Tetsuharu Kawakami facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tetsuharu Kawakami |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Tetsuharu Kawakami
|
|||
| First basemen | |||
| Born: March 23, 1920 Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan |
|||
| Died: October 28, 2013 (aged 93) Inagi, Tokyo, Japan |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| Spring, 1938, for the Tokyo Kyojin | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1958, for the Yomiuri Giants | |||
| JBL/Nippon Professional Baseball statistics | |||
| Batting average | .313 | ||
| Hits | 2,351 | ||
| Home runs | 181 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,319 | ||
| Runs | 1,028 | ||
| Stolen bases | 220 | ||
| Teams | |||
As Player
As Manager
|
|||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
|||
| Induction | 1965 | ||
Tetsuharu Kawakami (川上 哲治, Kawakami Tetsuharu, March 23, 1920 – October 28, 2013) was a famous Japanese baseball player and manager. He was known for his red bat and his special nickname, "the God of Batting" (dageki no kamisama).
Kawakami played baseball professionally for 18 years. During this time, he won many awards. He was the best batter five times and hit the most home runs twice. He also had the most runs batted in (RBI) three times. He was the first player in Japanese professional baseball to get 2,000 hits. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times.
After his playing career, Kawakami became a manager. He led the Yomiuri Giants team from 1961 to 1974. Under his leadership, the Giants won eleven championships. Nine of these wins were in a row, which is a record! He holds the record for the most Japan Series championships as a manager. Kawakami was honored by being added to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.
Early Life and Playing Days
Tetsuharu Kawakami was born in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan. He loved baseball from a young age. In 1937, he played for Kumamoto Tech in the Summer Kōshien tournament. His team made it to the championship game but lost. After the game, Kawakami picked up some dirt from the Kōshien Stadium field. He put it in his uniform pocket as a souvenir. This started a tradition where losing players take home "the dirt of Kōshien."
Kawakami joined the Tokyo Kyojin team in 1938. This team later became the Yomiuri Giants. He played for them until 1958. He served in the Japanese military from 1943 to 1945. When he first started, he played as both a pitcher and a first baseman. He pitched in 39 games and had a good record. In 1942, he became a full-time first baseman.
Kawakami was known for being a very smart batter. In 1951, he only struck out 6 times. This is still one of the lowest numbers in a single season in Japan. In 1954, he made history for the Yomiuri Giants. He hit the team's first-ever cycle. This means he hit a single, a double, a triple, and a home run all in the same game.
A Legendary Manager
After retiring as a player, Kawakami became the manager of the Yomiuri Giants in 1961. He managed the team until 1974. He was known for his strict but fair coaching style. He helped the Giants win nine championships in a row. This amazing winning streak is still famous in Japanese baseball.
As a manager, Kawakami won 1,066 games and lost 739. He also won 44 out of 62 playoff games. These are still the best records for a manager in Giants history. He believed in a special way of playing called "controlled baseball."
Kawakami in Films
Tetsuharu Kawakami also appeared in a few movies:
- 人生選手 (1949)
- 川上哲治物語 背番号１６ (1957) — In this movie about his life, he played himself.
- ＢＩＧ−１物語 王貞治 (1977)
He is also mentioned in the famous movie Stray Dog (1949), directed by Akira Kurosawa.
