Japanese baseball’s most popular player ever, Shigeo Nagashima, passed away last week at the age of 89, and across Japan, ballparks began flying their flags and observing moments of silence for the man credited with boosting the pro baseball’s popularity.

Stories about Nagashima’s playing career and his on-field charisma are legend, but I remember him only as a manager in his second and more successful stint, when he was adored by the public and players and simultaneously mocked for his ridiculous statements, idiosyncracies, and tactics.

As a player, Nagashima was a true great, with the fifth most productive career ever by a Japanese player, and the greatest who didn’t turn pro straight out of high school. For the first four years of his career, from 1958 to 1961, Nagashima was the Yomiuri Giants’ most productive player, when he was surpassed by teammate Sadaharu Oh, who remains the greatest player born in Japan to ever play baseball.