Collecting and Translating the 1973 Calbee Bat-Backs (Part 3)

     After profiling the Giant’s two biggest hitting and pitching stars respectively, the set moves on to the supporting cast starting with outfielders Isao Shibata and Shigeru Takada. Not surprisingly for their era and club, both played only for Yomiuri. Shibata, who first suited up as a teenager and on until he was nearly 40, played more years as a Giant than even the likes of Shigeo Nagashima. Although not a Hall of Famer, he is a member of the Meikyukai, a kind of honor roll of players who achieve at least 2,000 hits or 200 wins as a pitcher. Known as the Golden Players Club in English, it acts as a kind of secondary hall of fame.

 #17 Takahashi (Kazu) - Pitcher (Giants)

 Kazumi Takahashi's Pitching Record

#18  Shibata - Outfielder (Giants)

Unshakable Leadoff Man!  Shibata

An unshakable leadoff man brimming with fight. Shibata, a batter capable of going yard, has also hit third in the order but has since put aside any lingering attachment to home runs to focus on squaring up the ball. The result was a .293 average last year, one step closer to his goal of .300. This year more than ever has Shibata resolved to make contact and join the ranks of the .300 hitters. Leadoff is a key point for the Giants order, and he has become reliable as the point man for ‘O-N.’ Count on even more of the same this year.

#19  Shibata - Outfielder (Giants)

Shibata's Batting Record

#20  Shibata - Outfielder (Giants)

Sure-Footed Shibata

Aiming to be stolen base leader, Shibata is flying around the diamond this year as well. Red gloves have become his prominent trademark. Standing at first, he pulls the red gloves from his back pocket and puts them on as the fans anticipate when he will run. What’s more, if the opposing pitcher is right handed, he’ll enter the left batter’s box. With a lefty, he’ll stand ready on the right side. A switch hitter, Shibata can bat both ways. He gets a lot of infield hits from the left side in particular, so opposing infielders, be on alert.

     This card, while perfectly nice, seems like a bit of a missed opportunity given the gloveless picture of Shibata. Notice how he is pictured batting left, while card #18 shows him batting right. 

 #21  Takada - Outfielder (Giants)

Call It: A .300 Average!  Takada

 Takada is tenacious on offense. Defensively, he has gained many fans as the “Magician of the Outfield Fence,” and won a Gold Glove last year. However, since batting .300 his rookie season, he hasn’t again gotten a taste of that mark. Of course this year Takada is staying on the grind, but he has been unable to shake his tendency to pull the ball, and so is completely retooling his form. With gradual improvements in his average now, look forward to him once again joining the ranks of the .300 hitters. 

     This group of cards suffers a bit from samey images obviously all taken during the same shoot. The Pepsi logo in the bottom left corner of this one gives it some needed pop.