Kazuhisa Inao Explained

Kazuhisa Inao
Position:	Pitcher
Birth Date:	June 10, 1937
Birth Place:	Beppu, Ōita, Japan
Bats:	Right
Throws:	Right
Debutleague:	NPB
Debutdate:	March 21
Debutyear:	1956
Debutteam:	Nishitetsu Lions
Finalyear:	1969
Finalteam:	Nishitetsu Lions
Statleague:	NPB
Stat1label:	Win–loss
Stat1value:	276–137
Stat2label:	Earned run average
Stat2value:	1.98
Stat3label:	Shutouts
Stat3value:	43
Stat4label:	Innings pitched
Stat4value:	3,599
Stat5label:	Strikeouts
Stat5value:	2,574
Teams:	As Player Nishitetsu Lions (–) As Manager Nishitetsu Lions/Taiheiyo Club Lions (–) Lotte Orions (–)
Awards:	NPB 2x Japanese Triple Crown (1958), (1961) Pacific League Rookie of the Year (1956) 2× Pacific League MVP 3× Japan Series champion (1956, 1957, 1958) 4x Wins Champion (1957,1958,1961,1963) 2x Winning Percentage Champion (1957,1961) 5x ERA Champion(1956–1958,1961,1966) 3x Strikeout Champion (1958,1961,1963) 5x Best Nine Award (1957–1958,1961–1963) Seibu Lions #24 retired NPB Records 42 Wins (1961) (National Record, tied) 20 consecutive wins (1957) (National Record) 78 Games Played (1961) (Pacific League Record) 1.06 ERA (1956) (Pacific League Record, National Rookie-Year Record) 404 inning Pitched (1961) (Pacific League Record) 11 wins in single month (Aug, 1956) (National Record) 4 complete game in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied) 4 wins in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied) 11 career wins in Japan Series (tied with Tsuneo Horiuchi)
Hoflink:	Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Hoftype:	Japanese
Hofdate:	1993

was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher. In 1957, he won 20 consecutive games. In 1958 Japan Series, he pitched six games and won 4 consecutive games after his team lost 3 games. He even hit a home run in fifth game of Japan Series. He was the Pacific League's Most Valuable Player in 1957 and 1958. He had 42 wins in 1961. Fans called his great success "God, Buddha, Inao".

In 1964, he injured his shoulder, and in 1965 came back to full-time pitching, mainly in relief. He retired as a player in 1969, and went on to manage the Nishitetsu Lions from 1970 to 1974.

He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.^[1] His number 24 was retired by the Saitama Seibu Lions on April 30, 2012.^[2]

Career statistics

Year	Team	G	CG	SHO	W	L	PCT	IP	H	HR	BB	HBP	SO	WP	R	ER	ERA
1956	Nishitetsu Lions	61	6	3	21	6	.778	262.1	153	2	73	8	182	2	47	31	1.06
1957		68	20	5	35	6	.854	373.2	243	14	76	7	288	1	72	57	1.37
1958		72	19	6	33	10	.767	373.0	269	8	76	4	334	2	74	59	1.42
1959		75	23	5	30	15	.667	402.1	300	14	82	9	321	1	86	74	1.65
1960		39	19	3	20	7	.741	243.0	211	15	51	4	179	0	80	70	2.59
1961		78	25	7	42	14	.750	404.0	308	22	72	6	353	3	93	76	1.69
1962		57	23	6	25	18	.581	320.2	281	27	56	4	228	1	98	82	2.30
1963		74	24	2	28	16	.636	386.1	358	26	70	10	226	1	121	109	2.54
1964		6	0	0	0	2	.000	11.1	18	2	9	0	2	0	13	13	10.64
1965		38	13	2	13	6	.684	216.0	191	16	50	4	101	0	71	57	2.38
1966		54	2	2	11	10	.524	185.2	134	11	23	5	134	0	45	37	1.79
1967		46	3	1	8	9	.471	129.0	114	11	22	5	87	1	40	38	2.65
1968		56	2	1	9	11	.450	195.0	168	22	32	5	93	0	68	60	2.77
1969		32	0	0	1	7	.125	97.0	92	9	27	2	46	0	36	30	2.78
Career Total		756	179	43	276	137	.668	3599.0	2840	199	719	73	2574	12	944	793	1.98
		(7th)			(8th)			(10th)					(8th)				(3rd)

• Bolded figures are league-leading

Titles and Award

• Rookie of the Year : (1956)^[3]
• Wins Champion : 4 times (1957,1958,1961,1963)
• Winning Percentage Champion: 2 times (1957,1961)
• ERA Champion : 5 times (1956–1958,1961,1966)
• Strikeout Champion : 3 times (1958,1961,1963)
• MVP : 2 times (1957–1958)
• Best Nine : 5 times (1957–1958,1961–1963)

Record

• 42 Wins (1961) (National Record, tied)
• 20 consecutive wins (1957) (National Record)
• 78 Games Played (1961) (Pacific League Record)
• 1.06 ERA (1956) (Pacific League Record, National Rookie-Year Record)
• 404 inning Pitched (1961) (Pacific League Record)
• 11 wins in single month (Aug, 1956) (National Record)
• 4 complete game in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied)
• 4 wins in single Japan Series (1958) (Japan Series Record, tied)
• 11 career wins in Japan Series (tied with Tsuneo Horiuchi)

Notes and References

1. News: Hall of Fame pitcher Inao dead at 70. August 15, 2015. Japan Times. November 14, 2007.
2. News: Lions to retire Inao's No. 24 jersey. August 15, 2015. Japan Times. April 29, 2012.
3. Book: Charlton, James . Shatzkin, Mike . Holtje, Stephen . The Ballplayers: baseball's ultimate biographical reference . Arbor House/William Morrow . New York . 1990 . 509 . 0-87795-984-6 . registration .