Takeo Daigo

Takeo Daigo (醍醐 猛夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• High School Waseda Jitsugyo High School

• Born November 15, 1938 in Kita, Tokyo Japan
• Died December 22, 2019 in Tokyo Prefecture Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Takeo Daigo caught in Nippon Pro Baseball for 18 years.

Daigo was signed by the Mainichi Orions in 1957, and he was named their starting catcher as a rookie. He ended up hitting .228/.270/.315 in 113 games in his rookie year; his first NPB hit was off Toshihide Yamane and his first homer against Toshiaki Fukita. Daigo was the second high school graduate to catch more than 100 games in his first year (following Takeshi Yamashita), and no other catcher has done this after him (as of 2023). He slumped to .190/.247/.230 in 1958 (as the team became the Daimai Orions), so Minoru Tanimoto took his spot. Daigo then recorded a .207/.283/.325 batting line in 1959, and he batted .204/.230/.298 in 1960. The Orions won the Pacific League pennant in 1960, but Daigo was unable to attend the 1960 Nippon Series.

The Tokyo native fracture his finger while trying to catch Shigeru Sugishita's forkball in 1961, so he only played 53 games with a .179/.220/.211 batting line. He bounced back and hit .266/.292/.372 in 1963, then he improved to .273/.300/.354 in 1964 as he took Tanimoto's starting spot; the team was now the Tokyo Orions. Tanimoto moved to the Hanshin Tigers in 1965, and Daigo played all 140 games with a .248/.287/.378 batting and a career-high 15 homers. He was also selected for the Pacific League team to the 1965 NPB All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-2.

Daigo slumped to .213/.255/.289 in 1966 while playing all games again, and he hit .217/.264/.272 in 1967. He attended the 1968 NPB All-Star Games, and he was 0-for-1. Daigo then made it into the All-Star Games again in the next summer, and he was 2-for-3, with a double against Masaji Hiramatsu in the 13th inning of Game 3. The Orions became the Lotte Orions that year and he and Kihachi Enomoto were the only players to appear for all four editions of the Orions. He ended up hitting .262/.290/.368 with 9 homers in 1969, and his batting line was .242/.301/.306 in 1970. He was 2-for-4 in 1970 Nippon Series Game 1, but he then had a 0-for-15 record in the next 4 games and the Yomiuri Giants beat the Orions.

The veteran catcher became the 4th player to hit a homer in 4 consecutive at-bats on July 4, 1971, and he was the first catcher to complete this achievement. Daigo ended up hitting .267/.311/.390 in 1971, and he was selected into the 1971 NPB All-Star Games; he was 1-for-2. However, he slumped to .210/.283/.312 in 1972, and Kimiyasu Murakami took his spot. Daigo had 83 at-bats combined in 1973 and 1974, then he announced his retirement after the 1974 season. He then coached the Orions/Chiba Lotte Marines from 1975 to 1979, from 1984 to 1986, from 1991 to 1995 and from 2001 to 2002. He was also ascout for them from 1988 to 1990.

Overall, Daigo hit .234/.277/.324 with 1,132 hits and 81 homers in 18 seasons in the NPB.

Sources

• NPB site
• Wiki Japan
• 1971 NPB All Star Game