Pennant Race! Collecting and Translating 1974 Calbee Series 1 (Part 2)

1974 Calbee kicks off the same as the ‘73 set, being front-loaded with Giants players. Unlike ‘73, I don’t know definitively that the Giants cards were printed in greater quantity, but that seems to be the case based on eye test alone.

#2  Sadaharu Oh - First Baseman・Captain (Giants)

This season, Oh has a lot of challengers aiming to be the home run king. Yamashita and Tabuchi cannot be overlooked.

[Baseball Museum]  During his high school days, Oh was Waseda Jitsugyo’s ace. He threw an 11 inning no-hit, no-run game against Neyagawa High at the 1957 Summer Koshien Tournament.

 

This card highlights an interesting difference between Japanese and American baseball: no-hitters are perceived slightly differently. The term ノーヒットノーラン (no-hitto, no-rahn) is the de-facto Japanese term for a no-hitter. But a no-hitter and a no-hit, no-run game aren’t, of course, precisely the same. With a no-hitter, as we know, runs are allowed. There actually is a term in Japanese for no-hitters where runs are allowed. ノーヒットありラン (no-hit, ari-rahn), which means no-hit, with runs. You almost never hear this term because, well, no-hitters are rare to begin with and even rarer without also being a shutout. Of those achieved in the Major Leagues, only about 8% have not been shutouts as well. (You have to go back to 2011 for the last time it happened in MLB: Ervin Santana over the Indians with 1 run allowed). I had assumed that “no-hit, no-run” was an example of Wasei-Eigo, or Japanese-Made English, but it is not. This term was used in America at least as early as 1893 according to Baseball Almanac. Maybe it never caught on (in the States) because it feels kind of superfluous? Regardless, it predates “no-hitter,” which Merriam-Webster dates to 1911. As far as I can tell, the Japanese don't really consider a no-hitter with runs allowed to be a true example of the feat.

 

#10  Tsuneo Horiuchi - Pitcher (Giants)

Horiuchi and Kazumi Takahashi are the only two pitchers to have never pitched for the farm team after joining the Giants.

[Baseball Museum]  The Giants’ ace number is 18. It was passed down to Horiuchi from pitcher Fujita (who is now a coach).

 

#11  Kazumi Takahashi - Pitcher (Giants)

Takahashi’s goal is 20 consecutive wins. A Giants mainstay along with Horiuchi, his exploits as a lefty ace will be must-see.

[Baseball Museum]  16 players have achieved a no-hit, no-run game at the Summer High School Baseball Tournament.

 

Again with the no-hit, no-run. By my count the number was actually 19 at the time, but Takahashi himself is not among them. He never threw a no-no.

 

#12  Kazumi Takahashi - Pitcher (Giants)

Takahashi is the steadiest pitcher in the Giants’ rotation. His results last year calmed any worries about a lack of stamina.

[Baseball Museum]  The single season record for wins by a pitcher belongs to Inao of the Nishitetsu Lions. Now the Lions manager, he won 42 games in 1961.

 

#13  Shigeru Takada - Outfielder (Giants)

Fleet of foot and with sound defense, Takada is the point man of the Giants’ advance and a prime target of the opposing team.

[Baseball Museum]  Takada is the only Giants outfielder to have won Rookie of the Year (1968).