1980 Calbee Large: A Scarce and Intriguing Set (Part 10)

This will be my last 1980 Calbee Large post for a good while I think. I managed to get three more cards (#9, 38, 44) leaving me with only six more from block 1. The problem of course is the rarer block 2 cards, of which I still need 21. It’s feasible I could get all the block 1 cards this year if I’m lucky, but realistically I wouldn’t expect to complete this set for years—if ever. 1980 is without a doubt the toughest 70's or 80's Calbee set to find any singles of across the board, and it's really not even close. Block 2 Large are the rarest of the rare.

#9  Naoki Takahashi - Pitcher (Nippon Ham)

Takahashi was a long tenured journeyman hurler known for his trademark glasses. He mainly played for the Fighters and capped his 18-year career with a 3.32 ERA and 1391 SO.

 

#38  Hiromasa Arai - Outfielder (Nankai)

Arai played 18 years for the Nankai Hawks and Kintetsu Buffaloes. His .366 AVG in 1987 earmed him a batting title.

 

 #44  Isamu Kida - Pitcher (Nippon Ham)

Already an asset to his team, Kida is a Rookie of the Year candidate along with Nankai's big names. At Yokohama Shodai High, his 18 strikeouts in a game became a prep record, while in the Industrial League in ‘78 he pitched 5 consecutive games at the Intercity Tournament. First-rate feats for a first-rate pitcher.

 

The Industrial League is an interesting component of baseball in Japan. Basically, it is a corporate league unaffiliated with NPB where players are generally (but not always) regular employees of the company whose team they play for. The league is pretty high level and functions as an independent minor league that feeds into NPB. The Industrial League is known as Shakai-jin Baseball in Japan. Shakai-jin is an interesting word because it is super common but doesn’t really have a precise English translation. Literally “societal person,” I would probably translate it to “working adult” or “tax-payer” depending on the context. So basically it’s the “Workingmen’s League.” It kind of reminds me of that classic Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns recruits Big Leaguers to work at the nuclear plant so they can play on the softball team.

 

 #87  Hiromasa Arai - Outfielder (Nankai)

For a time, Arai’s average fell as low as .125, but now as of the 30th he is among the top 30 batters at #26. He has become the driving force of Nankai’s steady advance.

 

 #90  Kazumasa Kono - Infielder (Yomiuri)

On the 25th against Hiroshima, Kono got the winning run in. At the last moment in the ninth, he deftly took Yamane (against whom he struggled last year) to the opposite field, allowing Fukushima to come home from second.

 

#93  Kazuwa Yamane - Pitcher (Hiroshima)

On the 25th against the Giants, Yamane was the losing pitcher by a run, but he did win his battles against Oh. “He didn’t give me a single meatball,” Oh raved.

 

#94  Hideji Kato - Infielder (Hankyu)

On the 10th against Nippon Ham, Kato was the main attraction in getting his team their first win. He got it started in the first with a sac fly, while over two consecutive at-bats in the fourth and sixth he hit home runs #2 and #3 for 3 RBI.

 

#95  Mitsuyasu Hirano - Outfielder (Kintetsu)

As of the 30th, Hirano has the second highest batting average among the Pacific League’s top hitters. As commander of the Raging Buffaloes Lineup, he’s providing covering fire with his high average.