Sachio Kinugasa


Sachio Kinugasa was a Japanese professional baseball third baseman for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 1965 to 1987. He was nicknamed italic=yes, meaning "Iron Man". He played in a record-breaking 2,215 consecutive games, having surpassed Lou Gehrig's record by 1987.
Kinugasa is mostly remembered for his consecutive-game streak, but he ranks seventh in Nippon Professional Baseball in career home runs, 5th in career hits and 10th in career RBIs, showing that he was one of the most consistent hitters in Japanese baseball. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Biography

Kinugasa's mother was Japanese and she raised him by herself. Kinugasa's father was an African American serviceman who was stationed in Japan after World War II. He reported that he never met his father.

Playing career

Kinugasa entered Heian High School in Kyoto, and advanced to the Japanese National High School Baseball Championship twice in his senior year as a catcher. He was signed by the Hiroshima Carp in 1965, and spent several years in the minors before an arm injury led him to being converted into a first baseman in 1968. He became the team's regular first baseman, hitting 21 home runs with a.276 batting average. In 1975, he moved to third base at the suggestion of manager Joe Lutz, and his efforts helped the Hiroshima Carp win their first ever league championship. He led the league in stolen bases in 1976, and won the Central League's Most Valuable Player award in 1984 as his team won the Japanese championship series.
Nicknamed Tetsujin, after the robot manga "Tetsujin 28", Kinugasa played in games even when he was badly injured, including with bone fractures. He last missed a game on October 18, 1970, and set the Japanese consecutive games played record with his 1,247th consecutive game on August 2, 1980. He tied Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played on June 11, 1987. Kinugasa retired after the 1987 season, ending his career with 2,215 consecutive games played, 2,543 hits, and 504 home runs. His consecutive games played streak was broken in 1996 by Cal Ripken Jr., who played in 2,632 straight games in Major League Baseball.

Retirement

Following his retirement from baseball, Kinugasa became a sports commentator. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
Kinugasa died of colon cancer on April 23, 2018.

Awards and accolades

Kinugasa was given the People's Honour Award for his performance in the professional leagues. He is the second baseball player, following Sadaharu Oh and followed by Shigeo Nagashima and Hideki Matsui, to have received the award.