Collecting and Translating the 1973 Calbee Bat-Backs (Part 7)

 #37  Shibata, Takada, Suetsugu (Giants)

The Trio Backing ON

Fully entrenched as the leadoff man, Shibata’s goal this year is to hit .300 and raise his on-base percentage. Preceding ‘ON’ is a big job. It’s do-or-die this year for Takada as the #2 batter. Naturally, his goal is to hit .300. Every year Suetsugu, known as ‘Mr. Spring,’ seems to peter out down the stretch.  At the end of a pennant race his spring savings end up depleted. .300 is within his grasp, and it seems this year he could rid himself of the frustration over not realizing it.  Photo: from left  Shibata, Kuroe, Suetsugu

This is the only card in the bat-back set featuring more than two players as subjects. The player wearing #11 in the background is either Hidetake Watanabe or Yoshimasa Takahashi, both pitchers. The set began release in early August of ‘73, though I am not sure when the pictures themselves were taken. Assuming they were snapped early in the ‘73 season, it would be Takahashi.

 #38  Doi - Second Base,  Kuroe - Shortstop (Giants)

The Giants’ Keystone Combo

Just like its iron wall between third and short, the space between second and short is just as fortified for the Giants!! Expect even more double plays this year. On a grounder that looks sure to poke into center past second base, shortstop Kuroe is there, tossing it to Doi rushing toward second as if at the very moment it reaches his glove. In another instant, Doi touches the bag and the ball is already in Oh’s waiting mitt at first for the double play. Photo: Doi (jumping), Kuroe (below).

This card is a classic. Its high-flying, albeit staged shot— reminiscent of the 1953 Bowman Pee Wee Reese—puts it among the most recognizable and illustrative cards of the set.

#39  Horiuchi - Pitcher,  Mori - Catcher (Giants)

The Golden Battery

It goes without saying that pitcher Horiuchi and catcher Mori have been key figures throughout ‘V8’—they’ve been together as a battery for seven years now. More polished than ever, they’re ready to go for ‘V9.’ Horiuchi has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this year, but for the past seven seasons, even with a slow start he hasn’t once gotten fewer than 10 wins. Of course this season he’s hungry to be a true ace. He should definitely be able to raise his win total this summer. With Mori as a wingman on top of his game, he can be assured of that. Be sure to keep your eye on these two.

As explained in an earlier post, the Giants’ 60s-70s dynasty is known as ‘V9’ in reference to their nine straight Japan Series victories. In the now dated wisdom of the time, a ‘true ace’ was casually defined as achieving 20 or more wins in a season (see card #15), though this was not formally recognized. 

#40  Kuroe - Shortstop (Giants)

Kuroe’s Batting Record

#41  Suetsugu - Outfielder (Giants)

A Fighter In The Fifth Hole  Suetsugu

The long awaited fifth batter to protect ON is finally here. Suetsugu is not flashy, but the steady persistent work he has put in over the last 8 years is bearing fruit. During spring training in Miyazaki, manager Kawakami returned with Suetsugu to their hometown and gave this ringing endorsement: ‘People of Hitoyoshi,  Suetsugu’s growth has been impressive. He’ll be batting fifth for us this year.’ Added Suetsugu, ‘Personally, I’d say I started gaining confidence about 2 years ago, so I consider myself more like a third-year pro and that’s how I’ll go about things.’ Confident and modest. More and more he’s giving up the ‘Mr. Spring’ moniker.

Tetsuharu Kawakami, the original Giants superstar who was the team’s manager at the time, shared a hometown with his outfielder, Suetsugu. For humble Hitoyoshi City in Kyushu, (current pop. ~30,000) having two native sons on the biggest team in Japanese pro baseball must have been quite an honor, and their homecoming met with considerable fanfare.