Katsuya Nomura
Encyclopedia
was one of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) greatest players as a catcher and was also a long-time manager for the Yakult Swallows
, the Hanshin Tigers
, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles
of NPB's Pacific League.
in homers eight straight seasons. (However, it should be taken into consideration that his home park, Osaka Stadium, measured only 276 feet until 1972 and 300 feet from 1972 onward down the lines, and 380 feet to straightaway center-tiny dimensions by today's standards.) He finished his career with 2901 hits. His HR and hit totals were the top career marks at the time for ethnic Japanese players, but Sadaharu Oh
(Chinese/Japanese with Taiwanese citizenship) surpassed his home run record and Isao Harimoto
([ethnic Korean]) broke his career hits record. (Ichiro Suzuki's combined hits total between NPB and U.S. Major League Baseball now ranks him #1 in career hits for a Japanese player, having topped Harimoto's career mark in 2008.)
In 1965, Nomura won the league's first Triple Crown. He was a player-manager between 1970 and 1977. He played for 26 years, the longest NPB playing career until Kimiyasu Kudo pitched in his 27th season in 2008.
Nomura steered the Yakult Swallows to four league titles in the 1990s, and won the Japan Series in 1993, 1995 and 1997.
After stepping down as the Yakult skipper, Nomura managed the Hanshin Tigers from 1999 to 2001 but resigned after Hanshin finished at the bottom of the Central League for three straight seasons. Additionally, Nomura's wife, Sachiyo, was in legal trouble in 2001 due to charges of tax evasion, which also contributed to his decision to relinquish his position.
Nomura was hired to manage the industrial league team, Shidax Baseball Club, in 2003. He led the team through the 2005 season. Nomura returned to the NPB as a manager for the 2006 season with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. In so doing, he became the oldest manager in the history of NPB.
On April 29, 2009 he reached the 1,500 wins mark in his managerial career, but he also holds the record for overall number of losses. He led the Eagles to their best-ever record of second place the regular season.
He retired at the end of the 2009 season and was replaced by American, and former Hiroshima
manager, Marty Brown.
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
is a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League.The Swallows are named after their corporate owners, the Yakult Corporation. From 1950 to 1965, the team was owned by the former Japanese National Railways and called the Kokutetsu Swallows; the team was then owned by the newspaper Sankei...
, the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
of NPB's Pacific League.
Career
During a career that spanned four decades from 1954 to 1980, Nomura hit 657 home runs and led the Pacific LeaguePacific 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...
in homers eight straight seasons. (However, it should be taken into consideration that his home park, Osaka Stadium, measured only 276 feet until 1972 and 300 feet from 1972 onward down the lines, and 380 feet to straightaway center-tiny dimensions by today's standards.) He finished his career with 2901 hits. His HR and hit totals were the top career marks at the time for ethnic Japanese players, but Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh, or Wang Chenchih , is a retired Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager. He batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Oh, who was born in Sumida, Tokyo the son of a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, had originally signed with the powerhouse Yomiuri...
(Chinese/Japanese with Taiwanese citizenship) surpassed his home run record and Isao Harimoto
Isao Harimoto
Isao Harimoto is a Korean former Nippon Professional Baseball player and holder of the record for most hits in the Japanese professional leagues. An ethnic Korean, his birth name is Jang Hun...
([ethnic Korean]) broke his career hits record. (Ichiro Suzuki's combined hits total between NPB and U.S. Major League Baseball now ranks him #1 in career hits for a Japanese player, having topped Harimoto's career mark in 2008.)
In 1965, Nomura won the league's first Triple Crown. He was a player-manager between 1970 and 1977. He played for 26 years, the longest NPB playing career until Kimiyasu Kudo pitched in his 27th season in 2008.
Nomura steered the Yakult Swallows to four league titles in the 1990s, and won the Japan Series in 1993, 1995 and 1997.
After stepping down as the Yakult skipper, Nomura managed the Hanshin Tigers from 1999 to 2001 but resigned after Hanshin finished at the bottom of the Central League for three straight seasons. Additionally, Nomura's wife, Sachiyo, was in legal trouble in 2001 due to charges of tax evasion, which also contributed to his decision to relinquish his position.
Nomura was hired to manage the industrial league team, Shidax Baseball Club, in 2003. He led the team through the 2005 season. Nomura returned to the NPB as a manager for the 2006 season with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. In so doing, he became the oldest manager in the history of NPB.
On April 29, 2009 he reached the 1,500 wins mark in his managerial career, but he also holds the record for overall number of losses. He led the Eagles to their best-ever record of second place the regular season.
He retired at the end of the 2009 season and was replaced by American, and former Hiroshima
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
manager, Marty Brown.