was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and coach. Renowned for his forkball, Sugishita dominated the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

from 1950–1955, "SUGISHITA, Shigeru,"
The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (Japan). Accessed April 3, 2015. winning more than 30 games twice (winning at least 23 games each season), and garnering three Eiji Sawamura Awards. Sugishita usually split his time between starting games and pitching in relief. He played 11 seasons, ten of them for the Chunichi/ Nagoya Dragons.

Biography

Born in Tokyo Prefecture, Sugishita attended Teikyo Shogyo High School and

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

. In 1950, Sugishita led the

in strikeouts and innings pitched. In 1951, he went 28-13 with a 2.36 ERA, leading the Central League in victories and winning his first Eiji Sawamura Award. 1952 was another stellar campaign for Sugishita, as he went 32-14 with a 2.33 ERA, pitching in 61 games and throwing innings. That year he again won the Sawamura Award. In 1954, Sugishita won his third Sawamura Award, going 32-12 with a 1.39 ERA. He pitched innings, had 27 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 273 strikeouts, and was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the

. Capping off the season, he was the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of 1954 Japan Series, pitching in four of the seven games and winning three of them, including the game-seven clincher. He is one of only three players in NPB history to win the Sawamura Award, the MVP award, and the Japan Series MVP in the same season. Despite only being 32 years old, Sugishita retired from playing after the 1958 season and became the Dragons' manager. After guiding the team for two seasons, Sugishita was let go after the 1960 season, when the Dragons finished in fifth place. In 1961, Sugishita returned to playing, pitching mostly in relief for the Daimai Orions. He went 4-6 with a respectable 2.44 ERA. Sugishita went back to managing, leading the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

in 1966, and returning to Chunichi in 1968. His teams did not perform well, and Sugishita moved on to announcing baseball on television. Shigeru Sugishita was elected to the

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame The , commonly known outside of Japan as the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame and museum in Tokyo dedicated to professional baseball, with a prominent focus on professional baseball in Japan. The Hall is intended to honor and co ...

in 1985. Sugishita died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on June 12, 2023, at the age of 97.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugishita, Shigeru 1925 births 2023 deaths Meiji University alumni Baseball people from Tokyo Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Chunichi Dragons players Chiba Lotte Marines players Daimai Orions players Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Managers of baseball teams in Japan Chunichi Dragons managers Hanshin Tigers managers Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Nippon Professional Baseball pitching Triple Crown winners