“Workers of Showa Professional Baseball Talking to Reiwa” Vol.26 Kunikazu Ogawa Part 1 (Series article list >>)
A serialized series that unearths the past interview materials of “Showa professional baseball players” that have been buried and approaches the essence. Kunikazu Ogawa, who had achieved good results mainly as a reliever since the end of the Giants’ V9 season, left the Giants after just five years.
After that, he moved to the United States from the minor leagues to become the second Japanese player in the major leagues. . Let’s look back on the trajectory that paved the way for himself one after another, just like his crisp side throw pitching.
In 1974, Nagashima shakes hands with winning pitcher Ogawa. He retired this year and became a director the following year (Photo: Kyodo News)
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It was July 2010 when I went to see Mr. Kunikazu Ogawa. It all started when I found Ogawa’s book at an old bookstore while researching the history of the Giants’ baseball team for a magazine job. A book entitled “Baseball Wandering” published in 1992. The moment he held it in his hand, his childhood memories were awakened.
Giant pitcher Ogawa, who was a right side thrower and was number 45. In 1975, when Shigeo Nagashima was appointed as the new manager, he “threw hard” while the team was sinking to the bottom. He was mainly a reliever, and I got the impression that he was pitching almost every day. However, the next year, his turn decreased, and eventually he hardly appeared in the game. I was in the 6th grade of elementary school and had no way of knowing the details, but I clearly remember the off-season in 1977.
One day, when I was reading a newspaper, I saw an article about pitcher Ogawa going to the United States, and thought, “That’s amazing.” Around that time, in the late 1970s, American baseball was synonymous with “helper” foreign players, or major league players seen in ALL STAR SERIES. I believed in my childish mind that it was natural to go to the major leagues.
At that time, I didn’t even know the existence of Massey Murakami, who was born in 1964[the first Japanese major leaguer]. Therefore, Ogawa became the hero who came closest to the American major leagues. That’s why in 1985, when Yutaka Enatsu traveled to the United States to take on the challenge, and in 1995 when Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers, I thought, “Ogawa must have been there before that…” I was muttering inside.
