Japanese Professional Baseball Legend Shigeo Nagashima, ‘Mr. Pro Baseball,’ Dies at 89

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:34 JST, June 3, 2025

Yomiuri Giants lifetime honorary manager Shigeo Nagashima, one of Japan’s most beloved sports figures whose achievements as a player and manager earned him the moniker of “Mr. Pro Baseball,” died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.

Nagashima passed away due to pneumonia at 6:39 a.m. in a Tokyo hospital.

On March 15, when an exhibition game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers was held at Tokyo Dome, Nagashima visited Tokyo Dome and took a photo with Shohei Ohtani. The following day, he had a fever and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

His condition worsened and his blood pressure dropped in late May, but he held on, which impressed his doctor and others. At one point his blood pressure stabilized, and he appeared to be at peace. However, he passed away on Tuesday morning — the birthday of his daughter Mina, who had been caring for him.

“I will never forget my birthday of watching my father continue to hang on,” she said.

Born in Usui (now Sakura), Chiba Prefecture, he entered Rikkyo University after graduating from the former Sakura No. 1 High School. While at the university, he broke the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League record in the fall of 1957, his last season, by hitting a total of eight home runs.

Joining the Yomiuri Giants in 1958, he claimed the home run and RBI crowns, as well as the Rookie of the Year.

With his clutch performance — most notably a walk-off home run in the first pro baseball game watched by the Emperor and Empress in 1959 — he sparked a national frenzy.

Together with teammate and baseball legend Sadaharu Oh, or “ON,” as the pair were nicknamed, Nagashima played a key role in the Giants’ nine consecutive Japan Series title wins from 1965, marking the team’s golden age.

Dazzling baseball fans with his dynamic play, including his brilliant fielding at third base and powerful, sometimes exaggerated swings that were often delivered in clutch moments, he was known for his passionate performances.

He ended his 17-year playing career, saying “My Giants are forever immortal,” at a retirement ceremony at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo in 1974. His uniform No. 3 is now retired by the Giants.

Upon the retirement, he became the Giants’ manager, leading the team to win the Central League pennant twice over six seasons.

Then, he returned to manage the team in 1993. During his second stint, which lasted nine seasons, the team clinched the Central League pennant third times and won the Japan Series in 1994 and 2000.

Nagashima retired in 2001 and later became the Giants lifetime honorary manager. In 2003, he commanded the Japan’s national baseball team and secured the 2004 Athens Olympic Game berth after sweeping the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament. However, he suffered a cerebral infarction in March 2004 and was unable to lead the team. Afterward, he worked hard on his rehabilitation and showed fans he had recovered.

In 2013, he received the People’s Honor Award with baseball great Hideki Matsui, his protege who he mentored during his time with the Giants.

Nagashima was hospitalized and received treatment due to gallstones in summer 2018. In 2021, he was one of the torchbearers along with Matsui and Oh for the Tokyo Olympic Games and became the first person from the baseball world to receive the Order of Culture.