(Update 2) Japanese Baseball Legend Shigeo Nagashima Dies at 89

   Tokyo, June 3 (Jiji Press)--Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima, a national hero nicknamed "Mr. Professional Baseball" for playing a remarkable role as a slugger and a manager for the Yomiuri Giants, died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Tuesday. He was 89.
   He was hospitalized in March 2004 for a stroke. After rehabilitation and discharge from the hospital, he often watched games and coached children. In July 2018, he was hospitalized for treatment of gallstones but recovered within the same year.
   Nagashima visited the Tokyo Dome to watch a Giants game in April 2019. He had since visited the stadium many times to give advice to players as the team's "lifetime honorary manager."
   The native of Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, joined the Giants in 1958. In his first year, he won the home run, RBI and rookie of the year titles.
   Nagashima played an important part in big games including a match watched by Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, in 1959, in which he hit a walk-off home run.

(2025/06/03-12:20)

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