Category Archives: Research

A repository for research articles

The Ohtani Awards

Last year, we were treated, over and over, to all the things Shohei Ohtani did that no one had done in “The Majors” since Babe Ruth, which is true only if one considers Major League Baseball Inc. the sole brand of major league baseball.

I’m going to skip over the illogic of that for a moment, and bluntly assert that Japan’s best leagues, the Japan Baseball League (1936-1949) and its Central and Pacific leagues (since 1950), are major as well.

Starting from there, it’s high time we recognize more two-way major league stars from Japan, by selecting Shohei Ohtani Award winners from Japan’s past. Here they are, by decade a list of players who more than guys who were “good hitters for a pitcher” or position players “who could pitch a little.” These were players who were first-line players in the batter’s box, and on the mound, who could also field another position, and did so in the same season.

So here we go, decade by decade.

Continue reading The Ohtani Awards

2-way star Masaru Kageura

A lot of players in baseball history have transitioned from pitching to playing in the field, but few have done both for a prolonged period. There were 12 seasons before 1940 in which a player really contributed to wins as a pitcher, batter and a fielder at another position, and the Shohei Ohtani Award’s inaugural winner accounted for four of those.

Hall of Famer Masaru Kageura was more than just a pitcher who could hit and field, or a position player who could pitch. Using Bill James’ Win Shares as a starting point, I identified players who contributed significantly to wins as a pitcher, batter and fielder.

Starting in the 1936 autumn season, through the spring and autumn of 1937 and into the spring of 1938, the Hanshin Tigers right-hander created 25.5 win shares as a pitcher, 31.2 as a hitter, and 4.1 as a fielder, mostly in right field but with 15 games at third and a handful in left.

Here’s his story.

Continue reading 2-way star Masaru Kageura