Collecting and Translating the 1973 Calbee Flag-Backs (92, 95, 96, 97, 99)
I need four more cards to complete my 1973 Calbee bat-back run. Given that all four cards (#75, 79, 81 and 83) are from the elusive Block 2, it is a so-close-but-so-far-away kind of situation. Since my acquisition of flag-backs has picked up recently in absence of more bat-backs to get for the run, now is as good a time as any to start translating them. Here we go!
Note: Unlike the bat-backs, flag-backs list both full player names and uniform numbers above the heading. Since I will be adding these to the master archive with the bat-backs, I have decided to leave that information off the translations for style and formatting consistency.
During his Tokai University days Ueda humbled the likes of Tokyo’s Big Six (Meiji U), and the Tohto University League (Nihon U) to become a champion pitcher at the Collegiate Nationals. He can attack the zone or offer up a hard slider with his underhand delivery, and has really been coming into his own. Quite unlike Enatsu, a righty with a high arm slot, the lefty submariner Ueda has actually been more consistent this year. Having ample chances both starting and in relief, to become the Central League’s winningest pitcher isn’t just a pipe dream.
Despite Ueda winning an impressive 22 games in 1973, the winningest pitcher that year was in fact none other than his teammate, Yutaka Enatsu (24). Ueda did, however, best Enatsu in ERA (2.22 to 2.58).
From the time he entered the pros as a prospect at 16 to the present day, Doi has been a stalwart cleanup man. A perennial .300 hitter, this year is going particularly well and he finds himself in the race for the batting championship, home run total, and RBI total with Harimoto (Nittaku) and Nagaike (Hankyu). If there is one thing Doi still needs at this point it is to capture a title. This year he is aiming to get three: the Triple Crown.
No relation to Shozo Doi of the Giants, Masahiro is one of Japan’s all-time greatest sluggers with 465 home runs. His involvement in the Black Mist game fixing scandal has cost him a place in the Hall of Fame, but he is a member of the Meikyukai honor roll of players with either 2,000 hits or 200 wins as a pitcher. Despite a stellar season in 1973 (.316/.983, 29 HR) Doi did not achieve the Triple Crown.
Although he is now a left-hitting specialist, Fujita hit from the right side up until middle school. “It would be good to have at least one left-handed hitter,” his manager once said, so Fujita made the switch. Now, he can hit right or left but is devoting himself fully to left side. A mind for defense, a strong hit tool and raw power make him the number one shortstop in the Central League. This year he’s looking to hit .300 for the first time.
Hiroshima fans are famous for their passion. Ask any who their favorite player is and 9 times out of 10 they will say Kinugasa. Needless to say he’s popular. Take that innate charm and add in some indomitable vitality to get one fellow it’s impossible not to like. Of course, those characteristically brash home runs are a draw as well. If he falls into a slump, the fans worry like it’s happening to them. You’re a good man, Kinugasa!
Suzuki could be considered the Pacific League’s answer to the Central League’s Enatsu as the model left-handed pitcher. As a child he was right-handed, but a bone fracture led him, remarkably, to switch hands. His fastball, thrown down from that 181cm frame, is one of the best in pro baseball. Last year he was susceptible to the long ball and saw his streak of consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins end at five. This year he starts anew and will live and die by the heater, with the Pacific League strikeout crown also on his mind.
A Hall of Fame workhorse, Suzuki pitched an insane 359 innings in 1968. Contemporaneous Major Leaguers with whom to compare him are few and far between, although Denny McClain of the Tigers threw 336 innings that same year while Wilbur Wood of the White Sox had nearly the same career best mark, 359.1, the year this card was issued. The 21st century has not seen a pitcher reach 300 innings in a season.
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