The Giants of 'That Era' and 4 Managers, Nostalgic Even to Their Detractors

[Entertainment Value] ★★★★★

Iku Okazaki looks back on the three managers he served under during his playing career: Shigeo Nagashima, Sadaharu Oh, and Motoshi Fujita. And Tatsunori Hara, whom he has looked up to like an older brother since his playing days.

I decided to support the Chunichi Dragons in June of my second year of elementary school, and more than 40 years have passed since then. For me, the Yomiuri Giants were nothing but an object of hatred and resentment. To put it plainly, I was an anti-Giants fan.

However, sadly, even as I approach my fifties, I find myself occasionally humming the cheering songs for Masafumi Matsumoto and Tatsunori Hara (I can also hum the ones for Shinozuka, Cromartie, Nakahata, Yoshimura, Okazaki, and Komada!).

Why can I hum them even though I'm a Chunichi fan?
It is simply because in my childhood, when there was no internet, SKY PerfecTV, or DAZN, if you wanted to watch professional baseball, you had no choice but to watch Giants games on TV. God had given us no other option but to watch the Giants.

Even if the opponent wasn't Chunichi, I would watch the game on TV hoping that the Giants would lose. That was how I enjoyed Giants games as an anti-Giants fan. As a side effect, I unfortunately memorized the cheering songs for the Giants' starting lineup, and that continues to this day.

Reading this book, I realized that wasn't the only side effect.
Please look at the following topics that also appear in this book.

■ 1986:
Makihara gives up a come-from-behind home run to Yakult's Brohard, and Oh's Giants miss out on their first championship.
■ 1987:
Suffered a no-hitter from Chunichi rookie Shinichi Kondo in his first professional start.
Egawa gives up a come-from-behind walk-off home run to Hiroshima's Kobayakawa and decides to retire.
In the Japan Series against Seibu, a first-base runner scores all the way home on Akiyama's center-field hit.
■ 1989:
Won the Japan Series after coming back from three straight losses to the Kintetsu Buffaloes to win four in a row and become Japan's champions.
■ 1990:
The 1990 Japan Series where they were no match for Seibu and suffered four straight losses.
■ 1992:
Hara hits a dramatic game-tying home run off Yakult's Ito and tosses his bat.
■ 1994:
The final game against Chunichi to decide the championship, known as '10.8'.
■ 1995:
Manager Nagashima sends in 'pinch hitter Kazushige Nagashima' for Hara.
Hara hits a home run off Kito in his final game as an active player.

Even though I'm a Chunichi fan, I remember all of it.
I now realize the terror of the one-party dictatorship system where every Giants game was broadcast on terrestrial television.

However, conversely, I think this book can be enjoyed even by those who are not Giants fans, provided they were passionate about professional baseball in that era (likely men over 45).

Even as a Chunichi fan, while reading this book,
I found myself getting teary-eyed when Okazaki visited Manager Nagashima's home to announce his retirement, and when the manager's wife spoke to Okazaki at Manager Fujita's funeral. I also found the clumsiness of the young Manager Oh to be endearing. I laughed out loud at Hara's innocence and natural air during his playing days.

Before I knew it, I found myself feeling nostalgic for 'the Giants of those days'.

I think this is a book that not only Giants fans, but also those middle-aged anti-Giants fans who were crazy about professional baseball back then, will enjoy reading with nostalgia.

*By the way, I also helped with the production!