Collecting and Translating the 1973 Calbee Flag-Backs (100, 102, 104, 106, 107)
#100 Enatsu - Pitcher (Hanshin)
Enatsu’s father passed away shortly before he was born, and he was raised by his mother. As the dutiful son of a single parent household, he developed a never-say-die attitude readily apparent in his pitching. His calling card is the fastball strikeout—one slugger after another. Every season Enatsu sets the strikeout pace. The only thing stopping him from continuing his current run would be if he slacked off on his conditioning!
#102 Motoi - Second Baseman (Taiheiyo)
At 171cm, Motoi is a small for a pro baseball player, but the sheer grit of his play enthralls the fans. Last season (his 6th in the pros) was the first time he hit .300 and was selected to the Best Nine as one of the leading second basemen in the game. Considered the leader of the infield, his keystone combo with the young Umeda gets the team out of pinches time and time again.
Now in his 9th year since entering the pros, fortune has been on Ikeda’s side since changing his name from Junichi to Yoshihiro. During that time he’s set the pace for average among players batting sixth. Although he has a very strong arm, he isn’t what you’d call a natural—just the product of hard work. His strong average too is the product of practice, practice, practice and his consistency makes him a dependable hitter. He hit .283 last season and is now raring to reach .300.
Though his face is fair and gentle, his thick stubble and the way he lumbers up to the plate have given Takenouchi the nickname “The Bear.” His reputation for clutch hitting is well established, and he leverages that batting prowess by playing outfield. Though some argue he’s at a disadvantage being used at third and first too, Takenouchi, ever the diligent pragmatist, is clear: “As long as I can get in a game, I’ll play anywhere.” Even so, it would be a shame for him to end up just a utility man...
Even the home run hitting Tabuchi is showing some cause for concern. That would be his average, which just isn’t going up. For a power hitter like him an average below .280 is a pity. Overcoming his weakness to sliders on the outside corner is one issue at hand. That and his penchant for getting hit by pitches and missing time. Becoming a great batter requires a fearless approach to hitting balls on the inside corner, as well as learning to deftly avoid being hit by pitches. Players who miss a lot of time cannot win titles.
I have to admit I’m a little put off by how much this write up just dunks on Tabuchi. Recognizing that the it’s-never-good-enough culture pervades pro sports—not the least in Japan—the tone feels off for Calbee and baseball cards in general. In fact, I actually toned the language down in my translation. While I write, ‘...an average below .280 is a pity,’ the Japanese text is actually more like ‘...an average below .280 is pathetic’ (emphasis mine). I did grapple with this. I try to remain faithful to the text when I translate. At the same time, I want the translation to read naturally, and I just couldn’t abide the tone of the original. It’s jarringly off. So, I stand by my translation despite it being one of the bigger liberties I’ve taken thus far, though do think it more or less captures the idea.
For the record Tabuchi had a very good year in ‘72 (.258/.860 34HR), and an even better one in ‘73 (.256/.943 37HR). Although that is almost beside the point. By the way, despite being 11th all-time in NPB home runs (474) and as a catcher no less, Tabuchi was only elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020—36 years after his retirement as a player. My man might be the Japanese Rodney Dangerfield. No respect. No respect at all.
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