Osamu Higashio
Encyclopedia
Osamu Higashio is a former Japanese
baseball
player who played in the Japanese professional leagues from 1969-1988. He also was manager of the Seibu Lions
from 1995-2001.
high school baseball tournament, advancing to the semi-finals in the spring of 1968. He was drafted in the first round by the Nishitetsu Lions (the current Seibu Lions
) later that year. He lost confidence in his pitching ability after seeing the high level of pitching in the Pacific League
, and requested the team to convert him to a position player. The team accepted his request, but quickly withdrew it when the Black Mist Scandal erupted in the 1969 off-season. The ace of the Lions pitching staff, Masaaki Ikenaga, was banished from the professional leagues because of the scandal, and Higashio was forced into pitching a full year in the Lions starting rotation. His inexperience left him with a torrid 5.15 ERA in 40 games that year. Higashio made improvements in the following years, but still led the league in losses from 1971-1972. He pitched over 300 innings in 1972, but led the league in losses, hits given up, home runs given up, and runs given up. He also allowed over 100 walks in each of his seasons from 1971-1973.
The Lions team was sold by the Nishi-Nippon Railroad
in 1973, becoming the Taiheiyo Club Lions, and was sold again to become the Crown Lighter Lions in 1978. It was during this turbulent period that Higashio emerged as the ace of the Lions pitching staff. He marked a 2.38 ERA in 1975, and led the league with 23 wins (but also in losses). He won 23 games again in 1978, pitching over 300 innings for the third time in his career. The Lions finally obtained financial stability in 1979, becoming the Seibu Lions
, and won the Japanese championship series in 1982 and 1983. Higashio marked the lowest ERA in the league (2.92), and led the league in wins to receive the MVP award in 1983. The Lions won the league championship four years in a row from 1985-1988 (including three more Japanese championship series wins), and Higashio won his second MVP award in 1987. He announced his retirement in 1988, and is remembered as one of the leading Japanese pitchers in the 1980s.
and Orestes Destrade
from the major leagues, but ended up in 3rd place in his first two seasons as manager. The emergence of several young players, including Kazuo Matsui
, put the Lions over the top in Higashio's third year, and the team won consecutive league championships in 1997 and 1998 (the Lions lost the Japanese championship series both years). Pitchers Shinji Mori
, Daisuke Matsuzaka
, Fumiya Nishiguchi
and Denny Tomori also emerged during Higashio's tenure as manager. The Lions placed in 2nd in 1999 and 2000, and fell to 3rd place in 2001, and Higashio resigned from his post at the end of 2001.
He has currently returned to his role as a sports commentator. In September, 2006, he became the head of the Tokyo Apache
Japanese professional basketball team.
player, Richard Davis
, after hitting Davis with a pitch (He continued pitching after the incident, marking the win). Many fans sympathized with Davis, and demanded that Higashio be penalized as well for hitting so many batters. Managers of rival teams accused Higashio of purposely hitting batters, since Higashio possessed excellent control, and there was no way he could accidentally hit batters so often. Higashio has maintained that he never threw a pitch with the intention of hitting the batter.
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...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who played in the Japanese professional leagues from 1969-1988. He also was manager of the Seibu Lions
Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group...
from 1995-2001.
Professional career
Higashio was a star in the KoshienNational High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" or "Senbatsu" , is an annual high school baseball tournament....
high school baseball tournament, advancing to the semi-finals in the spring of 1968. He was drafted in the first round by the Nishitetsu Lions (the current Seibu Lions
Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group...
) later that year. He lost confidence in his pitching ability after seeing the high level of pitching in 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...
, and requested the team to convert him to a position player. The team accepted his request, but quickly withdrew it when the Black Mist Scandal erupted in the 1969 off-season. The ace of the Lions pitching staff, Masaaki Ikenaga, was banished from the professional leagues because of the scandal, and Higashio was forced into pitching a full year in the Lions starting rotation. His inexperience left him with a torrid 5.15 ERA in 40 games that year. Higashio made improvements in the following years, but still led the league in losses from 1971-1972. He pitched over 300 innings in 1972, but led the league in losses, hits given up, home runs given up, and runs given up. He also allowed over 100 walks in each of his seasons from 1971-1973.
The Lions team was sold by the Nishi-Nippon Railroad
Nishi-Nippon Railroad
The , also called or NNR, is one of Japan's "Big 16" private railroad companies. With headquarters in Fukuoka, it operates local and highway buses, supermarkets, real-estate and travel agencies, as well as railways in Fukuoka Prefecture. In addition, from 1950 to 1972, the company owned the Lions...
in 1973, becoming the Taiheiyo Club Lions, and was sold again to become the Crown Lighter Lions in 1978. It was during this turbulent period that Higashio emerged as the ace of the Lions pitching staff. He marked a 2.38 ERA in 1975, and led the league with 23 wins (but also in losses). He won 23 games again in 1978, pitching over 300 innings for the third time in his career. The Lions finally obtained financial stability in 1979, becoming the Seibu Lions
Seibu Lions
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based west of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Prince Hotels, which in turn is owned by the Seibu Group...
, and won the Japanese championship series in 1982 and 1983. Higashio marked the lowest ERA in the league (2.92), and led the league in wins to receive the MVP award in 1983. The Lions won the league championship four years in a row from 1985-1988 (including three more Japanese championship series wins), and Higashio won his second MVP award in 1987. He announced his retirement in 1988, and is remembered as one of the leading Japanese pitchers in the 1980s.
Career statistics
- Bolded figures are league-leading ones
Year Team G CG SHO W L SV IP H HR BB+HBP SO ER ERA(Place) 1969 Nishitetsu Lions 8 0 0 0 2 0 15.0 16 2 15 11 14 8.40 1970 40 3 0 11 18 0 173.1 183 22 97 94 99 5.15(21) 1971 51 3 0 8 16 0 221.1 198 20 133 109 92 3.75(17) 1972 55 13 2 18 25 0 309.2 313 37 122 171 126 3.66(15) 1973 Taiheiyo Club Lions 48 14 5 15 14 0 257.2 250 22 114 104 94 3.29(14) 1974 27 7 1 6 9 0 123.0 116 12 53 58 47 3.44 1975 54 25 4 23 15 7 317.2 287 14 70 154 84 2.38(3) 1976 43 15 2 13 11 5 243.1 256 14 59 93 86 3.19(14) 1977 Crown Lighter Lions 42 17 1 11 20 4 241.2 259 30 70 108 104 3.87(20) 1978 45 28 1 23 14 1 303.1 299 25 69 126 99 2.94(8) 1979 Seibu Lions 23 10 1 6 13 0 155.0 181 19 39 61 78 4.53(21) 1980 33 18 1 17 13 0 235.1 258 28 53 84 99 3.79(7) 1981 27 11 1 8 11 0 181.0 192 24 58 55 77 3.83(16) 1982 28 11 2 10 11 1 183.2 179 20 52 59 67 3.28(9) 1983 32 11 3 18 9 2 213.0 198 14 57 72 69 2.92(1) 1984 32 20 3 14 14 0 241.1 227 24 61 84 89 3.32(3) 1985 31 11 3 17 3 1 174.1 164 19 53 74 64 3.30(4) 1986 31 8 0 12 11 2 168.1 183 29 34 52 79 4.22(13) 1987 28 17 3 15 9 0 222.2 215 16 35 85 64 2.59(2) 1988 19 5 1 6 9 0 105.2 121 21 33 30 57 4.85 Career Total 697 247 34 251 247 23 4086 4095 412 1267 1684 1588 3.50
Managerial career
Higashio worked as a sports commentator for various television networks before returning to the Lions in 1995 as manager. Higashio drafted several top players, and recruited Darrin JacksonDarrin Jackson
Darrin "D. J." Jay Jackson is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played 12 years for the Chicago Cubs , San Diego Padres , Toronto Blue Jays , New York Mets , Chicago White Sox , Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers...
and Orestes Destrade
Orestes Destrade
Orestes Cucuas Destrade , is a former Major League Baseball infielder.-Biography:Destrade was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, but emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. During his youth, he played Khoury League at Flagami Park in Miami. He graduated from Christopher...
from the major leagues, but ended up in 3rd place in his first two seasons as manager. The emergence of several young players, including Kazuo Matsui
Kazuo Matsui
is a Japanese second baseman for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball. Matsui is a switch-hitter...
, put the Lions over the top in Higashio's third year, and the team won consecutive league championships in 1997 and 1998 (the Lions lost the Japanese championship series both years). Pitchers Shinji Mori
Shinji Mori
Shinji Mori is a right-handed pitcher.From -, he played for the Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball. After the 2005 season, he was acquired by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays through the posting system....
, Daisuke Matsuzaka
Daisuke Matsuzaka
is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball in the United States. He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. He was selected the MVP of the inaugural and the second World Baseball Classic, and is an Olympic bronze...
, Fumiya Nishiguchi
Fumiya Nishiguchi
, born September 26, 1972 in Wakayama, Japan) is a Japanese baseball player. He is a right-handed pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the Seibu Lions.-External links:...
and Denny Tomori also emerged during Higashio's tenure as manager. The Lions placed in 2nd in 1999 and 2000, and fell to 3rd place in 2001, and Higashio resigned from his post at the end of 2001.
He has currently returned to his role as a sports commentator. In September, 2006, he became the head of the Tokyo Apache
Tokyo Apache
Tokyo Apache is a Japanese basketball club, based in the city of Tokyo, Kantō Region. They play in the bj league, the top-level Japanese professional League.Their home games are played at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium II, located at Shibuya, Tokyo....
Japanese professional basketball team.
Beanballs
Higashio often pitched towards the inside of the plate to intimidate opposing batters during his professional career, and he holds the Japanese career record for hit batsmen (165). He was not afraid to throw pitches close to the batter, and showed little remorse after hitting batters. In 1986, he received a beating on the mound by Kintetsu BuffaloesKintetsu Buffaloes
The was a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka, Japan, which were in the Pacific League. The team was owned by Kinki Nippon Railway Co. and later sold to the Orix Group, the owner of the Orix BlueWave baseball team, in 2004...
player, Richard Davis
Dick Davis
Richard Earl Davis is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball from 1977 until 1982, primarily as an outfielder. He also played five seasons in Japan with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1984 until 1988....
, after hitting Davis with a pitch (He continued pitching after the incident, marking the win). Many fans sympathized with Davis, and demanded that Higashio be penalized as well for hitting so many batters. Managers of rival teams accused Higashio of purposely hitting batters, since Higashio possessed excellent control, and there was no way he could accidentally hit batters so often. Higashio has maintained that he never threw a pitch with the intention of hitting the batter.
Trivia
- He is one of only two players to have played with every single Lions team (Nishitetsu, Taiheiyo Club, Crown Lighter, and the current Seibu Lions).
- He won his 200th game in 1984, obtaining membership in the MeikyukaiMeikyukaiis one of the two Japanese baseball halls of fame . The Meikyukai is a company ltd. for public benefit.It was founded on July 24, 1978, to honor players born during the Shōwa period...
baseball club, but had more career losses than wins at the time (He ended his career having more wins that losses). - He is the last pitcher who had lost 20 games, or pitched over 300 inning in single year.
- In the 1987 off-season, he was arrested and prosecuted by Japanese police for participating in a MahjongMahjongMahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
game held by members of the Japanese mafia. He received a half-season suspension, and a 10,000,000 yen fine. This is thought to have directly led to Higashio's retirement in 1988. - While manager of the Lions, he was often criticized by fans for having a smile on his face even when the team was losing.
- His eldest daughter, RikoRiko Higashio- Amateur career :Higashio was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As a teenager, she won the 1993 Japan Amateur Championship and the 1994 Japan Junior Championship.Higashio first attended Nihon University in Tokyo, Japan...
, is a professional golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er. - He was born in the same prefecture as Masato YoshiiMasato Yoshiiis a retired Japanese baseball player who is currently a pitching coach for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese Pacific League. He pitched in the Major Leagues from to .-Biography:...
, and both attended the same elementary, middle, and high schools. He and Yoshii also wore the same jersey number in Japan (21). - In the early 90's he endorsed 3 video games for the Nintendo Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Super Famicom. The Super Famicom game was entitled Higashio Osamu Kanshuu Super Pro Yakyuu StadiumHigashio Osamu Kanshuu Super Pro Yakyuu Stadiumis a 1993 Japan-exclusive baseball video game for the Super Famicom, which was endorsed by Osamu Higashio, a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.There are 12 Nippon Professional Baseball teams to choose from....
.