Minoru Nakamura (01)

Minoru Nakamura (中村 稔)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.

• High School Ujiyamada Shogyo High School

• Born September 28, 1938 in Ise, Mie Japan
• Died June 2, 2021

BR register page

Biographical Information

Minoru Nakamura was a three-time All-Star in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Nakamura debuted with the Yomiuri Giants in 1957, allowing two runs in one inning but fanning three. He was 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA in 7 games (3 starts) in 1958 and had a 2.60 ERA in seven outings in 1959. He saw regular work, mostly in relief, in 1960, going 2-4 with a 5.16 ERA.

The Giants went to spring training with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach, FL in 1961 and Don Drysdale taught him how to throw a change-up, which he credited with his development. He went 17-10 with a 2.13 ERA that season in 63 games (24 starts). He made the Central League leaderboards for wins (6th), games pitched (3rd, 6 behind Noboru Akiyama and Hiroshi Gondo), IP (241, 8th, between Yoshio Kitagawa and Yasuhiko Kawamura), ERA (5th, between Masaichi Kaneda and Minoru Murayama) and K (142, 9th, between Gentaro Shimada and Kawamura). He lost Game 1 of the 1961 Japan Series to Joe Stanka and the Nankai Hawks, closed out Ritsuo Harimoto's Game 2 win (saves were not yet credited in Japan), closed out Yoshiaki Ito's Game 3 win, finished off a Game 5 loss and then got the win in the decisive Game 6, a 10-inning affair, beating Stanka. His 2.13 ERA for the Series matched his seasonal mark. He tied Stanka for the most appearances in that Series.

He pitched very briefly in 1962 NPB All-Star Game 1, relieving Hiroshi Gondo in the first with a 3-0 hole already against the Pacific League and the bases loaded and two outs. He retired fellow hurler Kazuhisa Inao, then exited for pinch-hitter Hiromu Fujii in the second, having thrown two pitches. He slipped a bit, to 9-12, 2.29 in 1962. He tied Akiyama and Kunio Jonouchi for 9th in losses but was also 9th in ERA (between Jonouchi and Gondo). He battled shoulder injuries in 1963 (3-4, 3.12 in 30 G; 2 R in 6 IP when Yomiuri beat the Nishitetsu Lions in the 1963 Japan Series. ) and had a car accident in 1964 (27 H, 18 R, 11 ER in 18 IP).

Minoru bounced back in a big way in 1965. He made his second All-Star appearance; in 1965 NPB All-Star Game 2, he pitched the 7th, relieving Sohachi Aniya and being succeeded by Seiji Shibutani. He allowed two runs (one earned) in one inning (2 H, BB, 2 K). He was 20-4 with a 2.21 ERA in 45 games (29 starts) in the '65 season. He was among the CL's leaders in ERA (5th, between Yukinori Miyata and Eiji Bando) , wins (tied Miyata for 4th), games pitched (tied Kentaro Ogawa and Bando for 6th), no-walk complete games (5, 1st), complete games (9, tied for 6th with Kaneda and Hidetoshi Ikeda) and innings (220 1/3, 9th, between Kenichi Ryu and Ogawa). He took Yomiuri's lone loss of the 1965 Japan Series, dropping Game 4 to Toshihiro Hayashi, matching him zero-for-zero over the first 5 innings before yielded four in the 6th and being relieved by Yoshiyasu Tanebe. Yomiuri won the first of nine straight Japan Series, a record that still stands as of 2022.

Making his final All-Star team, he was the CL's third pitcher in 1966 NPB All-Star Game 2, succeeding Tatsumi Yamanaka and being replaced by Bando. He allowed two runs on three hits in 1 1/3 IP. He was 11-7 with a 2.64 ERA in 1966, his last big season. He missed the top 10 in ERA by .07. He started Game 6 of the 1966 Japan Series against Taisuke Watanabe and matched him with goose eggs for seven before allowing two in the 8th but Yomiuri tied it in the bottom of the inning; Jonouchi relieved and Yomiuri lost in the 14th.

His playing time fell after that: 4-8, 3.97 in 33 games in 1967; 5-3, 3.38 in 25 games in 1968 and a 3.57 ERA and no decisions in 13 games in 1969. He did not appear in any of those Japan Series titles for Yomiuri. He had gone 72-53 with a 2.76 ERA in 352 NPB games (128 starts), walking only 286 in 1,242 2/3 IP with a 1.08 WHIP. He fanned 649 and hit .108/.143/.134 with one homer in 352 AB. Through 2011, he 57th in NPB history in winning percentage (.576, between Hisafumi Kawamura and Fumio Narita), WHIP (42nd, between Hiromi Oyane and Takumi Otomo), walk rate (50th, between Nobuyuki Kadoka and Masaaki Kitaru), RA (3.21, 60th, between Ogawa and Masayuki Dobashi) and ERA (78th, between Tokumi Nomo and Yoshitaka Katori).

Following his playing career, he coached for Yomiuri (1970-1977, 1981-1983 and 1989-1992) and the Chiba Lotte Marines (1997-1998) with stints as a radio commentator in between. He then coached at Keiai University.