JAPAN SPECIAL: 1976 SADAHARU OH

It's about that time to go and create another 1970's "Japan Special" card celebrating a legend from the "Land of the Rising Sun", and I thought a 1976 edition for the great Sadaharu Oh would fit nicely:

As I've stated earlier here on the blog, I just love creating cards for Japanese Hall of Famers onto Topps templates!

Sadaharu Oh is a GOD in Japan, and rightfully so, topping 100 runs batted in 14 times, 100 runs scored 10 times and 30+ homers 19 times, which he did consecutively including his last year in 1980.

He topped 40 homers 13 times, including 55 in 1964, a Japanese record, then 51 in 1973 and 50 in 1977 when he broke the record to much fanfare.

When you look at his career stats it's like a thing out of a softball league, or some latter Barry Bonds numbers, with on-base-percentages above .500, slugging percentages above .700, and 100+ base on balls year after year, 16 consecutive to be precise, on his way to 2390 by the time he hung them up.

Just a fun angle for the blog to start designing some cards for legends of other leagues around the world, which I hope to continue in the new year.

Oh's final numbers: a .301 average with 2786 hits, 1967 runs scored, 2170 RBIs, 868 homers in 2831 games and 9250 official at-bats.

Just incredible!

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1973 FANTASY SADAHARU OH

Really fun card to post up today, a 1973 fantasy card for All-Time gJapanese great Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants, a card which will be part of my upcoming "Series 18" set due for a release at the end of the month:

I just love creating cards for Japanese Hall of Famers onto Topps templates!

The man is a GOD in Japan, and rightfully so, topping 100 runs batted in 14 times, 100 runs scored 10 times and 30+ homers 19 times, which he did consecutively including his last year in 1980.

He topped 40 homers 13 times, including 55 in 1964, a Japanese record, then 51 in 1973 and 50 in 1977 when he broke the record to much fanfare.

When you look at his career stats it's like a thing out of a softball league, or some latter Barry Bonds numbers, with on-base-percentages above .500, slugging percentages above .700, and 100+ base on balls year after year, 16 consecutive to be precise, on his way to 2390 by the time he hung them up.

Just a fun angle for the blog to start designing some cards for legends of other leagues around the world, which I hope to continue in the new year.

Oh's final numbers: a .301 average with 2786 hits, 1967 runs scored, 2170 RBIs, 868 homers in 2831 games and 9250 official at-bats.

Just incredible!

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1969 MINORU MURAYAMA

On the blog today, a 1969 "Japan Special" celebrating Japanese Hall of Fame pitcher Minoru Murayama of the Hanshin Tigers:

Murayama put in 14 years in Japan's Central League, all with the Tigers between 1959 and 1972, and some of his seasons were/are mind boggling.

For example, in 1970 at the age of 33, he appeared in 25 games, completing seven and tossing five shutouts, with a record of 14-3, tossing 156 innings and ending up with an incredible 0.98 earned run average!

In 1962, the 25 year-old posted a record of 25-14 over 57 appearances, starting 38 while completing 23, with six shutouts and 265 strikeouts, this time posting a remarkable 1.20 ERA over 366.1 innings.

By the time he retired, he finished with a record of 222-147 over 509 games, completing 192 of 348 starts and tossing 55 shutouts, striking out 2271 batters and posting a final 2.09 ERA over 3050 innings.

In 1993 he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, capping off an incredible career that also saw him win three Eiji Sawamura Awards (Cy Young equivalent) and an MVP in 1962.

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1951 SHIGERU SUGISHITA

Time for another "Japan Special" here on the blog, so today I post my 1951 card for all-time Japanese pitcher Shigeru Sugishita, who pitched between 1949 and 1961:

Over his career the righty posted 215 wins, twice winning 32 games in a season (1952 and 1954) with six straight 20+ win seasons between 1950 and 1955.

His 1954 season was tremendous, as he appeared in 63 games for the Chunichi Dragons, going 32-12 with an incredible 1.39 earned run average over 395.1 innings, completing 27 of his 32 starts while tossing seven shutouts.

He also set a career best when he whiffed 273 batters, one of three seasons where he topped 200 strikeouts.

His career totals: 215 wins, a 2.23 ERA over 525 appearances and 2841.2 innings, with 31 shutouts and 1761 strikeouts, taking home three Sawamura Awards as top pitcher (the first pitcher to win three such awards), getting elected to the Japan Hall of Fame in 1985.

JAPANESE SPECIAL: 1964 MASAICHI KANEDA

Super fun card to create and post to the blog today, a 1964 special Japanese Edition of Hall of Fame pitcher Masaichi Kaneda, who put together a monster baseball career:

The man was an absolute beast on the mound, as evidenced by his 14 consecutive 20-win seasons, all for the Kokutetsu Swallows in the Central League.

Among those 14 20-win campaigns, he also reached 30+ wins twice, with 31 in 1958 and 30 in 1963.

In 1955 the man tossed 400 innings when he appeared in 62 games, 37 of them starts, completing 34 while finishing up 21 in relief.

Incredible numbers that remind me of Robin Roberts or Warren Spahn, though for a longer amount of time.

To top it off, in that run of 14 straight 20-win seasons, he also topped 200+ strikeouts each and every year, including five 300+ K campaigns between 1955 and 1959, while also posting seven seasons of a sub-2.00 earned run average, with a ridiculous 1.30 mark in 1958 when he threw 332.1 innings!

Just incredible!

By the time he retired after the 1969 season, he finished with 400 wins, a 2.34 ERA and 4490 strikeouts over 944 games, 569 of them starts, with 82 shutouts.

Legend!

Look for this card to be printed in an upcoming set for sure!

JAPANESE SPECIAL: 1985 KOJI YAMAMOTO

Good day all!

On the blog today, time for another "Japan Special" featuring a legend from the Japan League, this time a 1985 card for slugging outfield legend Koji Yamamoto:

Yamamoto was close to wrapping up a legendary 18-year career in japan, all with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, by the time this card would have seen the light of day.

Over those 18 seasons, the man was a beast at the plate, hitting 536 homers, with nine 30 Home Run seasons, with five of those 40+, while also driving in 1475 runs, with six 100+ RBI years in the mix.

His 536 homers are fourth All-Time in Japan, taking home four home run titles, as well as reaching the 40-home run mark five years in a row between 1977-1980.

He helped lead the Toyo Carp to five league championships, and three Japan League titles in 1979, 1980 and 1984.

On the defensive side, Yamamoto was also awarded the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for ten straight years between 1972 and 1981, also setting a record of 302 consecutive plays with no errors in 1975.

Some of the records he finished his career with were 40-home run seasons (5), 30-home run seasons (9), consecutive seasons with 20+ homers (13), and consecutive hits (9).

Finally, in 2008, he was awarded his rightful spot in the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame, joining the other legends you've seen me profile here on the blog so far.

JAPANESE SPECIAL: 1979 ISAO HARIMOTO

Good day all!

On the blog today, the next Japanese legend to get the spotlight here, this time Hall of Fame outfielder Isao Harimoto:

Harimoto put in 23 seasons in the Japanese League, playing between 1959 and 1981, mainly for the Toei Flyers (Hokkaido).

He was Rookie of the Year in 1959, hitting .275 with 13 homers and 57 runs batted in over 125 games.

From then on he would turn into a legend of the game in japan, becoming the All-Time hit leader when he retired with 3085 hits, while also clubbing 504 home runs and driving in 1676 runs, while scoring 1523 himself.

To this day he is still the only player in Japanese history to collect 3000+ hits over a career.

He would top 20 homers 16 times, with five of those seasons 30+, while finishing up with a career average of .319, hitting .300+ 16 times.

He won seven batting titles, hitting as high as .383 (1970), and was selected for the "Best Nine Award" 16 times, as well as an MVP Award in 1962 when he hit .333 with 31 homers and 99 RBIs.

He is also the only member of the Japanese 3000/500/300 club, finishing with 319 career stolen bases, something only Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez have done here in the United States.

In 1990, he was duly elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

JAPANESE SPECIAL: 1971 SHIGEO NAGASHIMA

Hello all!

On the blog today, a 1971 Japanese special card of all-time great Shigeo Nagashima to keep things super interesting:

Nagashima put in 17 seasons with Yomiuri alongside the great Sadaharu Oh, with Oh batting third and Nagashima clean-up.

Over that time he was a part of eleven champion teams, while taking home the Rookie of the Year Award in 1958, as well as five Central League MVP Awards, eventually having his #3 retired.

By the time he retired after the 1974 season, he finished with 2471 hits, 444 home runs and 1522 runs batted in, hitting .305 over 2186 games, five times topping 100 RBI while hitting 20+ homers thirteen times.

Incredibly, he won the "Best Nine Award" every single year he played, seventeen times (equivalent to the All-Star team here).

Right after his playing days were over, Nagashima went on to manage the Tokyo Giants for 15 seasons, 1975-1980, 1993-2001, guiding the team to five first-place finishes and three titles, winning 1034 games against 889 losses for a .538 winning percentage.

I love inserting some legends of the Japanese League from time to time here on the blog, something that would have been so cool for Topps to do throughout their card sets so we could learn more than just Sadaharu Oh.

 

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1979 KATSUYA NOMURA

On the blog today, something special, a fantasy 1979 card for all-time Japanese great catcher Katsuya Nomura:

Perhaps the greatest catcher in Japan League history, Nomura put in an astounding 26 seasons of ball between 1954 and 1980, collecting 2901 hits while slugging 657 homers while driving in 1988 runs.

At the height of his game, between 1962 and 1965, he'd top 40 homers each season, with a high of 52 in 1963, while drivi9ng in 135 runs in 150 games.

He would top 30 homers ten times over his career, while reaching 100-RBIs seven times and hit .300 six times, with a high mark of .320 in 1965.

He would lead the league in homers eight times, and in 1965 he was the first Triple Crown winner in league history.

On top of his on-field play, the man was also a manager for 24 years, with three stints: 1970-1977 with Nankai, 1990-2001 with Yakult and Hanshin, and 2006-2009 with Rakuten.

In 3204 games as skipper, he'd finish an even .500 with a record of 1565 and 1963.

Really fun creating this Japanese Special cards, and I hope to create more of them throughout 2023!

FANTASY SPECIAL: 1977 SADAHARU OH

Up on the blog today, a special "fantasy" card creation I slipped into my "Series 11" set last month, celebrating the great Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants:

 

I used the 1977 template since it was the year he broke Hank Aaron's professional home run record, on his way to 868 over his majestic 22 year playing career.

The man is a GOD in Japan, and rightfully so, topping 100 runs batted in 14 times, 100 runs scored 10 times and 30+ homers 19 times, which he did consecutively including his last year in 1980.

He topped 40 homers 13 times, including 55 in 1964, a Japanese record, then 51 in 1973 and 50 in 1977 when he broke the record to much fanfare.

When you look at his career stats it's like a thing out of a softball league, or some latter Barry Bonds numbers, with on-base-percentages above .500, slugging percentages above .700, and 100+ base on balls year after year, 16 consecutive to be precise, on his way to 2390 by the time he hung them up.

Just a fun angle for the blog to start designing some cards for legends of other leagues around the world, which I hope to continue in the new year.

Oh's final numbers: a .301 average with 2786 hits, 1967 runs scored, 2170 RBIs, 868 homers in 2831 games and 9250 official at-bats.

Just incredible!