WP	R	ER	ERA
1956	Nishitetsu Lions	61	6	3	21	6	.778	262.1	153	2	73	8	182	2	47	31	1.06
1957		68	20	5	35	6	.854	373.2	243	14	76	7	288	1	72	57	1.37
1958		72	19	6	33	10	.767	373.0	269	8	76	4	334	2	74	59	1.42
1959		75	23	5	30	15	.667	402.1	300	14	82	9	321	1	86	74	1.65
1960		39	19	3	20	7	.741	243.0	211	15	51	4	179	0	80	70	2.59
1961		78	25	7	42	14	.750	404.0	308	22	72	6	353	3	93	76	1.69
1962		57	23	6	25	18	.581	320.2	281	27	56	4	228	1	98	82	2.30
1963		74	24	2	28	16	.636	386.1	358	26	70	10	226	1	121	109	2.54
1964		6	0	0	0	2	.000	11.1	18	2	9	0	2	0	13	13	10.64
1965		38	13	2	13	6	.684	216.0	191	16	50	4	101	0	71	57	2.38
1966		54	2	2	11	10	.524	185.2	134	11	23	5	134	0	45	37	1.79
1967		46	3	1	8	9	.471	129.0	114	11	22	5	87	1	40	38	2.65
1968		56	2	1	9	11	.450	195.0	168	22	32	5	93	0	68	60	2.77
1969		32	0	0	1	7	.125	97.0	92	9	27	2	46	0	36	30	2.78
Career Total		756	179	43	276	137	.668	3599.0	2840	199	719	73	2574	12	944	793	1.98
		(7th)			(8th)			(10th)					(8th)				(3rd)

• 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 Lague 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 Japan Series
  Japan Series
  , or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
  
   (tied with Tsuneo Horiuchi
  Tsuneo Horiuchi
  is a former professional baseball pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. In he was voted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. He stood as a candidate of the House of Councillors election, 2010 for the LDP but lost...
  
  )

External links