Shigeru Mizuhara
| Shigeru Mizuhara 水原 茂 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Infielder / Manager | |
| Born: January 19, 1909 Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan | |
| Died: March 26, 1982 (aged 73) Tokyo, Japan | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| JBL debut | |
| 1936, for the Tokyo Giants | |
| Last NPB appearance | |
| 1950, for the Yomiuri Giants | |
| JBL/NPB statistics | |
| Batting average | .243 |
| Home runs | 12 |
| Hits | 476 |
| RBIs | 184 |
| Stolen bases | 69 |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Japanese | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1977 |
| Election method | Selection Committee for the Players |
Shigeru Mizuhara (水原 茂, Mizuhara Shigeru, January 19, 1909 – March 26, 1982) is a former professional baseball infielder and manager in Japan's Japanese Baseball League (JBL) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). As a player his team won nine JBL championships; as a manager his teams won five Japan Series championships.
Mizuhara was a star third baseman for Keio University.[1]
Mizuhara played his entire professional career for the Tokyo Giants/Tokyo Kyojin/Yomiuri Giants, from the Japanese Baseball League's beginnings in 1936 until 1950. Playing second base for Tokyo in 1942, Mizuhara was voted Most Valuable Player of the JBL. Mizuhara served in the Japanese military during World War II, eventually being captured by the Russians; while in the prisoner of war camp, he introduced baseball to his captors.[2]
The JBL reorganized to Nippon Professional Baseball in 1950, and Mizhuara became player-manager of the Giants (although he retired as a player after the season). As manager for the Giants from 1950 to 1960, the Toei Flyers from 1961 to 1967, and the Chunichi Dragons from 1969 to 1971, Mizuhara compiled a record of 1586–1123, for a .585 winning percentage. As manager, he guided his teams to five Japan Series championships, four of those with Yomiuri and one with Toei.
Mizuhara was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa (Vintage Departures, 1989), p. 45.
- ^ Whiting, p. 47.
- ^ "Hall of Famers List | The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum". english.baseball-museum.or.jp. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1909 births
- 1982 deaths
- Baseball people from Kagawa Prefecture
- Keio University alumni
- Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Japanese baseball players
- Yomiuri Giants players
- Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners
- Managers of baseball teams in Japan
- Baseball player-managers
- Yomiuri Giants managers
- Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters managers
- Chunichi Dragons managers
- Japanese military personnel of World War II
- Japanese prisoners of war
- World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union